Junior Majeur 2017

Five years after winning the Tournoi Pee-Wee de Québec, Janeau Trudel wears the Team Canada banner at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, and helps them reach the final where they fall to the Russian National Team led by Yuri Karpov. Trudel then returns home to Chicoutimi to pick up his season with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, and he is celebrated at a local bar where he reconnects with Julie Morneau and Joey Boulet, his teammate and closest ally on and off the ice.

After a party-filled night, Janeau takes the wheel of Joey’s pickup truck. While glancing at his cell phone, he loses control, and when two police officers spot him, he switches seats with Joey (who had fallen asleep), creating the impression that Joey was the one driving drunk. The pair is brought back to their pension house, but they face no immediate consequences.

Back on the ice, the Saguenéens struggle, and the club owner fires their head coach, replacing him with Stéphane Côté, the former Pee-Wee coach of Janeau and Joey. Janeau slides to second in the running for the next professional draft, trailing behind Karpov.

Meanwhile, Louis Drouin — one of Chicoutimi’s most influential journalists — hires Julie for an internship, and Drouin learns about the arrest story. This prompts Joey to admit that he was the one at the wheel, though he didn’t realize it was Janeau behind the incident. The Saguenéens respond by trading Joey to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies the next day. Ahead of the departure, the team owner cautions Joey to distance himself from his alcoholic father, who acts as his agent.

Luke Boulet moves into a Rouyn house with his son, and they agree to abandon alcohol. Joey is also approached by Nathalie Leblanc, the league’s director of player services, about his drinking problem. Feeling guilty that Joey’s trade was tied to his own behavior, Janeau begins to develop real feelings for Julie, and the two start a romantic relationship. Janeau is named captain, and the pair rides a successful winning streak. But Julie eventually learns from a school janitor that Janeau was the driver that night and confronts him, ending their relationship.

Julie writes an article that reveals the truth, but she decides to call Joey to share it directly, leaving him devastated. Janeau resolves to tell the truth in person and drives to Drummondville, but arrives too late. He records a video explaining what happened that night and posts it, concluding the season with 39 points in 12 games and boosting his draft stock.

In the first round of the QMJHL playoffs, the Huskies and Saguenéens clash in a tense series sparked by the revelations. A knee-to-knee hit by Joey sidelights Janeau for the rest of the playoffs, and Joey is suspended from the postseason. He breaks the news to his drunken father, who shows little remorse, arguing that Janeau had it coming. Frustrated and angry, Joey packs his bags and leaves his father’s house.

Months later, at the Draft, Karpov goes first to Buffalo, leaving Janeau disappointed until Montreal makes a move to grab the second overall pick and selects him. Joey lands in Philadelphia in the seventh round. Joey’s father makes it to the draft, and Janeau’s family throws him a surprise party to celebrate the milestone. As Janeau contemplates his next steps, he attempts to reconnect with Julie, who plans to study in France. He later goes to the local arena and finds Joey skating nearby; the two of them share a quiet moment, passing the puck to one another as a sign of reconciliation and renewed friendship.