LHSAAAQ: (Re)establishing Identity in Nicolet and Trois-Rivieres

The LHSAAAQ Offseason included a brief round of musical chairs, with the sale and relocation of the Nicolet franchise to Trois-Rivieres and the subsequent sale and relocation of the La Tuque franchise to Nicolet. The teams offered varying degrees of visibility to their new identities in the weeks leading up to the draft, but the league’s July 4^th event served as their official introductions. The two teams unveiled new names and logos and made roster moves that helped define them.

The wheels were turning in Trois-Rivieres first as their off season started following an opening round playoff loss. While the team used the draft as the official unveiling of its name and uniform, their Facebook page went active about 3 weeks prior and was already giving information about the team. With a black and white logo including the name of prominent commercial roofing company MegaToit, it was a safe bet the name had been determined.

Then came the player movements. As a relocation, the team had their existing roster. In a series of trades on June 12th, 10 players would be acquired with 5 of them being natives of Trois-Rivieres. Of course, those were rights to those players, with each still needing to be signed. The first actual signature was a big one.  

On July 1st, the team announced the signing of free agent Dave Hamel, arguably one of the biggest draws in the province. Known for a style that goes back to the LNAH heyday, Hamel split the previous season between the LHSAAAQ and the LNAH while running a business on the side. At just 34 years old, Hamel should have plenty of tread left on the tires (and the fists). For the MegaToit, their biggest asset in the Hamel transaction is their location. With his restaurant & hotel just minutes across the river, there’s a strong likelihood he stays with the team. The biggest liability may be the pull back to the LNAH which has been the case the last two seasons. 

Then there were the draft picks. While not as prominent as with the player movements, the team went local with two of their initial selections being from the immediate area. Also, the team went mostly young. Other than a veteran in the first round, the teams' selections averaged just under 23 years of age. Trois-Rivieres clearly went local to help fill the 2,700 seat Jean-Guy Talbot Coliseum. They also built for the long run with mix of youth, experience, and of course, Dave Hamel. 

Nicolet would get a much later start on things due to a longer playoff run in La Tuque. When it was announced that the team would leave La Tuque, there was initial speculation in L'Echo de Maskinonge that the team was headed for Louiseville. However, on May 21st it was announced in L'Hebdo Journal that Nicolet was the destination, and industrial paining company BSR would be the title sponsor. The official league press release would come on June12th.

Leading up to the draft, there was no news on player movement, but coming off a semi-final appearance, that was not unexpected. The night before the draft the team orchestrated a 3-dimes-for-a-quarter transaction that saw Olivier Plourde sent to Plessisville in exchange for a veteran enforcer and a pair of young goal scorers.

The draft's only indicator was one of expectations. Building on an existing roster that went to the semifinals, they swung for the fences using a pair of picks on LNAH Heavyweights Dainck Paquette and Maxime St-Cyr. While it's hard to imagine that two players entrenched in the bigger league as a team captain (Paquette) and the overall scoring leader (St-Cyr) opting to step down, it shows the new ownership wants and expects big things. The wolf name is gone, but the logo and expectations are still showing ferocity. BSR Nicolet's symbolism is on full display.

The new teams are here. One appears to be going for a local image while the other is setting the bar high on expectations. What's left for the Summer is to see who is signed, and what other indicators these two new faces will show for the coming 2025-26 season. With both teams, there should be enough to keep our eyes on.