Desrochers did plenty to help his draft stock with his performance here, finishing 3rd in team scoring with 5 points n 4 games on flashing his strong playmaking and shooting acumen against the best players his own age. He’s a bit undersized, but that didn’t stop him from engaging in board battles all over the offensive zone and demonstrating a tenacity that allowed him to come out with pucks against larger defenders. His playmaking really jumped off the page for me throughout the tournament, as he was consistently executing passes to the middle of the ice from along the perimeter to create dangerous scoring chances while also flashing some creativity by pulling off a few no-look feeds to the low slot from below the goal line. His advanced shooting mechanics shone through from time to time as well, snapping hard and accurate shots while in motion attacking down the wing which lead to a plethora of rebound chances out in front for hiss linemate.

It was a surprisingly quiet tournament from Desrochers who finished with 0 points in 3 games, even if there were some flashes of what make him such an exciting QMJHL prospect. He wasn’t able to find as much open ice for himself throughout this tournament, but I did like the way he was able to distribute pucks to the interior from the perimeter in the offensive zone. His size lead to him losing battles for the puck along the boards, but when he did come out with it he proved quite difficult to knock off and keep under wraps as he utilized his edgework to pull away from defenders and extend his puck touches. When he was able to work his way into space, the shooting ability become mightily apparent as he was able snap pucks off his stick quickly and with velocity. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s one of the more pure shooters in the entire draft class, but it will be interesting to see how far he can round out the other parts of his game.

Desrochers seemed to get more comfortable as the game went on and eventually turned into one of Québec’s more noticeable forwards towards the end. He opened up the game by executing a slip pass while under pressure that lead to a 2v1 for his linemates but wasn’t capitalized on. He had a few strong moments as a puck-carrier off the rush where was able to work wide around a defender and get into enough space so he could snap off a hard and heavy shot from a scoring area. He was slippery along the halfwall in the offensive zone as well, leveraging his handles to get around defenders, work his way into space and extend offensive zone sequences for his line. He scored his teams fifth goal of the game off a faceoff when he skated into space off the draw and snapped home a quick one timer shot into an open net.

Desrochers’ off-puck tenacity and playmaking ability really helped set him apart in this game. He scored the game’s first goal by being active on the forecheck, forcing a turnover and receiving a return pass in the low slot before pulling it to his backhand in tight to score. He was heavily engaged in board battles along the perimeter in the offensive zone, often coming out with the puck against larger defenders and flashing the necessary puck skills to get off the halfwall and attack the middle of the ice. He was consistently connecting on passes from the perimeter to the inside, earning himself a primary assist late in the game off a slick feed through traffic to a teammate in the mid slot.

Desrochers was all around it in this game, displaying tenacity and a willingness to engage himself in board battles around the perimeter in the offensive zone. He consistently kept his feet moving in the offensive zone, which allowed him to jump on loose pucks in dangerous areas and fire quick shots on net. He came alive offensively in the third period, picking up two primary assists, one of which came off an impressive behind the back pass from below the goal line that found his teammate alone in the slot.

It was a tough game to evaluate for Desrochers as he wasn’t able to find much space with the puck and utilize his deadly shooting ability to generate opportunities. Despite this, I liked the way the still found ways to make a positive impact on the game off-puck. In the second period he made a really good effort play in the neutral zone to poke the puck off a defender’s stick to create a 2v1 advantage that wasn’t capitalized on. Throughout the rest of the game he had some really strong sequences as the F1 on the forecheck, utilizing his footspeed to close in quickly on defenders and rush their decisions. He was able to funnel a few pucks to the middle of the ice from along the perimeter as well, showcasing some shrewd and accurate passing ability.