Status quo.

Whoa! Slightly disconcerting alum-news to start the post:

Canadian Derick Brassard today, Tuesday, left Salzburg for Canada. His departure has baffled EC Red Bull Salzburg, given that the 25-year-old forward personally confirmed his intention to stay with the Red Bulls only last Wednesday and had also been notified of the deadline for finalising the squad for the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (last Saturday). In the knowledge that his departure from the club after just one game – last Sunday against Linz – has necessitated the first of three possible exchanges, Derick Brassard has turned his back on the club today, despite contractual obligations and reassurances to the contrary. After the player, who is contracted to the Columbus Blue Jackets, cleared his things from the dressing room on Monday morning without warning, the Red Bulls tried in vain to contact him by telephone. The powers that be at the Salzburg club then contacted Derick Brassard personally to let him know that they were unwilling to let the Canadian go. He was told not to do anything hasty that he might later regret, and he was reminded in no uncertain terms of the contractual situation. Unfortunately, Derick Brassard still flew out of Salzburg this morning. The Red Bulls will be notifying the IIHF of the player's breach of contract and will be seeking legal advice. (redbull.com)

What if he just wanted to go home for Christmas?

Anyway. Flipping that alum-bit for a happier one:

Howes bagged two goals in a 4-3 shootout win at Arizona. Both came on the power play. He leads the circuit in goals with 15-10-25 totals in just 16 [now 17] games, and he also leads with eight power-play goals. Tonight's outburst was his fourth multi-goal game and his eighth multi-point night this season. Also, check this out about the guy who was the Kelly Cup MVP for the Aces in 2011 -- his shooting percentage is a ridiculous 25.9 percent. That's 15 goals on just 58 shots. (adn.com)

In regular news, since I've been asleep on the button lately...

For the gazillionth time: "[Dominic Ricard] is even juggling with the idea of the status quo [for the QMJHL trade period]."

Hahahaha. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Ha. Haaaaa.

I went into calculation mode last week and came up with the real deal: On average, he has made seven trades per trade period (Christmastime trade period, that is). The one with the least amount of trades (incidentally, also a "status quo" year) was four, and that was the year Drummondville popped up to win the Jake Allen sweepstakes. (The year with the most trades was, unsurprisingly, the revolving door known as 2007-2008. This is just in the Ricard regime, by the way.)

And for the gazillionth time...: Status quo is immediately revoked. Au revoir, Bryce Milson. The 19 year old was traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in return for a third round pick in 2013. He who started the year as team fitness champion with an excellent preseason has not been able to continue on that pace in the same way (it has to be said he wasn't exactly used consistently, either).

Meanwhile, Duhamel left for Team Canada: And Louis Robitaille picked up his first win as head coach against the Quebec Remparts in a shootout. How about that? Boom.

GOALS	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
QUEBEC	0	0	2	0	0	2
DRUMMONDVILLE	1	0	1	0	1	3

Heroes: Archambault with two goals and Brouillard the elder with the shootout winner.

...And a different kind of status quo remains: With wins against good teams there are usually blowout losses to expansion teams immediately afterwards.

GOALS	1	2	3	Total
SHERBROOKE	2	3	1	6
DRUMMONDVILLE	1	0	2	3

Naturally, NATURALLY, Comtois had two of those goals and finished with a game-high +4.

Scorers for Drummondville: Malouin, Caouette, and Brouillard the elder.

But wait! The return of Domenic Graham:

GOALS	1	2	3	Total
DRUMMONDVILLE	0	1	2	3
BAIE-COMEAU	0	1	1	2

...was apparently a good one. Thirty-five saves kind of good.

Heroes: Brouillard the elder again, Caouette again, and Gabriel Vermette.
Silent heroes: The younger Brouillard has a 5-game point streak happening right now.

Tonight is yet another meeting with Gatineau, who have won their last game against Val-d'Or by the score of 3-1.

#voltstrainingcamp

News items of note (thank you, l'Express) that have happened before or as of the start of training camp:

• Nikolas Brouillard was invited to but cut from U-18 camp (Ivan Hlinka). It should be noted he had quite a bit of opposition on the blueline. In the one intersquad game witnessed by yours truly, I thought he performed rather well.
• Four free agents, notably Ontario-born 17 year old defenseman Dexter Weber (!), have been added to the list of 43 camp attendees. Weber, who has drawn comparisons to former Voltigeur Andrew Randazzo, joins Andrew McCann from the Pickering Panthers, a centre aged 19 who collected 30 points last season, 17 year old goaltender Joe Fleschler, a 6'4" New Jersey minor hockey product, and Olivier Roquebrune, an 18 year old right winger recently let go by the Saguenéens.
• One spot in the Volts' offensive crew has been freed as Lucas Venuto has been released from camp after failing his physical. Venuto recorded two goals and five assists in 44 games last season.
  "We had a very clear agreement with Venuto : his physical condition must be excellent upon his arrival to camp. Last year, he encountered difficulties respecting our standards in this matter. We outlined some clear objectives for him to attain during this summer, but as he was far from reaching them, we preferred to let him go." - Dominic Ricard. [1]
• On the opposite side of the fitness spectrum, 19 year old forward Bryce Milson won the title of "fitness champion" for passing his tests with flying colours.



Frédéric St-Denis getting his game face on. Watch out, he has had extensive Guy Boucher-face training. (Photo: obviously from Journal L'Express. View more pictures from the first primetime intersquad game by clicking over here)

• If you used to play for Drummondville and haven't received an invite to participate in this 31st edition of training camp somehow, colour me shocked. The opening of training camp saw former captain Marc-Olivier Vachon, now playing for the McGill Redmen, and Canadiens' prospect Gabriel Dumont take part, and the first batch of intersquad games featured another former wearer of the "C", André Bouvet-Morrissette, and Frédéric St-Denis behind the benches (St-Denis' Reds beat Stilts' Black team 8-2). Today, Guy Boucher is supposedly in town.
• Morning intersquad games are lined up to be three-on-three by turning the ice surface 90 degrees. Regular, properly-facing five-on-five games are slated for primetime. First cuts will take place tomorrow, and the first real pre-season matchup gets underway on Friday against the shiny brand new Sherbrooke Phoenix at 7:30 p.m. at the Centre Marcel Dionne.
• Don't expect a captain nomination anytime soon, or maybe even this season. According to Ricard, there's more of a dynamic group team leadership thing going on right now. (IMO, hopefully it stays that way. After three captains last year it became a little bit of a kerfuffle by the end.)

Back with more soon! (Sooner than three months from now, hopefully.)