ECHL 2024-25 Season Previews: Trois-Rivieres Lions

The Trois-Rivieres Lions had a lot of business to tend to off the ice during the 2024 off-season after almost folding at the end of last season before Spire Sports came in and saved the franchise. One of the main things TR wanted to get done this off-season was to extend their affiliation with the Montreal Canadiens, and they did that by signing a three-year extension. They would also promote Alex Cousineau to executive VP of Hockey Operations as well as keeping his title of Assistant General Manager.

On the ice, the Lions finished the 2023-24 season with a 31-30-5-3 record, which would get them into the playoffs on winning %. The Lions would end up losing to the Norfolk Admirals in six games in the opening round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Losses

The Lions were hit hard during the off-season, losing many of their top players who decided to take the overseas route. Some of the bigger names included Miguel Tourigny, Justin Ducharme, and Nolan Yarmenko. Tourigny led all defensemen in points, with nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points in 61 games, while Yarmenko had 36 points in 38 games with the Lions.

Cedric Montminy, the team’s captain for the past three seasons, announced his retirement after spending six seasons in the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush and Trois-Rivieres Lions, putting up 103 goals and 108 assists for 211 points in 347 games.

Additions

During the 2024 off-season, the Lions didn’t make a ton of big moves, but one move that caught people’s attention was the acquisition of Morgan Adams-Moisan from the Fort Wayne Komets. The La Tuque, Quebec native fills a lot of needs for the Lions as he’s a big body at 6’2,216lbs and adds experience to the Lions lineup with 161 games of ECHL experience over the course of five years. The 27-year-old forward has 44 goals and 29 assists for 73 points and won a Kelly Cup with the Fort Wayne Komets in 2021.

One of the bigger re-signings for Trois-Rivieres has to be Jakov Novak. The 25-year-old would put up 30 goals and 26 assists for 56 points in 66 games in his first full season in the league. I would expect another big year out of Novak.

Goaltending

There’s no doubt that goaltending played a big part for the Lions down the stretch last season, and they will bring back Zachary Emond, who led the team into the Kelly Cup Playoffs last season. The 24-year-old goaltender played in 17 games last season for the Lions, putting up a 9-7-1 record along with a 2.81 GAA, .907SV%, and three shutouts, two of which came in the final weekend of the season vs Worcester Railers. I would expect him to be the third goaltender for the Lions.

Trois-Rivieres will also have Luke Cavallin and Hunter Jones, which I would expect to be their opening night tandem. Cavallin joins the Lions after spending the past the majority of the past two seasons with the Newfoundland playing in 59 while putting up a 39-15-4 record with a 2.72 GAA, .917SV%, and four shutouts. Jones, a former second-round pick of the Minnesota Wild, joins the Lions after spending his first four pro seasons in the Wild system, where he put up a 21-37-15 record with a 3.47 GAA, .894SV% and one shutout at the ECHL level and an 11-16-3  record with a 3.56 GAA, .887SV% and two shutouts at the AHL level.

Expectations

For the Lions, I would expect them to be a team that could surprise a lot of people, and their success will lay heavily on their goaltenders. If any team in the league deserves to have a feel-good story this season, it’s the Lions after everything they went through at the end of the season. The Lions will open up the season at home on Friday, October 18th vs Reading Royals.