Last week the Ottawa Senators had four prospects spread out over three teams (one in each CHL league respectively) still competing in postseason play. Alas, in the days since, elimination has come for them all. Now technically Philippe Daoust and the Saint John Sea Dogs will still participate in the Memorial Cup as the host city but their quest for QMJHL glory has ended for this year.

The Sea Dogs lost to the Rimouski Oceanic in round one in five games. Give full credit to Rimouski as they shut down Daoust and the Sea Dogs throughout the series (and shutout Saint John on Tuesday in game four, 1-0). During the regular season Rimouski only gave up three more goals than Saint John so as far as three-six playoff matchups go, this one went down between two defensively similar teams. Saint John’s high-flying regular season offence vanished when it mattered most, and that includes Daoust who had nothing to show in his last two games in the QMJHL playoffs this season.

The Kingston Frontenacs didn’t fare much better as they lost their second round series in five games against North Bay (who you may remember also eliminated the Ottawa 67s in round-one). Leevi Meriläinen got the hook after four goals in his last game so suffice to say he’ll have a bitter taste in his mouth over the off-season. Meriläinen did not have a particularly good post-season after a mediocre rookie regular season in North America. He still has years ahead of him so that probably sounds more critical than it should. It takes time to adapt to a new league especially as a netminder. We should also note that North Bay has a very good team that only gave up 198 goals in the regular season. Ben Roger finishes his postseason tied for third among Frontenacs defenders with 19 shots. Like Meriläinen, Roger couldn’t elevate his game in the postseason against the best but we’ll see if it motivates him over the off-season. Unlike Meriläinen, Roger has not signed a NHL contract yet and as a defender probably still needs plenty more seasoning.

And finally, the hero of our Senators prospect postseason, Zack Ostapchuk and the Vancouver Giants lost to the Kamloops Blazers in six games, ending their improbable playoff run in the second round. The Giants should feel immensely proud just to have fought back and made this a six-game series (having already knocked off the best team in their conference). To provide some context to this lopsided matchup, Kamloops had a regular season goal differential of +111 while the Giants finished at-69. Ostaphcuk saved one of his best individual performances for game five against the Blazers last Friday with two goals, two assists, and three shots. Ultimately, Ostapchuk led his team in postseason points, while ranking second in goals and assist, and fifth in shots. While I imagine he still has a ways to go before joining the Sens, Ostapchuk had a great training camp in Ottawa last fall and impressed the team enough to get his entry-level contract signed so keep an eye on him again this September.

And if you don’t know how you’ll fill the void in your life in the abcence of this weekly update then rest assured, we have some more tricks up our sleeves yet!

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CHL