The 1996–97 QMJHL season was the 28th season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The league continues explore new markets as the Saint-Hyacinthe Laser move north to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. The New Faces Cup is renamed the RDS Cup, for its new sponsor, Réseau des sports. Fourteen teams played 70 games each in the schedule. The Hull Olympiques finished first overall in the regular season winning their third Jean Rougeau Trophy, and won their fourth President's Cup, defeating the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the finals.
Team changes The Saint-Hyacinthe Laser relocated to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, becoming the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The Moncton Alpines are renamed the Moncton Wildcats.
Final standings Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; Pts = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against
Dilio Division GP W L T Pts GF GA Victoriaville Tigres 70 43 23 4 90 293 216 Shawinigan Cataractes 70 41 24 5 87 277 232 Halifax Mooseheads 70 37 29 4 78 267 255 Chicoutimi Saguenéens 70 37 30 3 77 271 222 Rimouski Océanic 70 34 31 5 73 298 261 Beauport Harfangs 70 24 44 2 50 216 284 Moncton Wildcats 70 16 52 2 34 192 354
Lebel Division GP W L T Pts GF GA Hull Olympiques 70 48 19 3 99 346 205 Granby Prédateurs 70 44 20 6 94 304 210 Val-d'Or Foreurs 70 40 28 2 82 268 230 Drummondville Voltigeurs 70 36 33 1 73 305 287 Laval Titan Collège Français 70 27 40 3 57 260 314 Sherbrooke Faucons 70 24 45 1 49 206 283 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 70 16 49 5 37 174 324 complete list of standings.
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Pavel Rosa Hull Olympiques 686389152 56 Martin Ménard Hull Olympiques 60598214157Daniel Brière Drummondville Voltigeurs 595278130 86 Martin Chouinard Granby Prédateurs 694183124 126 Eric Normandin Rimouski Océanic 654775122236 Daniel Corso Victoriaville Tigres 54516811950 Éric Bélanger Beauport/ Rimouski 62397810766Philippe Audet Granby Prédateurs 675256108 150 Jean-Pierre Dumont Val-d'Or Foreurs 62446410888 Guy Loranger Shawinigan Cataractes 704462106101 complete scoring statistics
Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Total ice time; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA Marc Denis Chicoutimi Saguenéens 41 2316 22 15 104 4 .905 2.69 Christian Bronsard Hull Olympiques 43 2451 30 10 112 1 .908 2.74 Frédéric Henry Granby Prédateurs 57 3327 33 16 161 4 .905 2.90 Mathieu Garon Victoriaville Tigres 48 2808 33 11 148 6 .902 2.93 Sébastien Charpentier Shawinigan Cataractes 62 3474 37 17 176 1 .899 3.04
Playoffs
Division Quarterfinals
Lebel Division
(L4) Drummondville Voltigeurs vs. (L5) Laval Titan Collège Français
(L3) Val-d'Or Foreurs vs. (L6) Sherbrooke Faucons
Dilio Division
(D3) Halifax Mooseheads vs. (D6) Beauport Harfangs
(D4) Chicoutimi Saguenéens vs. (D5) Rimouski Océanic
Division Semifinals
Lebel Division
(L1) Hull Olympiques vs. (L4) Drummondville Voltigeurs
(L2) Granby Prédateurs vs. (L3) Val-d'Or Foreurs
Dilio Division
(D1) Victoriaville Tigres vs. (D4) Chicoutimi Saguenéens
(D2) Shawinigan Cataractes vs. (D3) Halifax Mooseheads
Division Finals
Lebel Division
(L1) Hull Olympiques vs. (L3) Val-d'Or Foreurs
Dilio Division
(D3) Halifax Mooseheads vs. (D4) Chicoutimi Saguenéens
President's Cup Finals
(L1) Hull Olympiques vs. (D4) Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Playoff scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Frédéric Bouchard Chicoutimi Saguenéens 21222951 42 Martin Ménard Hull Olympiques 1412233517Pavel Rosa Hull Olympiques 14181331 16 Martin Chouinard Halifax Mooseheads 18101626 12 Marc Bouchard Chicoutimi Saguenéens 218182814 Denis Hamel Chicoutimi Saguenéens 2015102565 Jonathan Delisle Hull Olympiques 1411132448Jamie Brown Halifax Mooseheads 18121123 39 François Sasseville Halifax Mooseheads 1810132316 Christian Dubé Hull Olympiques 147162314
