Lewiston Maineiacs’ forward Alexandre Picard could be a first-round pick in June’s NHL draft.
LEWISTON – Sometimes he’s arrogant. Sometimes he’s shy. He’s always flashy.
Oh, and now, he has a mohawk.
It’s pretty safe to say that Maineiacs’ forward Alexandre Picard loves to be in the spotlight, but he is also quick to point out that his past success doesn’t mean the future is bright.
“I think I had a good season,” Picard said, “but this is the playoffs now, and none of that matters anymore.”
Picard has enjoyed a breakthrough season and has become one of the premier forwards in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
In 2002-03 with the Sherbrooke Castors, Picard played in 66 games, mostly on the third line, and accrued 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points. This season he led the Maineiacs with 80 points, including 39 goals.
“Last year we had a lot of veterans,” Picard said. “With Jean-Francois Plourde and Alexandre Parenteau and all of those guys, I just stayed back and played on the third line and learned a lot.”
Over the summer, Picard went hard to the weights, and gained confidence in his ability to lead a team.
“Last year, in practice, we saw all of his moves and saw what he could do, but he didn’t necessarily do that in the games,” Maineiacs coach Mario Durocher said. “This year, right from training camp, he played well like this.”
But Picard admits that he is far from perfect. Touted as a potential first-round draft pick in this year’s NHL draft, Picard has heard from Durocher and from others that his defense is the part of his game that needs improvement.
“I know I still need work on the defense,” Picard said. “Mario knows that, too. I think I am better since the beginning of the season, but the playoffs it will be very important, and I know I have to be even better.”
Agreeing that he has improved, Durocher went a message by benching the speedy forward at least twice for not getting back to help out on defense.
“He can be a good example for the rest of players, and he has to be,” Durocher said. “If it is good or if it is bad, the players still look to him. If he is able to play well defensively, other forwards will follow that example.”
It was that deficiency in Picard’s game that led Durocher, the coach of Team Canada at this year’s World Junior Championships, to leave Picard at home for the team’s training camp.
“I was very honest with him about that,” Durocher said. “I told him he could skate with those guys no problem, but I was concerned about defense.”
With the prospect of a first-round selection, Picard is driven to get better. He has also developed an edge to him that, although it has cost the Maineiacs a few short-handed situations, has Durocher and others turning their heads.
“He is a solid power forward,” Durocher said. “He is a rare forward in this league that is not afraid to pay the price in front of the net when he needs to.”
“I just have to be careful, especially in the playoffs, not to retaliate,” Picard added. “It is hard not to retaliate, but I have to realize the commitment to the rest of the team, not to put them in a situation on the PK (penalty kill). Special teams can win or lose a playoff series.”
As for the future, Picard hasn’t even thought about draft day, choosing to focus on the upcoming playoffs.
“I don’t worry about that yet,” Picard said. “Each person on this team brings something to the team that makes them a leader, and that is the focus right now. We all know our roles, and we have to play in them.”
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