Welcome to the final stretch of the offseason! School is back in session, the guys are back on campus and fall training camp is here for the Omaha Mavericks and college hockey teams around the country.
Mike Gabinet and the Omaha coaching staff have added 11 newcomers to the roster this summer and we’re going to do a quick preview piece on each of them so that you know a little bit about who they are and where they’re coming from before they hit the ice on October 2nd.
I didn’t really know what the best order to do these in was so we are going to go in order from when they were officially announced by the program.
Today we are taking a closer look at 6’4″ 200 pound winger Maël Lavigne from Neuville, Quebec!
Maël Lavigne will be coming to Omaha after spending the last five seasons playing in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He appeared in 378 regular and post-season games with four different organizations, Baie-Comeau Drakkar, Victoriaville Tigres, Rimouski Oceanic, and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Maël’s 315 regular season QMJHL games is good for 85th most all-time, meaning he will be bringing a ton of major junior experience onto this Mavericks roster.
Lavigne played 97 games over one and a half seasons with Baie-Comeau Drakkar before being traded to Victoriaville on January 4th, 2023. There, he played 127 games over two and a half seasons and was named captain of the Tigres prior to the 2024-2025 up until he was dealt to Rimouski Oceanic on December 14th, 2024 where he would play the final 31 games of the regular season and 23 playoff games, ultimately losing to Moncton in six games in the 2025 Gilles-Courteau Trophy Final. During the 2025 summer offseason Maël was traded once again, this time to his final Q destination the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada where he played 77 games across the regular and post-season, losing to Moncton for the second straight season in seven games in the QMJHL semifinals.
All in all, Lavigne racked up 97 goals and contributed 126 assists in his time in the Q, but his biggest contributions came from playing a complete 200-foot game. Elite Prospect’s 2023 NHL Draft Preview had this to say about the future Maverick, “Lavigne is aware. He maps out the ice well. He knows where his outlets are and uses them instantly when under pressure. He clearly cares about the defensive side of the game. He’s positioned well, cuts lanes with his stick, communicates with teammates, reloads, and switches at the right times.” Playing defense as a forward in a league where it is sometimes optional is a fairly big deal, and I would imagine Mike Gabinet and staff are thrilled that the 6’4” 200 pound left wing will be defending NCHC opponents and not against their Omaha forwards.
Prior to being drafted by Drakkar in the fourth round and 74th overall in the 2021 QMJHL, Lavigne spent time playing with Séminaire St-François Blizzard, Québec Cyclones Espoir, and Québec Typhon AAA programs, all located in or around Quebec City, right up the road from where he was born, in Neuville, Quebec.
Maël should have a bit of an easier transition in Omaha than other newcomers this year, and that’s because he’ll have two teammates joining him from Armada in forward Vincent Desjardins and goaltender William Lacelle.
Lavigne comes from hockey pedigree with his father, Eric, spending 17 seasons playing professionally around the world.
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