Lack of Quebec players in Montreal: the blame is not only on the CH

The presence of the Quebecois with the Montreal Canadiens has always sparked passions. It is a question that seems to be existential, but for which we will never really have an answer.

On Tuesday, the columnist for The GazetteBrendan Kelly talked about it in a text.

Tony Marinaro therefore decided to invite him to the sick podcast to discuss it. The show gave rise to passionate and intense discussions, where excellent points were made.

🚨 New episode 🚨

Are the Habs trying hard enough to recruit Quebec-born players? 🤔

Is the new regime doing a reconstruction? 🧱 @brendanshowbiz join @TonyMarinaro to discuss!

Full podcast 👉🏻 https://t.co/sOsr5RxD6D#Thesickpodcast #habs #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/TjzYrajT1t

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) August 11, 2022

Among these, there is one in particular that caught my attention. Marinaro mentioned that the Habs should not be blamed for the lack of players from here in the team. In the end, it also has a lot to do with the lack of Quebecers reaching a high level in hockey.

It is not impossible [d’avoir des Québécois à Montréal], but it’s harder than ever. Hockey Quebec is not doing a good job and that is why they created the committee. To change things.

The host made an excellent point here. It is no longer a secret. Fewer and fewer players beautiful province reach the big league. Therefore, it is quite normal to see less support for Blue-White-Red.

In fact, he used this chart as a reference, and the numbers say it all:

In the 1990s, year after year, almost a hundred Quebecers played in the NHL each year. At the time, the league had about 26 formations, which meant that on average each club could end up with about four players from here.

But in 2021-2022, there were only about sixty, while Bettman’s circuit is now made up of 32 teams. On average, this gives just two Quebecers per franchise.

Then, in May 2021, Martin Leclerc noted that 45% of these were 30 years or older. Therefore, this means that we are witnessing a downward trend that will accelerate in the future.

It is obvious that Canadians should make a special effort to favor local players. As is the case with any sports team, having local players, it gets difficult.

And there is also a linguistic and cultural factor, unique to Quebec, that must be taken into account.

But the fact is that the Habs are somehow bound by the thinness of the product that comes out of their cut. In some cases (Jonathan Huberdeau, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Alexis Lafrenière), players are drafted too early for the HC to expect to get their hands on them.

Sometimes, as was the case with Patrice Bergeron and Kristopher Letang, some might take advantage of their autonomy to go home, but prefer to stay at their club.

But should Montreal continue to make more of an effort to fish for local produce in the later rounds? Absolutely!

Lukas Vejdemo, who is recruited before Nicolas Roy, that shouldn’t happen…

A lot of

– Listen.

new podcast #XIMTL#CFMTL come back to Houston with this – new? – goal in mind: the first 4.

In the company of the captain and ⭐️ of the #MLS,@pbernier10https://t.co/43w7ubYzVb

— Federico Lord (@FLord_TVA) August 11, 2022

– It’s so easy to love!

That’s the energy 😤💥

It means a lot to me to be the first man from Quebec to reach the quarterfinals here in Montreal 🙏🏽 It’s just the beginning so let’s keep fighting for more 🇨🇦⚜️💪🏽

📸: @OBNmontreal pic.twitter.com/V8v4ldPb3h

— Felix AugerAliassime (@felixtennis) August 12, 2022

– Victory for Finland.

– Kyrgios advances.

– Very cool!

When ATP players are asked to complete the following sentence:

“Felix Auger-Aliassime is____”😅🎾@TVASports @felixtennis #OBN22 pic.twitter.com/DLOMYOVqYg

— Andy Mailly-Pressoir (@AndympTVAS) August 12, 2022