QUEBEC CITY P.Q. — Traded at the QMJHL trade deadline on January 7^th to the Moncton Wildcats, Kelsey Tessier went out and played a good game against his former team, the Quebec Remparts on Sunday January 24^th and ended his night with one assist in Moncton’s 5-2 win over the Remparts.

Born in Fredericton New Brunswick, Tessier is a center who can also play as a winger, has accumulated 7 points (4g-3a) in 7 games since the trade to the Wildcats. He is mostly used on the second line with the absence of Kirill Kabanov. It won’t be a surprise to see the veteran become the new center of the third line when all of the teams injured players come back into the lineup.

“We have an excellent team here, beginning with goaltender Nicola Riopel. We also are strong on defense and at forward position. The atmosphere in the dressing room is very good.” Tessier said when he spoke to PHN before the game against his former teammates.

“I really appreciated my time (three and half years) in Quebec but being traded to Moncton, I can’t ask for a better place to be traded.” Tssier was the Colorado Avalanche’s fourth round selection, (110^th overall) in 2008.

When asked to compare the ambiance of both locker rooms, Tessier answered, “The ambiance was different but they both have a winning attitude.”

It will be very interesting to follow the teams in the Atlantic division, especially since Moncton made some interesting acquisitions before the trading deadline. Besides acquiring  Tessier, the Wildcats added forwards Nicholas Deschamps from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Gabriel Bourque from Baie-Comeau Drakkar, defenseman Alex Wall from Montreal Junior, and let’s not forget goaltender Nicola Riopel who has been sent down from the ECHL by the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.

Sea Dogs keep rolling along

Saint John wasn’t too active before the trading deadline but they have won 22 consecutive games and are still one of the best teams in hockey, not just in the QMJHL but in all of Canada.

Cape Breton added forward Maxime Legeault, who came back from the Buffalo Sabres organization, Jacob Lagace from Chicoutimi and Luke Adam from the Montreal Junior. With all these acquisitions and a tight race in the division, fans in each city will have some very exciting action from now until the end of regular season.

QMJHL announced his decision in Cormier incident

On Monday morning around 11:00 AM, the QMJHL announced their decision in the Patrice Cormier- Mikael Tam incident. The QMJHL suspended Rouyn-Noranda Huskies center Patrice Cornier for the remainder of the regular season and for the playoffs. Cormier, who hit Quebec Remparts defenseman Mikael Tam with his elbow, had been thrown out of the game following the hit. Tam left the ice on a stretcher and was transported to the nearest hospital and was the victim of a traumatic brain injury on January 17^th, a game won by Quebec 3-2 in a shootout.

Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com