MacDougall named QMJHL coach of the year
Gardiner MacDougall's championship pedigree proved a major factor when the Moncton Wildcats hired him as head coach last spring to guide the QMJHL team.
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With the former University of New Brunswick leader behind the bench, the Wildcats embarked on a magical record-breaking run, one that produced the franchise's third QMJHL title and one that came within two games of winning the Memorial Cup.
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For his excellence, MacDougall, a nine-time University Cup champion, won the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL coach of the year Thursday during a ceremony in Quebec as part of the 2025 QMJHL Golden Pucks Awards.
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Under MacDougall's guidance, the Wildcats established a franchise record season with a 53-9-2-0 mark before winning four playoff series with a dominating 16-3 slate, also a franchise best.
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The team's .844 winning percentage set a new standard in Moncton, a factor of the team's league-best offence (294 goals for), defence, (144 goals against), penalty-killing units (86.4) and of course, MacDougall's expertise and powerful motivating style.
Joining MacDougall was Wildcats forward Caleb Desnoyers, who won the Michael Bossy Trophy as the league's best professional prospect. Desnoyers, who was named most valuable player in the QMJHL playoffs, is at the NHL Combine in Buffalo, in preparation for the NHL draft, where he is expected to be a high first-round pick.
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The 18-year-old forward produced 84 points to sit fifth in regular-season scoring and added 30 more in the post season before recording a goal and an assist at the Memorial Cup in Rimouski.
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Desnoyers was also a finalist for the most valuable player award, which went to Jonathan Fauchon of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
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Former Wildcat Jacob Steinman won the Patrick Roy Trophy as goaltender of the year. He split the season with Moncton and the Halifax Mooseheads, joining the Nova Scotia based squad in a high-profile deal at the January trade deadline.
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Steinman, who played two and a half seasons with Moncton, sported a 29-16-4-1 record with Moncton and Halifax and finished second in the QMJHL in goals against average (2.41) and save percentage (.923).
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