The holidays are right around the corner, and we have a larger sample size in the QMJHL for who is a pretender, contender, and which players have been providing very real value to their teams. 

The same lessons apply for fantasy owners as we have a good idea where things stand as we approach the break. Today, we’re going to dive into players who provide very real, but different kinds of value. We will take a look at a couple of players with powerplay upside, and one with banger appeal for owners in deeper leagues, where mining talent is important to building large windows of opportunity and depth. 

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Teddy Mutryn, LW,  Moncton Wildcats

Mutryn has been a major contributor for the Wildcats as Caleb Desnoyers missed time to start the season following off-season surgery on his wrist. Mutryn started off the campaign with six points through his first eight games, but has since exploded to become one of the lynch pins of the Moncton offense. 

Mutryn racked up eight goals and ten assists in the month of November. The key for him has been his shooting percentage, which started out around eight percent, but has since shot up to 19.5 percent in November. That is an average of 16.9 percent. If he regresses into that scoring rate, he is looking at finishing around the 35 goal mark. Not bad for a skater coming over from the USHL. 

The San Jose Sharks selected him in the third round of the 2025 draft, so he brings pedigree to the table. He loves to throw the body, and is shooting around 3.1 shots-per-game. All signs point to Mutryn being able to be a bottom to middle of the lineup contributor at the NHL level. He brings plenty of appeal for fantasy owners in deeper dynasty leagues that reward shot volume and physicality. 

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Maxim Masse, RW, Chicoutimi Sagueneens

Masse enjoyed a fantastic draft year in 2024 with 75 points, but was mired by injury last season, missing 21 games. He has bounced back nicely, and is on pace for a career best total in the Q in his overage season.

The key to his success has been shot volume. Sitting at 3.8 shots per game, Masse has always loved to shoot the puck, but is doing so at a career high rate, clearing his highest pace by 30 shots. His shooting percentage has trended upwards as a result of the higher volume, but his production has become hard to ignore. He belongs to a deep Anaheim Ducks system, so they can afford the time for him to develop in the American Hockey League before making the jump. He has shown the incline in production and improvements to make fantasy managers comfortable with stowing him in their minor benches long-term. 

If he maintains his current pace, he will smash the 50 goal mark for the only time in his QMJHL career. 

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Alexei Vlasov, LW, Victoriaville Tigres

Vlasov was one that was mentioned in the 2026 Draft preview for the Q back in October, and he has taken off as a powerplay stud, with 18 of his 35 points have come on the man advantage, and finds himself on a 44-goal pace. His ascension reminds me a lot of Justin Poirier from a few seasons ago, who topped 50 goals, but fell in the draft in large part due to his lack of skating mechanics and straight line speed. Vlasov suffers from some of the same faults that is covered up by his ability to work his way into dangerous areas with a compact wrist shot that is released quick and heavy upon impact. 

Offensively speaking, the difference in their games has been Vlasov’s playmaking and ability to be a catalyst on the powerplay. Poirier in his draft year had just 22 points on the advantage, which accounted for 27 percent of his production, while Vlasov’s accounts for just over half. He has a lot of work to do to get back into his red hot fashion, but it certainly does not help playing on a lowly Tigres team, who sit last in the western conference and third last in the league. 

He is certainly one to keep an eye on moving forward as we look ahead to the draft. 

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World Juniors

It wouldn’t be the holidays without a little bit of World Junior speculation! As we approach the holidays, we are starting to get news on the finality of WJC rosters. And while there are still some stragglers, let’s have a look at some of the confirmed or heavily implied players based on summer and fall camps that we expect to be impactful at the tournament who have a home on a team in the Q: 

Justin Carbonneau, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Canada

In year’s past, Canada’s offence has sputtered at the worst possible time. As the leading goal scorer in the Q, Carbonneau will be leaned on for his powerplay expertise. His shot coupled with some of the better playmakers in Junior hockey, among the likes of McKenna, Catton, and potentially Michael Misa being loaned from the Sharks, he could be in a position to flourish offensively. 

Caleb Desnoyers, Moncton Wildcats, Canada

With the aforementioned players above playing in Carbonneau’s favour may hurt Desnoyers’ production offensively. But he is a player who was not drafted for his offensive prowess alone, and will likely be used as such in this tournament. Look for Desnoyers to be pitted against other team’s top units to free up other offensive players for premium scoring scenarios. 

Jakub Milota, Blainville Boisbriand Armada, Czechia

The lone goalie from the Q joining a team at the tournament as currently projected, Milota stands to gain a lot of stock in this tournament. As a post-draft goaltender, Milota will have every opportunity to lock down the starter’s job. His stock could rise if the pesky Czechs make some noise at the tournament. 

Carlos Handel, Halifax Mooseheads, Germany

Handel projects as a top pairing defender for this Germany team. Handel is a great puck mover with a strong awareness in the defensive zone. He will be more of a steadying presence for a relatively shallow blueline that will need someone to eat large minutes, and Handel should be the one to answer the bell. 

Jiri Klima, Shawinigan Cataractes, Czechia

With some higher end NHL draft picks at the top of the lineup, Klima will not be leaned on as a primary contributor, but as a 20-year old entering the tournament, he will get every chance to be a depth scorer, which makes him that much more important. In the short tournament, a team like Czechia needs all the scoring they can get at the bottom of their line up to keep pace with Canada and the USA, as they have in year’s past. Klima will lead the secondary charge for Czechia, and could see his stock rise as an undrafted free agent at the season’s end, if an NHL team decides to take a chance. 

Lars Steiner, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Switzerland

Steiner was discussed in the October 2026 prospects report as someone with some offensive flair, and he will be relied upon to do that in a top-six role for Switzerland. As perennial underdogs, Steiner will be leaned on to be a force at even strength, but more importantly on the powerplay. 

Honourable Mentions: 

Filip Kovalchik, Slovakia Drummondville Voltigeurs

Andreas Straka, Slovakia, Quebec Remparts

Guud van der Kaaij, Switzerland, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

David Bosson, Switzerland, Drummondville Voltigeurs

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Thank you for reading this edition of the QMJHL update on Dobber Prospects! You will hear from me following the group stage of the WJC where we will have plenty to cover and to discuss. Have a safe and happy holiday season, enjoy the hockey and we’ll be back in a flash!

Sean Crocker