Discussing pre-holiday trades in the QMJHL in this Sunday Ramblings…

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The NHL holiday trade freeze is approaching without much more than a few assignments and recalls from the AHL so far. Listing them quickly:

• Minnesota has loaned Teemu Pulkinnen to the Iowa Wild of the AHL
• Toronto has loaned Antoine Bibeau to the Marlies of the AHL
• Boston has loaned Frank Vatrano to the Bruins of the AHL, a big step in his recovery from injury
• Dallas has returned Julius Honka to the AHL Stars
• Edmonton returned Anton Slepyshev to the Condors of the AHL

Vatrano will become fantasy-relevant as soon as he earns a spot on the Bruins – he was expected to have a breakout season before it was derailed early on. Honka has looked good in his NHL stints so far, but it seems like Dallas plans to wait until next season to give him serious consideration for a full-time position. 

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Meanwhile in the QMJHL there has been transactions galore as their trade period began today:

The Shawinigan Cataractes have added F Cameron Askew and D Alex Lavoie from the Moncton Wildcats in exchange for F Charles Taillon and 2nd-round-picks in 2018 and 2019. askew adds some goal-scoring and playmaking up front, while rookie d-man Lavoie brings less points and more PIM. 

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Moncton also dealt away twins Kevin and Kelly Klima to Chicoutimi Saguneens for F Julien Tessier, and 2017 1st-round-pick and a 2017 4th-round-pick. The Klima twins have the chemisty hockey fans have come to expect from twins, and are huge offensive additions for the Saguneens, while Tessier is doing very well in the QJAAAHL and will be a nice producer in another year or two.

St John Sea Dogs acquired G Callum Booth (CAR) and F Matthew Pietroniro from Quebec Remparts in exchange for G Alex Bishop, F Olivier Mathieu, a 2017 1st-round-pick and a 2019 3rd-round-pick. Goaltender Booth is a big upgrade for the Sea Dogs – he currently holds a 0.918 SV% in 21 games while Bishop has struggled with a 0.888 SV% in 20 starts. Both forwards in the deal are not a factor at the moment, as both are playing in the QMAAAHL not the major junior league. 

Acadie-Bathurst Titan have picked up G Anthony Dumont-Bouchard via the Drummondville Voltigeurs, giving up D Jerome Gravel and a 2017 3rd-round-pick. The netminder Bouchard has a 0.892 SV% in 12 games played, while d-man Gravel  has just one point in 24 games played. 

The Voltigeurs weren't done there, aso sending out D Ben Gagne and 2018 4th- and 6th-round-picks to the Quebec Remparts for 2018 2nd- and 4th-rund-picks.

Baie-Comeau Drakkar traded F Danyck Calgaro straight up for F Justin Doucet of the Victoriaville Tigres. Calgaro is a year younger than Doucet, but neither of these players are impacts on the scoresheet.

The Drakkar also picked up rookie netminder Justin Blanchette from the Sherbrooke Phoenix in exchange for a 2018 1st-round-pick. This is an acquisition with the future in mind, as the 16-year-old sports a difficult 0.834 SV% so far this year.

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Now for NHL first-goal alerts…

Timo Meier with his first goal on his first shot in his first game:

{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They'll be celebrating this one in Switzerland. Big ups to <a href="https://twitter.com/MeierTimo">@MeierTimo</a> for scoring in his NHL debut! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLFirsts?src=hash">#NHLFirsts</a> <a href="https://t.co/yDpqhJ2Uxz">pic.twitter.com/yDpqhJ2Uxz</a></p>&mdash; NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/810033055037411328">December 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Nikita Zaitsev finally adds a goal to his point total, yet another Leafs rookie doing so:

{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Zaitsev first NHL goal <a href="https://t.co/hsrCxtmvTA">pic.twitter.com/hsrCxtmvTA</a></p>&mdash; Stephanie (@myregularface) <a href="https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/810286192713416704">December 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
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As always, thank you for reading and best of luck in your fantasy leagues of all sorts. Have a happy holidays with friends family and hockey!

Hayden Soboleski

@soboleski