Prospects Of The Week
Bill Zonnon Returns From Injury, Immediately Finds Scoring Touch For Blainville-Boisbriand
Bill Zonnon returned to the lineup for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada after missing the entire 2025-26 season–expect two games in early November–due to injury and immediately started finding the scoresheet. The 2025 first round pick scored for the first time in the 2025-26 season to give the Armada a 2-0 lead after recording a primary assist on the opening goal of the game in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Monday. Zonnon scored the lone Blainville-Boisbriand goal in the shootout. Zonnon recorded two primary assists and finished with a +3 plus/minus rating in a 5-1 win over the Victoriaville Tigers on Wednesday, and recorded another pair of assists–one primary and one secondary–in a 6-5 loss to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Saturday.
Blainville-Boisbriand currently ranks third in the Western Conference and only a point out of the top spot. Zonnon returning to the lineup likely gives the team a nice boost heading into the second half of the season. Zonnon ranked seventh in the entire QMJHL last season with 83 points in 64 games.
Gabriel D’Aigle Posts .955 Save Percentage In Strong Week For Victoriaville
Gabriel D’Aigle continues to find another level of play, finishing with a .955 save percentage and stopping 103 of 107 shots in three games. The 2025 third round pick turned away 38 of 39 shots in a 3-1 win over the Gatineau Olympiques on Monday, 35 of 38 in a 3-2 loss to the Val-d’Or Foreurs on Saturday, and 29 of 30 shots in a 5-1 win over the Chicoutimi Saguenéens–the top team in the entire QMJHL–on Sunday. After a slow start to the 2025-26 season, D’Aigle finished November with a .926 save percentage in eight games, December with a .930 save percentage in five games, and currently carries a .941 save percentage through two games in January, helping the goaltender improve to a 3.59 goals against average and .906 save percentage on the season
Victoriaville ranks second-to-last in the Western Conference, but the young team appears to be trending in the right direction thanks in part to the strong play of D’Aigle in net.
Ryan Miller Maintains Point-Per-Game Pace With Portland Winterhawks
Ryan Miller continued a consistent pace in the 2025-26 season last week with four points in four games for the Portland Winterhawks after recording a hat trick the previous week. The 2025 fifth round pick scored the eventual game winner in a 5-2 win over the Everett Silvertips on Wednesday, scored and recorded a primary assist on the only two Portland goals in a 6-2 loss to the Wenatchee Wild on Friday, and added another primary assist in a 5-4 win over the Vancouver Giants on Saturday. Miller ranks second on the Winterhawks–and tied for 14th in the entire WHL–with 45 points in 39 games.
The Winterhawks rank sixth in a tight Western Conference, with only nine points separating second place and ninth place.
Down On The Farm
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Struggle In Two Lopsided Losses
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fell flat in a 6-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Tuesday night. Joona Koppanen scored and recorded a helper. Aaron Huglen scored the other Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goal. Owen Pickering, Raivis Ansons, and David Breazeale all finished with assists. Sergei Murashov surrendered five goals on 24 shots through two periods, and Filip Larsson stopped 14 of 15 shots in relief in the third period.
The Penguins fell behind early and never got anything going in a 6-0 loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night. Outshot 31-17, Murashov surrendered five goals on 11 shots in the first period, and Larsson stopped 19 of 20 in relief in the second and third periods. The game featured a combined 122 penalty minutes.
Wheeling Nailers Return From ECHL Strike With Bad Loss Followed By A Pair Of Wins
The Wheeling Nailers resumed play after a brief ECHL player strike and lost 7-2 to the Worcester Railers on New Year’s Eve. Jack Works and Brent Johnson scored. Eric Parker, Owen Cole, Mathieu De St. Phalle, and Connor Lockhart all recorded assists. Maxim Pavlenko surrendered seven goals on 34 shots in the loss.
The Nailers got revenge the next night with a 3-2 win over Worcester. Logan Pietila scored twice, and Randy Hernandez scored the eventual game winner. Johnson, Craig Armstrong, De St. Phalle, Aidan Sutter, Bogdans Hodass, and Cole all recorded assists. Taylor Gauthier stopped 30 of 32 shots in the win.
Gauthier stopped 31 of 32 shots the next night in a 4-1 win for the Nailers over the Bloomington Bison. Pietila scored and recorded two assists. Works scored and added a helper. Armstrong and Sutter scored the other Wheeling goals. Johnson and Cole both recorded assists.