Although his Brandon Wheat Kings ultimately lost to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at the 2016 Memorial Cup on Saturday, New Jersey Devils prospect John Quenneville scored what has to be the highlight goal of the year…in all the world of hockey.
The goal had everything that a ‘Top Ten List’, highlight reel of the month, nominee for play of the year should have.
You had the play begin with a textbook, zone clearing, heads-up stretch pass from Wheat Kings defenseman Ivan Provorov that was so perfect the four Huskie players between Provorov and Quennville could only stand and watch.
(The Flyers have to be pretty happy to have picked Provorov in the 2015 NHL Draft.)
You had Quenneville catching the pass at speed entering the Huskies zone, and executing such a picture-perfect fake on Huskie goalie Chase Marchand that it looked like the netminder was imitating the statue of a goalie.
Then, the finish. Oh, the finish. An ultra-smooth, between the legs flip shot, roofed above the goalie’s shoulder before he could even move. The only thing he could do was look back in the net and marvel at the move.
You’ve gotta see it to believe it:
This kind of playmaking and scoring isn’t a fluke for Quenneville. He helped the Wheat Kings to win their first WHL title in 20 years by leading the league with 16 playoff goals this season.
Quenneville signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Devils last July.