12.
CSR 1
 2006 TOMAS LAVOIE, Coll. Ester-Blondin U18
6'3" - 190 lbs.
Defence: Shoots R| SEASON | TEAM / LEAGUE | GP | G | A | PTS. | PIM | | 2019-20 | Lanaudiere Pionniers QBAAA | 23 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 | | 2020-21 | Lanauderie Pionniers QBAAA | - | - | - | - | - | | 2021-22 | Coll. Esther-Blondin Phenix QM18AAA | 36 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 6 | | 2021-22 | Team Gray QMJHL Cup | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
also add scoring from the blueline. He likes to work the middle point and has a heavy
wrist shot. He's becoming adept at finding a lane, and he's becoming a good passer
who can put the puck in a teammate's wheelhouse. He showed a lot of improvement
over the season.
At 6'3" and 190 lbs., he's already big at 15 years of age and solid defensively. He likes
to play a physical game in his own end. He finished 3rd on his team in assists (14) and
points (21). While analytics are not well kept with the team, he does show as finishing
with the 4th most SOG (103), and the 4th most hits (41).
He's a right hand shot and can play both sides of the ice. I was expecting a bit of a
plodder with his hulking size at such a young age, as it often takes young players time
for their co-ordination to catch up with their size, but Tomas is already putting it all
together. He checks a lot of boxes in what teams are looking for in a defenceman.
Tomas had a good showing at the QMJHL Cup in late April putting up 2-2-4 totals in
4 games from the backline.
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One of the things that I've been trying to track over the past few seasons is how the final rankings come about - not only with the final CSR rankings - but with a few other scouting services as well.
This year will be a year where it will be especially interesting to see how things play out as Tomas Lavoie has basically come out of nowhere to be named at the top of the final CSR list.
Without trying to sound provocative or pointing an accusing finger, one well-respected hockey draft agency always seems to wait until everybody else's rankings have been finalized before they release their own final list - usually only a week or two before the draft.
I personally had Tomas Lavoie ranked 12th on my list - but this is the first time I've ever attempted to put together a QMJHL draft list. The draft agency in question has Lavoie ranked even lower than I do in their latest rankings released a little over a month ago.
It will be very interesting to see where Lavoie fits in on their final rankings.
Do they fall in line with the final CSR rankings with a "oh - our people had Lavoie on a meteoric rise to the top as well" seemingly based on his 4 points in 4 games at the QMJHL Cup?
Or do they reinforce their own group with a "we have complete faith and trust in our own group of scouts"?
I'm personally going to stick with my final ranking of Lavoie at 12. He's definitely a top talent as described in my profile. I keep repeating that I'm not a scout - nor do I consider myself any better at evaluating hockey talent than the next guy - but I am very thorough.
For instance, if a player has 18 goal and 27 assist highlight vids - I watch them all. Then, if I don't have a good read, I'll watch his every shift play out in his most recent games until I think I do have a good read - then I'll research every single thing I can find out about the player - every media release or team release - every newspaper clipping - everything said on the various forums - and then combine his stats and analytics with that information.
Scout, or not, I do put a lot into it - and if my gut says Thomas Lavoie comes in at number 12 - I'm not going to change it just because a group of CSR scouts comes up with something different. I think Lavoie is going to be a great player - as all 1st round picks are likely to be - but as much as I try to look beneath the surface - I don't see him as number 1 - but that's only my opinion. . .
I'll be the first person to admit that my own personal rankings might prove to be way off - but looking back at their history - for a group to carry the name "Central Scouting" - they seem to leave a lot to be desired. They do great in identifying the groups of talent at each level - but the individual rankings can sometimes appear to be way off what everybody else thinks - and it is very possible that the CSR people really are that much better than the rest. Only time will tell.
At first glance, the list of CSR scouts would seem to be a bit top heavy with Quebec scouts, but with four Atlantic based scouts - it works out fairly equal as far as player representation by region.
Approximately one-half of all QMJHL players come from Quebec, about one-fourth from Atlantic Canada, and the other one-fourth from all other regions combined. Source:
CSR Scouting QMJHLCENTRAL SCOUTING:Head Director: Patrick Charbonneau
Director: Pierre Cholette
Coordinator: Alain Charbonneau
Quebec Scout: Benoit Payment
Quebec Scout: Frederic Simard
Quebec Scout: Daniel Noonan
Quebec Scout: Claude Gosselin
Quebec Scout: Steve Gosselin
Quebec Scout: Katerine Aubry-Hebert
Quebec Scout: Maxime Ouellet
NB Scout: Andre Royer
NS Scout: Taylor Burke
PEI Scout: Corrado Micalef
NL Scout: Andrew Pearcey
*The above are the CSR personnel I can find on a Google search.
HOCKEY PROSPECT QMJHL STAFF:Founder and GM: Mark Edwards
Director of Scouting: Jerome Berube
QMJHL Draft Head Scout: Alex Pilote
QMJHL Draft: Alexandre Morand
QMJHL Draft: Ali Delaney
*They also have a network of people who submit work voluntarily.
