(Buffalo) At this time last year, the prospects of the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) invited to the evaluation camp for the NHL draft were railing against the new, more severe sanctions announced by the circuit in order to reduce the number of fights.

Dylan MacKinnon, defenseman for the Halifax Mooseheads and teammate of the very talented Jordan Dumais, was among the disgruntled. “There will always be tough guys who will try to rip the stars’ heads off. If someone runs after Dumais and I can’t fight… it’s embarrassing,” he lamented.

A year later, it is important to ask whether the new rules, which provide for automatic expulsion after a fight, have hurt QMJHL representatives.

According to various speakers surveyed, the subject certainly came up in meetings between players and teams, but it certainly did not monopolize the conversations.

The Quebec circuit had six representatives in Buffalo last week. At one end of the spectrum, Baie-Comeau Drakkar forward Raoul Boilard said he “heard nothing” about it in interviews. At the other end of the spectrum, his teammate Alexis Bernier, more inclined towards the quarrel, says he was talked about it often, for a long time, a lot (our words, not his).

“My style of play is physical and I like to shuffle. I fought in the semi-final against Cape Breton, we talked about it, said Bernier, met after Saturday’s tests. I think they [the recruiters] liked that. »

The other four hopefuls spoke more about evocations here and there, without it being a central theme. “Maybe one or two questions,” said Rimouski Océanic defenseman Spencer Gill. “Teams just want to know: If you have to go, are you going to do it? »

With six prospects, the QMJHL was still under-represented at the evaluation camp. The Ontario Junior League (OHL) had almost quadruple that number (23) and the Western Hockey League (WHL), more than triple that (19). But the factors are multiple and take shape well before the players arrive at 16 years old in the junior.

Two recruiters who spy on the Cecchini circuit also confirm that fights were a very marginal subject during the dozens of interviews with their teams. “I was worried about this in my meetings, and no one talked about it,” said one of them, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak.

Ironically, one prospect who has been discussed with is Sacha Boisvert, who has dropped the gloves six times this season. But the Trifluvien follows the American path and played in the USHL this season.

Moreover, the teams have favored other subjects, at a time when the decline in the number of fights continues. After 83 matches since the start of this series, only 4 fights have broken out. More than 95% of matches were settled without a player hitting a rival in the face with his bare fists.

During the season, according to the HockeyFights website, there were a total of 311 fights in 1,312 games, down from the 334 fights in the 2022-2023 campaign.

As a reminder: it remains false to say that fighting has been abolished in the QMJHL. They were no longer permitted in the past; this is why a player who dropped his gloves was sent off for five minutes. However, a fight now results in automatic expulsion, and a second fight, a one-match suspension. A player found to be an instigator will also be suspended for one match.

The new sanctions have clearly had a deterrent effect. After a 2022-2023 campaign marked by 85 fights, there have only been 31 this season, in 612 matches. In series? Two in 70 games. For some, there are situations where eviction doesn’t matter.

“Teams asked me if I could fight. I told them yes, said Eriks Mateiko, forward for the Saint-Jean Sea Dogs. There were times this season when I wanted to fight. The suspension doesn’t bother me, because I prefer to be a good teammate. »

Cape Breton defenceman Tomas Lavoie also stressed the importance of fighting for what he believes is a valid reason. “I’ll never be the instigator,” he said. “I don’t think fighting will be my role at the next level anyway. But if I have to do it, I’ll do it for the team.”

The evaluation camp began a week after a fight that left no one indifferent. This is the only fight of the Memorial Cup, pitting Max McCue of London against Kalem Parker of Moose Jaw. The particularity ? The TSN network sent a cameraman on skates to get a closer look at the volleys that these 21- and 19-year-old players were giving each other.

“It was cool with the camera,” said Spencer Gill. Since this was the only fight in the entire tournament, it shows that it only happens when it’s warranted. »

“It’s the kind of business I like. I understand that people don’t like it, but it’s still hockey and it’s going to stay like that in the NHL and other leagues,” added Chicoutimi Saguenéens forward Maxim Massé.

Tomas Lavoie, however, did not share the opinion of his colleagues. “It’s a little too much, the camera on the ice. We don’t even see that in the National League, recalled the colossus. I guess they wanted to try something, but it didn’t go over very well on social media. »