W is a favourite letter in the alphabet.

So the Voltigeurs have kicked off opening weekend with two wins, first on Friday with a 4-3 victory against the Memorial Cup-winning Cataractes and then on Sunday as they beat the newest team in the league, the Sherbrooke Phoenix, 2-1.

Things that are cool in light of these wins:

• Forever annoying #theshawi when they actually have things to celebrate by beating them.
• Olivier Archambault keeps passing to people and some of these plays turn into goals. Including one of his own.
• Newcomer Lukas Balmelli's first goal in the league proved to be the game-winner against Sherbrooke.
• Dexter Weber got his first point in the league against #theshawi.
• Domenic Graham got a night off AND Louis-Philip Guindon fared rather impressively in his place in what was his first taste of real QMJHL action yesterday afternoon. Fellow rookie Daniel Audette was unable to score his first goal because of him.

Things we like a little less:

• One-goal games. But unlike last year, so far the Volts seem to be on the right side of them.
• Nikolas Brouillard losing teeth and being unable to finish said Sherbrooke game.
• The power play is 0-for-12. Guy Boucher is somewhere launching baseballs at people's heads with a hockey stick because of this.

Up next: Rouyn Noranda (home opener!). These guys have split their weekend with a 5-3 loss against the Armada and a 2-1 win against Victoriaville. Jean Sébastien Dea and Sven Andrighetto have combined for nine points in those two games.

Guy Boucher is intense.

It would appear that a certain former Voltigeurs' coach's passage did not go unnoticed yesterday.

However, Bryce Milson, in addition to being fitness champion, also wins the hashtag challenge:

Whatever the speech was (or its actual length, given the conflicting reports of the players above), it certainly amounted to something later on the ice, as team Black sought and claimed revenge on the Reds for their defeat the night before with a 7-5 win (categorized as "intense," much like that day's guest) in last night's intersquad game.

Goal scorers for the B's: Jérémie Malouin, Charles-David Beaudoin, Raman Hrabarenka, Jérôme Verrier, Bryce Milson, Matthew Boudens and Toliver Bergeron. The Reds got goals from Alexandre Grenier, Jean-Benoît Beaudry, Lucas Balmelli, Alex Baskakov and Francis Lambert-Lemay.

Cuts were just announced on the Volts' website:

• Alexandre Veronneau
• Alexandre Bilodeau (what do you mean they cut a gold medalist?!)
• Xavier Labonté
• Gabriel Labbé
• Jonathan Rizzo
• Joe Fleschler
• Sacha Harnois
• Kevin Bernillon
• Gabriel Dubois
• Olivier Roquebrune
• Dylan Montcalm
• Andrew McCann
• Toliver Bergeron

The last of the four invitees left is Dexter Weber (!). Meanwhile, Bergeron, acquired from the Armada, was considered to be one of the potential newbies to crack the lineup, but alas, it was not to be this season.  Veronneau, of course, was Graham's backup for some time last year. Louis-Philippe Guindon, Kevin Darveau, and Gabriel Forcier are the remaining three contenders for this position.

#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.)