Vlasic, Duclair, Matheson also honored by Lac St. Louis Lions
© Dave Stubbs/NHL.com
DOLLARD-DES-ORMEAUX, Quebec — Five alumni of the Quebec elite Midget AAA Lac St. Louis Lions, four currently under contract with NHL teams, the fifth an unrestricted free agent, gathered at center ice of the Dollard Civic Centre on Friday, old friends reunited.
In a pregame ceremony that followed an outdoor autograph signing for scores of fans, the jersey numbers of Mike Matheson, Anthony Duclair, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin were retired.
The five were celebrated in a Montreal-suburban arena packed with an estimated 1,850 fans for the Lions’ 2025-26 home opener.
These Lions legends starred for the team over a decade, from 2002-03, Vlasic’s first season, through 2011-12, Drouin’s second of two.
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Fans greet the evening’s honorees for a pregame autograph signing at Dollard Civic Centre. From left: Jonathan Drouin, Mike Matheson, Anthony Duclair, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Alex Killorn.
Drouin, Matheson and Duclair were teammates on the 2011-12 Lions squad that won the Jimmy Ferrari Cup, awarded to the Quebec Midget AAA champion.
Celebrating their 50th season this year, the Lions have been a veritable factory in Quebec hockey.
Since the team’s inception in 1976, 60 Lions alumni have played in the NHL, 98 members earning NHL Draft selection. Six have won the Stanley Cup, 188 have skated in the NCAA and 290 have been drafted into the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League; 126 have played in the American Hockey League, 315 in the pros (beyond the NHL), eight in the Olympics, 14 in the IIHF World Junior Championship and 11 alumni have won the Memorial Cup.
The five honored Friday, the first so celebrated by the organization, were recognized “for their remarkable hockey careers,” the Lions said, proud of the group’s embrace as unofficial ambassadors of the organization.
© Nicolas Gariepy/Lac St. Louis Lions
Five Lac St. Louis alumni gather with team officials and dignitaries for their jersey retirement ceremony. Players from left: Mike Matheson, Anthony Duclair, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin.
“It’s an exciting moment, one I wasn’t expecting,” said Killorn, a 35-year-old forward who won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021 and is under contract with the Anaheim Ducks through the 2026-27 season. “The Lions have meant a lot to me and the other guys in our development as players. They’re a big reason why we’ve had the careers we’ve had. It’s nice we’re all being honored and we’re very appreciative of the moment.
“Vlasic and I are a bit older than these other three, who played together here, but we all know each other because we played for the Lions and skate together in the summer. We had a nice lunch today and we sat there for three hours, telling old war stories.”
Vlasic was the only one of the five without a contract for 2025-26. The 38-year-old defenseman played 19 seasons (1,323 games) with the San Jose Sharks before they placed him on waivers June 26 with the purpose of buying out his contract. He had one season remaining on an eight-year deal.
On Friday, Vlasic said he was optimistic he’d find a new NHL home.
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Dollard Civic Centre banners are revealed for the five Lac St. Louis Lions alumni whose jerseys were retired on Sept. 5, 2025.
“There are some talks with a bunch of teams,” Vlasic said. “My agent is handling it right now, so we’ll see what comes of it. I’ve been skating and working out since the beginning of May, on the ice two or three times a week. I worked out this morning before coming over here.”
Vlasic has fond memories of his time with the Lions before graduating to the major-junior Quebec Remparts, who retired his No. 44 jersey in 2015.
“Guy Boucher was my (Lions) coach and he was pretty intimidating in a good way,” Vlasic said. “He gave me a lot of homework, which I found was very weird, but it did prepare me to prepare for (junior). The way he spoke to us, that’s what I remember most.
“The Lions were an important first step. It was the first time you had to arrive at a game two hours before (face-off), prepare on your own, take bus trips … it was out of your normal routine. In novice, peewee and bantam, your parents would drive you to the rink, stay with you, get you ready. Now you were on your own at 15. It helped to make the step up to junior and the NHL.
“Tonight was pretty cool, a cool honor. I had it done in Quebec and it’s just as special getting it done here.”
© Dave Stubbs/NHL.com; Nicolas Gariepy/Lac St. Louis Lions
Lac St. Louis Lions pucks to be autographed by the celebrated alumni, and Mike Matheson has a look at his jersey during the ceremony.
