The Moncton Wildcats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Moncton, New Brunswick. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 season known as the Moncton Alpines, then rebranded as the Wildcats in the next season. The team played at the Moncton Coliseum from 1995 until 2018, and moved into the Avenir Centre prior to the 2018–19 season. After winning the 2005–06 QMJHL championship, the team hosted the 2006 Memorial Cup and reached the final game. The Wildcats also won the league championship in 2009–10, and competed at the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba. The team won its third QMJHL championship in 2024–25, defeating the Rimouski Océanic in six games to claim the Gilles-Courteau Trophy, before participating in the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski.
History
The Moncton Alpines joined the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the 1995–96 season. They played for one season under the ownership of racing driver John Graham and were coached by Lucien DeBlois. The franchise was purchased by Robert Irving in May 1996, and renamed the Moncton Wildcats with new uniforms and logo.
Moncton hosted the 2006 Memorial Cup. The team hired former NHL coach of the year Ted Nolan, and acquired players such as Keith Yandle, and various rookies. The Wildcats finished in first place in the league, going 52–15–0–3 for 107 points and winning the Jean Rougeau Trophy for the first time. The Wildcats defeated the Quebec Remparts to the President's Cup. In the Memorial Cup, Moncton finished second in the round-robin after defeating Peterborough and Vancouver but losing to Quebec. The Wildcats defeated the Giants in the semi-final, but lost to the Remparts 6–2 in the Memorial Cup final.
In 2024–25, the Wildcats had their best regular season in franchise history, recording 53 wins and 108 points under head coach Gardiner MacDougall. In the playoffs, Moncton swept the Quebec Remparts, defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in five games, and swept the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies before winning the championship series against the Rimouski Océanic in six games to claim the Gilles-Courteau Trophy, the franchise's third QMJHL championship, after wins in 2006 and 2010. Caleb Desnoyers won the Guy Lafleur Trophy as playoff MVP, totalling 30 points during the playoffs.
Coaches
1995–1996 Lucien DeBlois: 14–48–8–0 1996–1997 Bill Riley: 16–52–2–0 1997–2000 Réal Paiement: 111–77–21–3 2000–2001 Tom Coolen (Fired in November 2001): 43–82–10–9 2001–2005 Christian La Rue (Fired in January 2005): 126–91–21–0 2005 Daniel Lacroix: 8–8–5 2005–2006 Ted Nolan: 52–15–0–3 2006–2007 John Torchetti: 39–25–4–2 2007–2013 Danny Flynn: 222–151–47 2013–2019 Darren Rumble (Fired in January 2019): 180–169–19–14 2019 John Torchetti (Fired in December 2019): 24–9–0 2019–2024 Daniel Lacroix: 138–103–15–9 2024–present Gardiner MacDougall
Players Retired numbers 29 Corey Crawford (Moncton Wildcats, 2001–2005)
NHL alumni The following players have played in at least one National Hockey League (NHL) game as of the 2023–24 season:
Dmitry Afanasenkov Evgeny Artyukhin Jean-Sébastien Aubin Ivan Barbashev Mark Barberio Oskars Bārtulis François Beauchemin Steve Bernier Luc Bourdon Gabriel Bourque Corey Crawford Pierre Dagenais Jean-François Damphousse Phillip Danault Jason Demers Nicolas Deschamps Louis Domingue Philippe Dupuis Jonathan Ferland Gabriel Fortier Conor Garland Jonathan Girard Brandon Gormley Benoit-Olivier Groulx Dmitrij Jaškin Ross Johnston Dmitri Kalinin Mārtiņš Karsums Simon Lajeunesse Andrew MacDonald Zack MacEwen Brad Marchand Johnny Oduya P.A. Parenteau Jakob Pelletier Adam Pineault Jean-François Racine Jérôme Samson David Savard Zack Sill Jordan Spence Alexei Tezikov Patrick Thoresen Vladimir Tkachev Josh Tordjman Keith Yandle
NHL first round draft picks List of first round selections in the NHL entry draft:
Year # Player Nationality NHL team 1997 24 Jean-François Damphousse (G) Canada New Jersey Devils 2003 16 Steve Bernier (RW) Canada San Jose Sharks 2010 13 Brandon Gormley (D) Canada Phoenix Coyotes 2019 26 Jakob Pelletier (LW) Canada Calgary Flames 2025 4 Caleb Desnoyers (C) Canada Utah Mammoth
