Quebec impresses at Alberta Cup

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

Matthew Quebec was not distracted by scouts from the Western Hockey League’s 22 clubs peering over every shift at the Alberta Cup last weekend. He just played his game.
As the only former Wheatland Athletic Association player or local talent to be represented by Team South at the annual tournament that ran April 25-29 in Spruce Grove, Quebec was an anchor on the blue line, leading his team to a 3-1-1 finish.
“The tourney went pretty good,” said Quebec, a Langdon product. “I’ve competed against most of the top kids in the province this season, so nothing was surprising in that regard.”
Some of that high-end talent was on display in the opener, when Team South opened the tourney with a 6-3 loss to Calgary South, a loss that came back to bite them in the end.
Jayden Grubbe is figured to be a high first-round selection and netted a pair of goals in the first game while Quebec was catching up to the speed of the tourney.
“The puck got moved a lot quicker and I had to make decisions faster,” said Quebec. “I wasn’t expecting that much of a difference from my regular season, but once I made an adjustment, I was fine.”
Quebec and Team South bounced back with a 5-2 thumping of Team Northeast April 27 at Grant Fuhr Arena.
“Matthew turned in a solid performance all weekend, he was our top defenceman and a good leader in the dressing room,” said South Head Coach Marian Gmitter. “His first pass was always on the tape and he was the most physical guy on the ice. Whenever the team needed a boost, he went out and made a big hit to get the boys going and get us back in the game.”
Later that evening, the South was matched up against Edmonton Blue in a game it needed to win to advance.
But another potential lottery pick in Dylan Guenther and his Edmonton Blue squad had different ideas and spoiled South’s chance to repeat by playing to a 5-5 draw.
Realizing they were eliminated from title contention, the South didn’t mail it in the rest of the way; they got stronger and finished the tourney on their terms.
The South doubled up Team Northwest 4-2 April 28 at Stu Barnes Arena, where Quebec picked up his only assist of the tourney, when he set up Mason Mowat in the second period.
Wrapping the weekend up in style, the South crushed Calgary North 9-3 April 29 to capture the C final title.
“I don’t keep track of my points, they don’t really matter to me. All that matters is the team success. If we win, then that’s fine with me,” said Quebec, who registered two goals and nine points in 23 games with the Okotoks Oilers bantam triple-A club this season.
The combination of team success and a strong individual performance bodes well for Quebec, who positioned himself to hear his name called May 3 during the annual WHL Bantam Draft in Red Deer.
Last year, Siksika Nation product Anson McMaster and another former bantam Warrior Kyle Crnkovic used the Alberta Cup as one final push that translated into being selected high in the draft.
Quebec is hoping he has the same type of luck.
“I’m just like any other kid. I’m just waiting to see if I get drafted. If I do, that will be super cool,” said Quebec. “It doesn’t matter which team takes me, it would just be cool to get selected.”
His South coach thinks it’s a no brainer.
“In my opinion, I think he should get drafted. He was one of the best players on the ice this weekend,” said Gmitter. “He has the size, he can skate, he makes the best first pass out of anyone and he can really shoot the puck. But it will all depend on what different teams are looking for.”