Both Drouin and Duclair, each a 30-year-old forward, will play for the New York Islanders and coach Patrick Roy this season. Drouin signed a two-year contract on July 1; Duclair is entering the second of a four-year deal.
“(Roy) is a coach, he’s not a player anymore,” Drouin said with a grin of his new coach. “But obviously he has that fire when he coaches. When you play against him, they’re a hard-working team. Just a couple talks I’ve had with him, I’m excited to join the team and get going.
“Tonight is super cool,” he said of his No. 27 being retired by the Lions. “It’s been a pretty long time, but we look back and it feels like it was just a couple of years ago. Just to see all the guys back together, it’s going to be cool to get our jerseys retired. My mom and dad are going to have memories of this place.”
© Richard Wolowicz; Jamie Sabau / Getty Images
Following graduation from the Lac St. Louis Lions: Jonathan Drouin with the 2012-13 Halifax Mooseheads, Mike Matheson in his 2012 NHL Draft photo with the Florida Panthers, and Anthony Duclair with the 2012-13 Quebec Remparts.
Duclair is eager to get back to work for the Islanders with Roy, from whom he expects “the same Pat I’ve known since junior. He’s got a lot of pride, he’s very intense, and that’s the way we love him. Every year is different, never the same players coming back, so it’s a fresh start for everybody.”
Duclair is delighted to be playing again with Drouin, whom he’s known since he was 9 or 10. Growing up in the landscape of the Lions, he cherishes memories of having come to the Dollard arena to watch Killorn and Louis Leblanc, who played 50 games for the Montreal Canadiens after they selected him in the first round (No. 18) at the 2009 NHL Draft.
“I was part of the Junior Lions at a young age,” Duclair said. “Playing for the Lions comes with a lot of pride, especially living in the West Island (of Montreal). I’m very honored to share this moment with these guys tonight.”
© Phillip MacCallum, Steve Babineau / Getty Images
Following graduation from the Lac St. Louis Lions: Marc-Edouard Vlasic with the 2004-05 Quebec Remparts, and Alex Killorn in 2011 with Harvard University.
Matheson, 31, is going into the final season of his contract with the Canadiens, a solid leadership presence on the blue line who came to that naturally by way of having captained the Ferrari Cup Lions.
There was plenty of Canadiens news Friday, the contract of de facto-retired franchise goalie Carey Price having just been traded to the Sharks, and Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Lane Hutson a hot topic in Montreal as he prepares for his second NHL season.
But Matheson wanted to keep the focus on the Lions, his jersey retired in front of his family whom he thanked for their forever support.
In the Dollard stands were his parents, Rod and Marg, brother Kenny, and Matheson’s wife, Emily, with the couple’s two young children, Hudson and Mila.
© Dave Stubbs/NHL.com
The main rink of the three-sheet Dollard Civic Centre, home of the Midget AAA Lac St. Louis Lions. The five retired number banners are covered on the wall behind the team’s bench.
“My brother made the Lions before I did,” he remembered. “I’d come watch the games and sitting there, I didn’t know if I could ever make this league. It shows how big of a deal it was for a West Islander to make the Lions. It’s really special to be coming back in this position, as a Canadien, given this huge honor.”
Returning to Dollard was a bit like coming home, Matheson admitted.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” he said. “The first few years I was in the NHL, I’d come skate here, but never in the main rink (there are three sheets under one roof). So, this feels good.
“The last month or so before the (NHL) season starts, you’re waiting around, wishing it could start. Not to say that training camp isn’t important, but by then everyone is champing at the bit to start the season.”
The five honorees shared their memories as their numbers were revealed on an arena wall high above the Lions bench. From their own bench, the visiting Seminaire St-Francois Blizzard respectfully watched the Lions’ pregame introductions and stick-tapped the ceremony that followed.
The Blizzard returned after an ice resurfacing to produce the only unfortunate note on the night; they skated away with a 6-1 victory, but it did not spoil the event for fans who came to celebrate five Lions legends.
Top photo: Lac St. Louis Lions alumni gather at the team bus on Sept. 5, 2025 before their jerseys were retired. From left: Anthony Duclair, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Killorn, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Mike Matheson.
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