1996–97 QMJHL season

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	68	63	89	152	56
Martin Menard	Hull Olympiques	60	59	82	141	57
Daniel Brière	Drummondville Voltigeurs	59	52	78	130	86
Martin Chouinard	Granby Prédateurs	69	41	83	124	126
Eric Normandin	Rimouski Océanic	65	47	75	122	236
Daniel Corso	Victoriaville Tigres	54	51	68	119	50
Éric Bélanger	Beauport / Rimouski	62	39	78	107	66
Philippe Audet	Granby Prédateurs	67	52	56	108	150
Jean-Pierre Dumont	Val-d'Or Foreurs	62	44	64	108	88
Guy Loranger	Shawinigan Cataractes	70	44	62	106	101

• complete scoring statistics

Playoffs

Frederic Bouchard was the leading scorer of the playoffs with 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists).

Division Quarterfinals

Division Semifinals

Division Finals

League Finals

L1

Hull

4

L4

Drummondville

1

L4

Drummondville

3

L5

Laval

0

L1

Hull

4

Lebel Division

L3

Val-d'Or

1

L2

Granby

1

L3

Val-d'Or

4

L3

Val-d'Or

3

L6

Sherbrooke

0

L1

Hull

4

D4

Chicoutimi

0

D2

Shawinigan

3

D3

Halifax

4

D3

Halifax

3

D6

Beauport

1

D3

Halifax

3

D4

Chicoutimi

4

D1

Victroiaville

2

D4

Chicoutimi

4

D4

Chicoutimi

3

D5

Rimouski

1

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 Suchy, 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
• .

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

Preceded by 1995–96 QMJHL season

QMJHL seasons

Succeeded by 1997–98 QMJHL season