Lowdown

The Dynamiques came agonizingly close to a breakthrough last season, but they fell two games short of the playoffs behind Momtmorency.

Most of their top scorers are gone but they have reloaded with three very talented recruits and a dramatic new addition from Edouard-Montpetit.

The Dynamiques remain in the same frustrating position as last year -- better than the bottom four, but a step behind the Big Four of Momo, Champlain, Vanier and Dawson.

Guards

The loss of Matthew Morgan-Fong, one of the top guards in the province, has left the Dynamiques with a thin backcourt.

Olivier Meilleur has also moved on, so that's two double-figure scorers who second-year man Dominic Savard has to replace.

Savard, a 6-0 pure shooter, was a strong Rookie-of-the-Year candidate and displaying advanced perimeter scoring skills to go with solid penetration ability.

But he's one of only two returning guards on the entire roster, along with rarely-used Élysée Guerrier.

Incoming CPEQ starter Xavier Baribeau will join Savard in the backcourt, where his toughness and ability to hit the three-pointer make him dangerous. The rest of the guards are role players at best.

Forwards

Also a heavily-depleted unit, but incoming players show lots of promise. The key losses are Raphael Theberge, who graduated, and Alexandre Prophete, who left for disciplinary reasons.

Coach: Jacques Paiement Jr., 5th year.

2003-2004: 8-8. Fifth place. Missed playoffs.

Departures 
- Matthew Morgan-Fong, 6-0 guard (15.5 pts, 5.6 asts, 2.8 rbs, 2.1 stls, 58.3 3pt% - left school). 
- Raphael Theberge, 6-4 forward (9.7 pts, 7.6 rbs, 2.0 asts - retired from basketball). 
- Olivier Meilleur, 5-10 guard (11.2 pts, 3.0 asts, 1.6 stls, 38.8 3pt%). 
- Alexandre Prophète, 6-5 centre (10.1 pts, 4.0 rbs - left school/academics). 
- Jerome Lachance, 6-6 centre, (3.6 pts, 2.9 rbs). 
- Pierre-Olivier Lamontagne, 6-0 forward (2.4 pts). 
- Olivier Hudon, 6-1 guard (Transfer to CEGEP Limoliou). 
- Marc-André D'Amours, 6-7 forward (5.0 pts, 3.1 rbs - transfer to AA team).

Key Veterans 
- Dominic Savard, 6-1 guard, 2nd year (9.4 pts, 40.5 3pt%). 
- Francois-Olivier Hebert, 6-5 forward, 2nd year (7.7 pts). 
- Marc-Andre Cote, 6-7 forward (14.0 pts, 7.9 rbs, 2.5 stls, 1.1 asts - transfer from Edouard-Montpetit/ineligible until January).

Other veterans 
- Maxime Cloutier, 6-7 forward, 2nd year (2.4 rbs, 0.8 blks). 
- Charles Gagnon, 6-4 forward, 3rd year. 
- Fedja Lisica, 6-8 forward, 2nd year. 
- Élysée Guerrier, 5-11 guard, 2nd year. 
- Martin Verreault, 6-4 forward, 2nd year. 

Recruits 
- Jerome Turcotte-Routhier, 6-4 forward, CPEQ. 
Hard-working forward who provides a bit of everything. 
- Xavier Baribeau, 5-10 guard, CPEQ 
Heady, smart point guard who can hit the trey. 
- Jean-Philippe Bamba, 6-5 forward, CPEQ. 
Super athlete with improving perimeter game. 
- Gabriel Fabien-Ouellet, 6-2 guard, Ecole Secondaire de Rochebelle (Quebec) (19.9 pts, 6.9 rbs, 37.8 3pt%). 
Juvenile AAA All-Star. Expected to be solid role player. 
- Francis Masicotte, 5-11 point guard, Timmins High School (ON). 
Played in Amos before moving to Ontario. 
- Frank Ahyi-Sena, 6-2 guard, France.

Very athletic but raw. 

But a 6-7 shooter with rebounding skills by the name of Marc-André Coté could erase any disappointment. Coté transferred to Quebec City from Edouard-Montpetit, where he was one of the best forwards in the league in the first half of last season. Too bad he's not eligible until January. 

Hard-working post player F.O. Hebert will be the main man inside. 

Three 17-year-olds are primed for big things, as well. Wing shooter Jerome Turcotte-Routhier of CPEQ was one of Canada's top high-school players, making the Nike-All-Canada camp All-Star team. Maxime Cloutier was the best player on the Quebec team at the Juvenile Nationals this summer, and 6-5 athlete J.P. Bamba has a D-I body.

Coach Jacques Paiement, Jr. says:

"With the new (six-team) playoff format, that helps us. I wasn't in favour of it at first because as a competitor you don't want to enter by the back door. So entering by the front door (Top-4) is our goal."