I thought Faucher started off this camp a little quietly before ultimately shifting gears in the latter half and reminding everyone why he’s one of the more heralded prospects for this year’s QMJHL Draft. He’s not one to necessarily overwhelm you with his physical tools, but his ability to process the game at a high speed and recognize even the slightest advantages for himself allows him to consistently drive play in the right direction whenever he’s out on the ice. He already possesses great scanning habits going back for pucks, which allows him to beat forechecking pressure by assessing his options early and get pucks up quickly to his forwards which helps facilitate clean breakouts out of his own end. His ability to anticipate play while defending off the rush is great as well, often reading the intentions of the puck-carrier in order to jump passing lanes, pick off pucks and create counterattack opportunities off his own stick. My favorite part of his game might be his off-puck intelligence, especially in transition where he’s consistently able to get himself into open ice by joining the rush, catching passes in stride and creating a few looks for his linemates through heady playmaking via cross-ice seam passes. Faucher is highly confident with the puck on his stick at the point as well, often using quick lateral bursts to beat pressure up high and create looks for himself and his linemates down low in the offensive zone.

Faucher was the best defenseman throughout the entirety of this event and I don’t think it was particularly close. His ability to impact the game positively in all three zones using a blend of high-end instincts and physical tools allowed him to tilt the ice heavily in Québec Blue’s favour every time he stepped over the boards. Every time a puck-carrier tried to challenge him on a 1v1 situation he would just methodically guide him to the outside, maintain a tight gap and finish him off along the boards, retrieve the puck and make a quick pass up the to initiate a dangerous counterattack sequence. He was stellar on defensive zone retrievals as well, using shoulder checks to anticipate pressure which allowed him to assess his options prior to his touches and either make a quick outlet up ice or utilize head fakes and pivots to escape pressure and skate it out of danger himself. Some of his most exciting moments came with the puck on his stick from the offensive blueline, where he utilized lateral bursts to get around pressure up high, attack low in the zone and utilize his vision to spot options through traffic and connect on seam passes down low to create dangerous chances. His off-puck instincts shone through time and time again, as he was consistently able to get himself into space both off the rush and off the cycle, making himself a prime passing option which allowed him to generate looks for himself from the middle of the ice. It’s still fairly early in the evaluation process, but Faucher’s performance here convinced me he’ll be one to keep close tabs on for the 2026 QMJHL Draft.

Capping off the standouts from the Wolfpack JDT, Eliot Faucher put up a solid performance at the Kings of Spring event showcasing impressive problem-solving skills and vision from the back end. It seemed as if he was always finding different ways to escape pressure when trapped in his own zone whether it was with his feet, spinning off the forechecker, sending the puck quickly up to a forward or even stickhandling his way out of trouble and using his legs to carry it out. He was quick on his feet and made smart, heads up plays to be an effective puck mover with the ability to recognize when he had to get rid of a puck quickly or when he would be able to out wait an opponent before moving up the ice and it was not only in his own end but also with the puck in the offensive zone where he made smart decisions from the blue line showcasing his passing ability by finding teammates sticks around the net with a quick pass or a shot for a deflection.