Playoff leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Total ice time; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA Christian Bronsard Hull Olympiques 10 528 9 1 21 0 .916 2.38 Roberto Luongo Val-d'Or Foreurs 13 776 8 5 44 0 .904 3.40 Mathieu Chouinard Shawinigan Cataractes 4 263 1 3 15 0 .875 3.41 Marc Denis Chicoutimi Saguenéens 21 1226 11 10 70 1 .883 3.43 Martin Biron Hull Olympiques 6 325 3 1 19 0 .871 3.50
All-star teams First team Goaltender - Marc Denis, Chicoutimi Saguenéens Left defence - Derrick Walser, Beauport Harfangs / Rimouski Océanic Right defence - Stéphane Robidas, Shawinigan Cataractes Left winger - Philippe Audet, Granby Prédateurs Centreman - Daniel Corso, Victoriaville Tigres Right winger - Pavel Rosa, Hull Olympiques Coach - Clément Jodoin, Halifax Mooseheads
Second team Goaltender - Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Halifax Mooseheads Left defence - Radoslav Suchý, Sherbrooke Faucons / Chicoutimi Saguenéens Right defence - Frédéric Bouchard, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies / Chicoutimi Saguenéens Left winger - Jean-Pierre Dumont, Val-d'Or Foreurs Centreman - Daniel Brière, Drummondville Voltigeurs Right winger - Eric Normandin, Rimouski Océanic Coach - Alain Rajotte, Victoriaville Tigres
Rookie team Goaltender - Christian Bronsard, Hull Olympiques Left defence - François Beauchemin, Laval Titan Collège Français & Jeffrey Sullivan, Granby Prédateurs / Halifax Mooseheads Right defence - Jonathan Girard, Laval Titan Collège Français Left winger - Alex Tanguay, Halifax Mooseheads Centreman - Vincent Lecavalier, Rimouski Océanic Right winger - Gregor Baumgartner, Laval Titan Collège Français Coach - Denis Francoeur, Shawinigan Cataractes List of First/Second/Rookie team all-stars.
Trophies and awards Team President's Cup - Playoff Champions, Hull Olympiques Jean Rougeau Trophy - Regular Season Champions, Hull Olympiques Robert Lebel Trophy - Team with best GAA, Hull Olympiques
Player Michel Brière Memorial Trophy - Most Valuable Player, Daniel Corso, Victoriaville Tigres Jean Béliveau Trophy - Top Scorer, Pavel Rosa, Hull Olympiques Guy Lafleur Trophy - Playoff MVP, Christian Bronsard, Hull Olympiques Ford Cup – Offensive - Offensive Player of the Year, Pavel Rosa, Hull Olympiques Ford Cup – Defensive - Defensive Player of the Year, Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Halifax Mooseheads AutoPro Plaque - Best plus/minus total, Pavel Rosa, Hull Olympiques Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy - Best GAA, Marc Denis, Chicoutimi Saguenéens Emile Bouchard Trophy - Defenceman of the Year, Stéphane Robidas, Shawinigan Cataractes Mike Bossy Trophy - Best Pro Prospect, Roberto Luongo, Val-d'Or Foreurs RDS Cup - Rookie of the Year, Vincent Lecavalier, Rimouski Océanic Michel Bergeron Trophy - Offensive Rookie of the Year, Vincent Lecavalier, Rimouski Océanic Raymond Lagacé Trophy - Defensive Rookie of the Year, Christian Bronsard, Hull Olympiques Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy - Most sportsmanlike player, Daniel Brière, Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL Humanitarian of the Year - Humanitarian of the Year, Jason Groleau, Victoriaville Tigres Marcel Robert Trophy - Best Scholastic Player, Luc Vaillancourt, Beauport Harfangs
Executive Ron Lapointe Trophy - Coach of the Year, Clément Jodoin, Halifax Mooseheads John Horman Trophy - Executive of the Year, Harold MacKay, Halifax Mooseheads St-Clair Group Plaque - Marketing Director of the Year, Matt McKnight, Halifax Mooseheads Paul Dumont Trophy - Personality of the Year, Michel Therrien, Granby Prédateurs
See also 1997 Memorial Cup 1997 NHL entry draft 1996–97 OHL season 1996–97 WHL season
References Official QMJHL Website www.hockeydb.com/