VOORHEES, N.J. — During the 2013-14 season, the Val-d’Or Foreurs had an excess of scorers.
Of the top-10 scorers in the QMJHL that year, three of them — Anthony Mantha, Louick Marcotte and Guillaume Gelinas — played for the club and registered more than 90 points each, leading Val-d’Or to the league championship.
Last season, things were a bit different, as the Foreurs lost their entire first line and leading scorers.
Flyers' 2014 second-round pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel was one of the players asked to step into a top-line role and become a leader on offense. The 19-year-old proceeded to put up 38 goals and 80 points in 61 games.
“Every game I had to show up more than I showed up last year,” the right-winger said Tuesday at Flyers development camp. “This year was harder because we didn’t have depth, but we had the pressure to score goals because we were the top line.”
He started off the season well, but an injury following a knee-on-knee collision sidelined him for some time in November.
Following his return, however, he flipped a switch. Aube-Kubel scored more than half his goals from Dec. 6 until the end of the season on March 21, which placed him in the top five in the QMJHL in scoring during that time.
He carried his impressive play into the playoffs, scoring four goals and 10 points in the first six games, before helping his team lead a 3-0 comeback against Baie-Comeau in the second round. Eventually the Foreurs would fall to fellow Flyers prospect Sam Morin and Rimouski in the semifinals, but the experience was one that benefited Aube-Kubel.
“Last year helped me a lot. I was able to show [GM Ron Hextall] what I was able to do,” he said. “I think we showed a lot of character. I learned a lot from it.”
In three seasons with Val-d’Or, Aube-Kubel has 160 points (70 goals and 90 assists) in 190 games, but 133 of those points have come in his last two years. He also has 29 points in 51 playoff games.
Prior to his offensive outburst, the Slave Lake, Alberta native was projected to be a middle-six forward that provided depth scoring with two-way ability. Now, he could turn into a top-line winger.
On Tuesday, Aube-Kubel started his second development camp in Voorhees, New Jersey, hoping to continue his upward trend. Even with 2015 first-round pick Travis Konecny now in the mix, Aube-Kubel is still confident he can be the Flyers’ best RW prospect.
“Last year, I was really impressed by everything. I was thinking I was the smallest of the new [players],” he said. “Now this year, I think I’m more capable of impressing everybody. I’m more confident about my game and about my speed.
“I’m just going to try and stay in shape. I know I worked a lot before this summer, and I know I have a lot of work to do before the pro camp. … I feel like last year I was trying to make my mark on the camp and trying to impress the most people I can.”
The 5-foot-11, 196-pound right wing has been called a high-energy type of player and one that could be versatile with where he fits into a lineup. He can create chances by driving the net, but he also has the skill to back check and break them up.
Aube-Kubel isn’t quite ready for the NHL just yet, but being back at the SkateZone working with Flyers coaches will only give him a chance to progress. He has one year left in junior and should be with the Phantoms by the beginning of the 2016-17 season.
If all goes well, we should be seeing him in orange and black soon enough.