LEWISTON – The murmurs started quickly.

An otherwise mundane crowd, typical of a Sunday afternoon crowd at the Colisee before Christmas, was astir – wild even – as Alex Bourret tap danced down the ice, through three Baie-Comeau defenders, and slid the puck five-hole for the Lewiston Maineiacs’ only goal of the night.

“That’s the kind of goal that gets you drafted, right there,” said one onlooker. “What a goal.”

That’s exactly what Bourret, now 18, hopes will happen at the end of this season.

“I want to be drafted,” Bourret said after a recent practice. “I know I need to work hard all year and be better than last year, better than a lot of other people.”

Last year, Bourret had what many might call a breakout year. In 65 games as a 17-year-old last season, he had 22 goals and 41 assists for 63 points compared to just 13 goals and 23 points in his rookie season.

This year, Bourret is again on pace to at least double his previous point total. Through Friday night’s game against Shawinigan, his 23rd of the season, Bourret had 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points. At his current pace, Bourret would score 129 points.

“He is dominant on the ice,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “He is playing the best hockey of his career right now. He is maturing, and we are all getting to see that happen.”

Bourret had a lot to do with helping that maturation process along.

“He worked hard all summer,” said Jodoin. “He took care of himself off the ice, and on the ice everybody is seeing what that can do for you. He is watching what he eats, the way he lives. In the last month or so he has lost 15 more pounds, and it shows on the ice.”

His linemates are noticing in a big way, too.

“At the beginning, when (Alexandre) Picard wasn’t scoring right away, and before I started to get points, he was carrying the line,” said Maineiacs forward Mathieu Aubin. “Now that we are all starting to score, and we are on the same page, we are having a lot of success. He is an incredible player.”

That line, with Bourret, Aubin and Picard, has notched 103 points this season.

One detriment to Bourret’s play so far this season has been ill-timed penalties and, twice already this season, suspensions.

“I know I need to play smart,” said Bourret. “Sometimes, though, I have to play the role of power forward on my line, with Picard and Aubin. Sometimes I have to fight, to protect them. The biggest thing for me, though, is to not get injured.”

In the 10 games leading up to Friday’s tilt against Shawinigan, Bourret had 17 points and took just six penalties (two of those fights).

“He is always looking around,” said Jodoin. “He knows when he has to do things on the ice. It’s like he skates around with two sets of eyes, one in front and one looking behind him. he skates with his head up. Too many players don’t do that, but Bourret, he is always with his head up.”

But Bourret is far from focused solely on his personal goals. In fact, he believes that the Maineiacs are, in fact, deep playoff material.

“We still have to play hard, and as a team,” said Bourret. “We have the potential to make it to the finals, if we play smart.”

And as for the play that left people awestruck?

“That was the best play we had that night,” said Jodoin. “There are some talented players in this league, and on that play he showed that he is one of the better players. That was the highlight of the night, and he has been the highlight of a lot of nights.”

The team is hoping for a season-long highlight reel, continuing this December. After a solid performance for Team QMJHL against the Russians this week, Bourret is looking at a potential invite to the final selection camp for the Canadian National Junior Team, which will play in the World Junior Championships in North Dakota at the end of December.

After that, it’s back to his job making jaws drop at the Colisee.