History & Records section - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

The QMJHL awarded a 2nd franchise to a city in the Maritimes

Welcome to the Moncton Alpines

Fortunately, Robert Irving was on hand to revive the financially troubled franchise...

The city of Moncton owes a lot to the current owner of the Wildcats, Robert Irving. Without him, the franchise, which was experiencing serious financial difficulties under the name of the "Alpines", would probably have been dissolved at the end of its first season in 1995-96 by the first management.

On the ice, Sébastien Roger, David-Alexandre Beauregard and the Alpines' very first choice, Pierre Dagenais, still offered a good quality show, but it was not enough. Major junior hockey fans were not very numerous: 1,300 people per game on average.

Thus, during the franchise's very first season, head coach Lucien Deblois was forced to operate with extraordinary financial restrictions, and the organization was heading towards bankruptcy. QMJHL President Gilles Courteau stepped in to ensure the team's recovery, and above all to ensure the survival of the franchise, the second to be established in the Maritimes after the Halifax Mooseheads a year earlier.

David-Alexandre Beauregard, 2nd from left, had some good moments during his brief stint in Moncton, with 61 points in only 41 games, before being traded to the Hull Olympiques. Incidentally, Beauregard still holds the franchise record of 11 games in a row with at least one goal, established in the first half of the 1995-96 season.

Welcomed by head coach and general manager Lucien Deblois, Pierre Dagenais, at 16, was the very first choice in the history of the new franchise, that of the Moncton Alpines in the spring of 1995. Dagenais' 43 goals still constitute the Moncton franchise record for a rookie.

Wildcats president Robert Irving (2nd from left) welcomes Steve Bernier, the team's and QMJHL's first overall pick in the 2001 draft. Bernier will become the leading goal scorer (151) in the history of the franchise in regular season.

The Wildcats will attract better crowds

However, after year 1, the Alpines quickly gave way to Robert Irving as owner. The team name was changed to the Wildcats before the start of the 1996-97 season. Little by little, the fans warmed up to the franchise, so much so that 5,300 people per game were now traveling to see the Wildcats, a clear improvement of almost 4,000 more people, compared to the previous season in 1995-96.

The team continued to improve, and thanks to a 44-win season, the franchise experienced its first real success in 1999-2000.

Then, in 2003-04, the team participated in its first final, losing to the Gatineau Olympiques in five games. Among the star players of this era, forward Steve Bernier would score 151 goals in the regular season from 2001 to 2005, a record that still stands in 2025.

First-ever jersey retired by the Wildcats

Corey Crawford's Number 29

For all the details regarding the ceremonies, go to the Moncton Wildcats website: https://chl.ca/lhjmq-wildcats/gallery/the-story-of-corey-wildcats-29-forever/

Corey Crawford and Robert Irving on November 24th 2023, during ceremonies surrounding the retirement of former Wildcats goaltender Corey Crawford.

Corey Crawford (Moncton | 2001=>2005) - lifetime in regular season, total of 96 victories including 11 by shutout, save percentage of 0.913, his goals against average was 2.80...

Moncton faces disappointment in Memorial Cup final

The Wildcats won the Cup in 2006

The arrival of Ted Nolan behind the team bench at the start of the 2005-06 season energized the franchise and the Wildcats won the Jean-Rougeau Trophy as regular season champions. Their first President Cup will not take long, since the Wildcats will win the final by 4 games to 2 against the Remparts de Québec.

At the end of the playoffs, Moncton, as host club, hosted the prestigious Memorial Cup tournament. For the first time in history, two teams from the QMJHL faced each other in the finals. The Quebec Remparts, led by Patrick Roy, would prevail over the Wildcats who counted among others on their captain Christian Gaudet, their star defenseman Keith Yandle author of a record season of 84 points for a defenseman with the Wildcats, and Josh Tordjman as goaltender. Not to mention Martin Karsums, an opportunist like no other, who scored 7 winning goals in the playoffs, a QMJHL record.

After this extraordinary season, the team's coaches Ted Nolan, Danny Flynn and Daniel Lacroix were hired by the New York Islanders (NHL).

Captain Christian Gaudet receives the President Cup for the Wildcats at the end of the 2006 playoffs from QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau.

Author of the record total of 7 winning goals during the 2006 playoffs, Martin Karsums was the journalists' choice for the Guy-Lafleur Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the playoffs.

The team photo of the 2006 champions, smiling faces after the League final won against the Remparts.

In 2008-09, the Wildcats' defense was extraordinary, and their goalie Nicola Riopel multiplied his prowess.

Moreover, Riopel concluded the regular season with the best goals-against average in QMJHL history (2.01).