Season-by-season results 1995–96 Moncton Alpines 1996–present Moncton Wildcats
Regular season OTL = Overtime loss SL = Shootout loss
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SL Points Pct % GoalsFor GoalsAgainst Standing 1995–96 70 14 48 8 – – 36 0.257 215 360 7th in Dilio 1996–97 70 16 52 2 – – 34 0.243 192 354 7th in Dilio 1997–98 70 39 32 9 – – 67 0.479 240 229 4th in Dilio 1998–99 70 38 25 7 – – 81 0.593 257 235 4th in Dilio 1999–2000 72 44 20 5 3 – 96 0.646 292 211 1st in Maritimes 2000–01 72 23 41 6 2 – 54 0.361 246 323 4th in Maritimes 2001–02 72 20 41 4 7 – 51 0.306 214 287 4th in Maritimes 2002–03 72 37 20 10 5 – 89 0.583 255 216 3rd in Maritimes 2003–04 70 46 19 3 2 – 97 0.679 270 206 2nd in Atlantic 2004–05 70 37 23 8 2 – 84 0.586 206 175 2nd in Atlantic 2005–06 70 52 15 – 0 3 107 0.776 345 184 1st in East 2006–07 70 39 25 – 4 2 84 0.557 254 263 3rd in East 2007–08 70 21 34 – 5 10 57 0.300 191 242 8th in East 2008–09 68 48 14 – 2 4 102 0.706 236 149 1st in East 2009–10 68 48 14 – 2 4 102 0.706 276 164 2nd in Atlantic 2010–11 68 33 25 – 3 7 76 0.485 232 256 3rd in Maritimes 2011–12 68 30 31 – 3 4 67 0.441 190 228 4th in Maritimes 2012–13 68 42 23 – 2 1 87 0.640 274 202 2nd in Telus Maritimes 2013–14 68 33 32 – 0 2 69 0.507 214 226 3rd in Telus Maritimes 2014–15 68 46 19 – 0 3 95 0.699 287 232 1st in Maritimes 2015–16 68 36 21 – 9 2 83 0.610 268 250 2nd in Maritimes 2016–17 68 14 51 – 2 1 31 0.228 170 356 6th in Maritimes 2017–18 68 27 33 – 5 3 62 0.456 233 282 5th in Maritimes 2018–19 68 38 21 – 4 5 85 0.625 274 222 4th in Maritimes 2019–20 64 50 13 – 1 0 101 0.789 276 148 1st in Maritimes 2020–21 31 11 17 – 2 1 25 0.403 105 136 5th in Maritimes 2021–22 68 28 31 – 6 3 65 0.478 208 273 5th in Maritimes 2022–23 68 35 29 – 2 2 74 0.544 255 249 2nd in Maritimes 2023–24 68 38 23 – 4 3 83 0.610 274 231 2nd in Maritimes 2024–25 64 53 9 – 2 0 108 0.844 294 144 1st in Maritimes 2025–26 64 50 10 – 2 2 104 0.813 302 164 1st in Eastern Conference
Source:QMJHL stats
Playoffs
Season1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals1995–96 Did not qualify1996–97 Did not qualify1997–98 W, 4–2, Chicoutimi 3rd, round-robin, Quebec/Rimouski ––1998–99 L, 0–4, Rimouski –––1999–2000 W, 4–0, Acadie–Bathurst W, 4–3, Quebec L, 1–4, Rimouski –2000–01 Did not qualify2001–02 Did not qualify2002–03 L, 2–4, Quebec –––2003–04 W, 4–0, Baie-Comeau W, 4–2, P.E.I. W, 4–1, Rimouski L, 1–4, Hull2004–05 W, 4–2, Drummondville L, 2–4, Rouyn-Noranda ––2005–06 W, 4–1, Victoriaville W, 4–1, Halifax W, 4–1, Gatineau W, 4–2, Quebec2006–07 L, 3–4, Halifax –––2007–08 Did not qualify2008–09 W, 4–1, P.E.I. L, 2–4, Rimouski ––2009–10 W, 4–1, Cape Breton W, 4–1, Rouyn-Noranda W, 4–1, Drummondville W, 4–2, Saint John2010–11 L, 1–4, Lewiston –––2011–12 L, 0–4, Halifax –––2012–13 L, 1–4, Victoriaville –––2013–14 L, 2–4, Blainville-Boisbriand –––2014–15 W, 4–1, Chicoutimi W, 4–3, Halifax L, 0–4, Quebec –2015–16 W, 4–1, Victoriaville W, 4–2, Gatineau L, 2–4, Rouyn-Noranda –2016–17 Did not qualify2017–18 W, 4–3, Rimouski L, 1–4, Blainville-Boisbriand ––2018–19 W, 4–3, Baie-Comeau L, 0–4, Halifax ––2019–20 QMJHL playoffs cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic2020–21 Lost round-robin tournament –––2021–22 L, 0–3, Charlottetown –––2022–23 W, 4–3, Baie-Comeau L, 1–4, Halifax ––2023–24 L, 0–4, Chicoutimi –––2024–25 W, 4–0, Quebec W, 4–1, Baie-Comeau W, 4–0, Rouyn-Noranda W, 4–2, Rimouski2025–26 W, 4–0, Saint John W, 4–0, Val-d'Or W, 4–3, Blainville-Boisbriand L, 2–4, Chicoutimi
Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup is contested annually by the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL), as well as a predetermined host team. The competition consists of a round-robin, a semifinal game, and a final game. Below are the results of every game the Moncton Wildcats have competed in.
Year Round-robin Semifinal Final2006 W, 3–2, Vancouver GiantsW, 4–2, Peterborough PetesL, 3–4, Quebec RempartsW, 3–1, Vancouver Giants L, 2–6, Quebec Remparts2010 L, 4–5, Calgary HitmenL, 0–4, Brandon Wheat KingsL, 3–4, Windsor Spitfires – –2025 L, 2–3, London KnightsL, 1–3, Medicine Hat TigersW, 6–2, Rimouski Océanic L, 2–5, London Knights –
See also List of ice hockey teams in New Brunswick
References
External links Official site