History & Records section - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League

The 26th franchise in the history of the QMJHL

Make way for the PHOENIX!

The Castors and the Faucons had previously played in the QMJHL in the beautiful City of Sherbrooke.

The last team to emerge through the 2012 expansion is called the Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Everyone will remember the very first midget player selected by general manager Patrick Charbonneau: it was Daniel Audette, the son of former NHL player Donald Audette. The young Audette's 237 points in the blue and beige uniform still represent the best total ever by a player in the organization during the regular season.

Judes Vallée was the club's head coach from 2012-13 until mid-season 2015-16. He led the team to its best campaign in 2014-15, with an 8th position in the overall standings with 36 wins and 32 losses.

Daniel Audette (Sherbrooke | 2012=>2016) - he was the very first pick of the entire QMJHL draft in 2012, and the 1st Midget player to be drafted by the franchise. His 237 lifetime points in the Phoenix uniform place him in the very first place in the history of the franchise, one point ahead of Joshua Roy.

Alexandre Comtois (Sherbrooke | 2012-13) - At 20 year old, highly respected, he was the very first captain. He would amass 62 points in 68 games, ranking first in club scoring.

The Thibault/Julien era is about to begin

With the arrival of Stéphane Julien as head coach of the Sherbrooke team in 2015-16, he will bring a new dynamic.

In April 2018, the Phoenix won a first playoff round by defeating the Huskies in a 7-game series.

Since then, the Phoenix has reached the quarter-final round on 6 occasions, from 2013 to 2025.

Carl Neill (Sherbrooke | 2012=>16) - In 2016-17, captain Carl Neill, in his 5th season with the team, set a franchise record with his 289 regular season games, as well as his total of 178 points for a defenseman, just before being traded to the Charlottetown Islanders.

Jocelyn Thibault - Several former Sherbrooke Faucons have contributed to the Phoenix's journey to current excellence. Jocelyn Thibault was involved in hockey operations from day 1 of the franchise, serving as the club's general manager from 2015 to 2020. Then one of the best defensemen in QMJHL history, Stéphane Julien, became the head coach of the Sherbrooke team in 2015-16.

Thomas Grégoire (Sherbrooke | 2014=>2018) - twice in a row, in 2016-17 and 2017-18, with 64 and 69 points respectively, this defenseman finished the regular season ranked 1st in team scoring, a very rare feat for a defense player.

The famous 2019-20 season: COVID-19 spoils the regular season championship

The 2019-20 regular season was the most glorious in the young history of the Phoenix, with 106 points and 1st place in the general standings with a points percentage of .841.

Multiple team records were set throughout the season; and one of the league records they broke was that of the best power play in QMJHL history with 36.5% efficiency (73 goals / 200 chances), supplanting the previous record of 36.3% held by the offensive power of the 1973-74 Sorel Eperviers.

Unfortunately for Sherbrooke, the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the regular season a few days before the end of the schedule, and also forced QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau to cancel the presentation of the President Cup playoffs. We will never know what could have happened, but there were very, very high hopes at the Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet among the supporters of the Eastern Townships team...

Records and recognition for Stéphane Julien

For Stéphane Julien, from 2015-16 to 2022-23, in 8 seasons at the helm of the club, he was able to set performance standards. He set records for wins (255) and games coached (455) in the regular season, before leaving to coach in the American Hockey League, when he joined the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings’ affiliate club, as an assistant coach.

Stéphane Julien (2022-23) - He was named Head Coach of the Year, as well as General Manager of the Year.

Joshua Roy (2021-22) - QMJHL scoring champion, with a season of 119 points, which also constitutes a new franchise record.

50-goal seasons for the 2 prolific forwards

Roy and Parent: 100 points each

After a very short rebuilding break, the 2021-22 regular season was marked by the offensive performances of Joshua Roy and Xavier Parent. The two inseparable players both exceeded the 100-point mark, in addition to having scored 51 goals each. Roy also won the Jean-Béliveau Trophy as scoring champion with 119 points. The many fans of the Sherbrooke Phoenix (111,448 spectators - a new record total for the franchise in one season) got their money's worth in 2022-23. In the regular season, the Sherbrooke players filled the opposing net like never before, with 317 goals. Stéphane Julien was proclaimed the head coach and general manager of the year, his club having amassed 50 victories and 105 points (3rd in the League, just 4 points behind the Remparts in 1st place). In the playoffs, after taking a 2-0 lead in the semi-final against Halifax, the Phoenix finally gave up by losing their last 4 games of the series at the hands of the powerful Mooseheads.

The greatest names in the history of this franchise: Jocelyn Thibault, Daniel Audette, Jérémy Roy, Carl Neill, Thomas Grégoire, Félix Robert, Alex-Olivier Voyer, Stéphane Julien, Xavier Parent, Tyson Hinds, Joshua Roy...

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