Talk about your win-wins.
The Gatineau Olympiques just recently jumped over the Halifax Mooseheads in the overall standings. If it stays that way and the Olympiques sneak into the post-season in 16th place, they'll get some important game experience for their young players and a couple of home gates. Those are two decent bonuses any team would take.
Normally the touch of grey to that silver lining in a rebuilding season is lowered odds in the draft lottery. But the Olympiques have that covered too.
Not only do they own their own first-round pick, which will still likely be lottery eligible, they also have Halifax's. The Mooseheads traded it to the Olympiques last year for Maxim Trepanier, so Gatineau can't go wrong.
And get this, the Olympiques also own Bathurst's and Blainville-Boisbriand's first-rounders. The Armada's pick might end up outside the top 10 but the Titan are in last place overall, so there is a legitimate chance Gatineau could wind up owning the top three picks in the draft. That would be something.
For some context on where things sit in the bottom third of the standings, the Titan are in the basement with 25 points but then there is a cluster of teams scrapping to stay out of the 17th spot. The Mooseheads currently occupy that position with 40 points, while the Olympiques are ahead of them with 42. Just in front of those teams are Quebec (44 points), Shawinigan (46 points), Victoriaville (47 points) and Saint John, Baie-Comeau and Val-d'Or (all with 49 points).
There often isn't much drama in the race at the bottom but this year is as heated as it gets.
Similarly, the heavyweights at the top are all flexing their muscles down the stretch. The first-overall Sherbrooke Phoenix (80 points) are still nursing the cushion they built during a tremendous first half but the gap is getting slimmer every day.
The Chicoutimi Sagueneens (73 points) are seven behind Sherbrooke with one game in hand and then there are three teams right behind them who have not lost in regulation time in a combined 22 games.
The Moncton Wildcats (60 points) are 7-0-1-0 during that stretch and are four points back of Chicoutimi with two games in hand, while the Rimouski Oceanic (67 points) and Cape Breton Eagles (65 points) are both riding seven-game winning streaks and are two and four points, respectively, behind the Wildcats.
Incidentally, the Eagles just set a franchise record by winning their 12th straight home game and are 14-1-0-0 in their past 15 games. They are quietly making the teams ahead of them quite nervous.
