"Luke has put up the numbers in the 'Q' and he is team captain. He has solid character. We do think he needs to get stronger. We are excited to sign him as our first player."
Henman has played his last five seasons in the QMJHL, one of the world's best amateur leagues which has produced stars such as Pittsburgh's three-time Stanley Cup-winning captain, Sidney Crosby; Boston's Cup champ captain Patrice Bergeron and two of the game's biggest scoring stars, Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, among dozens of other active players.
Growing up in Cow Bay outside Halifax, NS, Henman didn't have to look far for role models on the ice. Crosby grew up 10 minutes away in Cole Harbor. MacKinnon is another Halifax-born star who Henman followed closely seasons before the Avalanche star made his NHL debut.
Henman was six-foot with his weight in the 140s for his QMJHL rookie season as a 16-year-old. He started this season, his second as captain, at 172, gaining 10 pounds from the previous season.
"He's still a little bit light," said Francis. "But he thinks the game well and has the skating and hockey skills we like when scouting players."
In his first year as captain during the 2019-20 season, Henman set career highs in all offensive categories (25 goals, 49 assists, 74 points in 63 games) while leading his team to first place in the West Division. The QMJHL's 2020 postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but Henman appears to be making up for it in this year's playoffs.
After Tuesday's 6-4 loss, Henman has six goals and two assists in seven games this postseason. Victoriaville leads Henman's Blainville-Boisbriand two games to one in the playoff series.