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After leading his Gatineau Olympiques to a 4-1 series victory in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championships, highly touted Flyers’ prospect Claude Giroux received the Guy Lafleur Trophy for Most Valuable Player in the playoffs with 17 goals and 34 assists in 19 games. The 5-foot-11 Giroux also broke a Gatineau record for most points in the playoffs (51 pts), with 24 more than the previous record holder, Maxime Talbot (27).
Other notable winners of the QMJHL MVP are Sidney Crosby (04-05), Brad Richards (99-00), JP Dumont (97-98), Luc Robitaille (85-86), Mario Lemieux (83-84) and Pat Lafontaine (82-83).
Finishing up his career in the “Q”, Giroux will take the next step to playing hockey professionally in the 2008-09 season, when he will either play for the Philadelphia Phantoms, or the Flyers.
Some say that the 20-year old will not be NHL “ready” next season despite his gaudy numbers. The pessimists claim that excessive points in the QMJHL are like good grades in Community College, grossly abundant and do not translate well in the real world. But what the doubters may be missing is how grossly abundant Giroux’s numbers actually are…
Giroux’s graduating year in the Q:
2007-08: 19GP – 17G – 34A – 51P +33
Sidney Crosby:
2004-05: 13GP – 14G – 17A – 31P +11
Mario Lemieux:
1983-84: 14GP – 29G – 23A – 52P
Brad Richards:
1999-00: 12GP – 13G – 24A – 37P
Phila.Bright 