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Quebec U-17 hockey team loaded with West Island talent
Team to compete in world under-17 championship in B.C. from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4
John Meagher
The Gazette
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Matthew Bissonnette (Gazette file photo)
The Quebec under-17 hockey team will have a strong West Island connection.
Forwards Matthew Bissonnette of Beaconsfield and Michael Chaput of Île Bizard are among 22 players selected to the provincial dream team, coached by Marc-André Dumont of the Châteauguay Patriotes midget Triple-A club.
Also named to the U-17 squad are a trio of former Lac St. Louis midget Triple-A Lions: Dorval’s Stefan Fournier, Yasin Cissé and goalie Louis Boileau-Domingue.
The Quebec team will compete at the world under-17 hockey championships, held in Port Alberni, B.C., from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4.
Cissé now plays for Des Moines of the United States Junior Hockey League, while Boileau-Domingue is a member of the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Fournier plays junior for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
The U-17 team selection is another big step for Bissonnette and Chaput, who both played midget espoirs hockey last season. Chaput toiled for the Lac St. Louis Royals before he was drafted by the Lewiston Maineiacs in June.
Bissonnette, a 6-foot-3, 174-pound centre, starred last season for the Lac St. Louis Tigers. The Lakeshore minor hockey product was the 20th overall pick of the Wildcats at this summer’s QMJHL draft.
The lanky Bissonnette has the offensive tools to play at an elite level, said Lac St. Louis Tigers coach Sam Ghilarducci, who mentored him last year in midget espoirs.
“Obviously he’s very gifted and skilled, which is why he went straight to the QMJHL this season.”
Forward Guillaume Asselin of the Montreal Juniors also made the U-17 team. He played last season with the Séminaire St. François midget Triple-A squad.
The U-17 roster is comprised exclusively of 1992-born players.