Nicola Riopel (Moncton | 2008-09) - He set two QMJHL records, with his 2.01 goals-against average and his dazzling .931 save percentage.

During the 2010 playoffs, the Wildcats showed their power when they took on the Saint John Sea Dogs in 6 games in the grand final. It was the 2nd President Cup in the club's history. Gabriel Bourque stood out offensively and was named the QMJHL playoff MVP, being awarded the Guy-Lafleur Trophy.

Conor Garland (2014-15) - the QMJHL determined that he deserved the Michel-Brière Trophy, as the most valuable player to his team, after an exceptional season of 129 points.

American Conor Garland shines in Canada

On an individual level, American Conor Garland amazed Wildcats fans in 2014-15 and 2015-16, with two successive QMJHL scoring championships, scoring seasons of 129 and 128 points. His 328 lifetime points still stand as a franchise record.

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Most points by a player, lifetime, with Moncton

Pos	Player	Team	Season	Record - POINTS
1	Conor Garland	Moncton	2012>>2016	328
2	Sébastien Roger	Moncton	1995>>1999	326
3	Steve Bernier	Moncton	2001>>2005	313
4	Simon Laliberté	Moncton	1996>>2000	284
5	Jeremy McKenna	Moncton	2016>>2020	282
6	Alex Saulnier	Moncton	2009>>2013	268
7	Allain Saulnier	Moncton	2009>>2013	250
8	Jakob Pelletier	Moncton	2017>>2020	232
9	Ivan Barbashev	Moncton	2012>>2015	225
10	Yoan Loshing	Moncton	2020>>2024	215

In 2019-20, the season was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Wildcats had already won 50 games during this season, and nothing less than a very long playoff run was expected, but they had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. At the end of this unfinished campaign, the Robert-Lebel Trophy will be awarded to the Wildcats for the 5th time in their history (1999-2000 | 2005-06 | 2008-08 | 2009-10 | 2019-20), for having maintained the best defensive average in the league (2.30).

In 2024-25, defenseman Etienne Morin breaks defenseman records with the Wildcats. His lifetime total supplanted James Sanford's mark (181 points | 2001 => 2004) which had prevailed for 20 years. On February 23rd, 2025, he became the first defenseman of the organization, to reach the total of 200 points…

Jérémy McKenna (Moncton | 2017-18, 2018-19 & 2019-20) - He was the offensive leader for the Wildcats, finishing first in team scoring for 3 consecutive seasons. He successively collected 77, 97 and 82 points.

Etienne Morin (Moncton | 2021=>2025) - He and James Sanford are the only two defensemen in Wildcats history to have surpassed the 50-goal mark, lifetime, in regular season.

Caleb Desnoyers (Moncton | 2023=>2025) - He will be remembered as the very first player chosen in the QMJHL Draft in June 2023. Well before having played 100 games in major junior, he had already recorded 100 points at the age of 17. On June 27, 2025, he was the 4th overall pick in the NHL Draft, selected by the Utah Mammoth...

2025 - A wonderful year: Memorable!

The Wildcats won the Gilles-Courteau Trophy

Just after winning the regular season championship with a team record of 108 points and 53 wins, Gardiner MacDougall's players defeated the Rimouski Oceanic in the League Final in May 2025.

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Some highlights from 2024-25:

A .844 regular season points percentage, the 8th best in the QMJHL history
Jean-Rougeau Trophy (108 points - 1st overall - general standings)
Robert-Lebel Trophy (2.23 as best goals against average)
Luc-Robitaille Trophy (4.53 as best goals scored average).
Rudy Guimond, a goaltender who shone, posting 24 straight undefeated games in regulation time (16 in the season and 8 in the playoffs)
Caleb Desnoyers, at just 17 years old, amassed 30 points in 19 playoff games, earning him the QMJHL playoff MVP award

At the Memorial Cup tournament in a very high-level competition, the Wildcats gave all the efforts. But in the semi-final game, against the eventual champions, the London Knights, the Wildcats' historic season was cut short by an opponent packed with more than 10 future NHL prospects.

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The greatest names in the history of this franchise: Sébastien Roger, Jean-François Damphousse, Steve Bernier, Corey Crawford, Ted Nolan, Danny Flynn, Keith Yandle, Nicola Riopel, Conor Garland, Ivan Barbashev, Jérémy McKenna, Jakob Pelletier, Etienne Morin…

Captain Markus Vidicek proudly presents the Gilles-Courteau Trophy to his teammates after the final series, won 4 games to 2 over Rimouski.

Caleb Desnoyers - he becomes only the sixth player, aged 17 or younger, to win the Guy-Lafleur Trophy at the end of the QMJHL playoffs. He follows Dale Hawerchuk, Pat LaFontaine, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Jonathan Drouin.

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