February 17th, 2012 - When Adam Chapman joined the Gatineau Olympiques in last October, few fans really knew him. Then gradually, his performances on the ice of the Robert-Guertin Center started to draw the attention. A few months later, he’s now become one of the pillars of this young team.

This nice ascension doesn’t have anything of surprising. It doesn’t have anything of surprising since the number 23 of the Olympiques is a player of exception. The type of player that you adore when he evolves for your team, but which you hate royally when you must face him. Warriors like Adam Chapman; there isn’t one at every corners of the street.

“I’m a player who doesn’t let go of his opponent for one second, he affirmed to start the interview. I adore positioning myself in front of the net, question of getting a chance to seize a return or to harm the work of the goalkeeper. Being positioned there, that enables me to distract my rivals and to be threat offensively. I’m also able to be hateful on the ice. I take malicious pleasure of annoying the other players. More they get mad, more likely they will be punished”.

For example, the attacker of 6 ' 01 and 199 pounds never misses an occasion to discuss with his rivals  every time there’s a whistle or when there’s some scrimmage between the two teams. And no, you will have guessed that it’s not always to invite them to take a drink after the game. “I find it really cool to be hated as much, he indicated. I have a very good temper and I’m never annoyed when I receive a visit or that a player seeks for vengeance. It’s pleasant to see them explode of anger, whereas me, I only have to smile back at them. They become even more insane. It takes them out of their game plan”.

If he’s certainly part of the “black list” of all the coaches of the QMJHL, the head coach of the Olympiques, Benoit Groulx, can count himself lucky to have him under his wing. Since he disputed his first game with the Olympiques - on November 2^nd -, the young man native of Barrie, in Ontario, he doesn’t cease to win the heart of the fans. “I like to fight, he recalled. It’s a good way of gaining some momentum in a game and it shows the opponent that it won’t be easy to get away with the game. I fought a lot until now, its part of my role. It’s my way of contributing to the successes of the team. I’m happy that the players and the fans appreciate my job”.

In all situation

In addition to making his opponents lose their temper, Adam Chapman can also produce on a regular basis and help his teammates win some games. At the time of composing these lines, he had accumulated nothing less than 24 points (11 goals and 13 assists) in 37 games. “I’m having a good season, he recognized.

Benoit Groulx offered me some good opportunities until now and that allows me to benefit from it. You know, you can never be perfectly at ease with your performance on the ice because you can always improve certain points. I know on what I must work on until the end of the season and during the summer. I must improve certain weaknesses”.

"What doesn’t harm me, it’s the fact that I have ice time on the power plays, he added. » I like to position myself in front of the opponents net, since it’s one of my strength. I think that I’ve accomplished some good work on the power play. "I'm always trying to obscure the view of the opposing goalkeeper and I don’t let myself be distracted by all the slashing and the cross-checking that I receive."

Without being wrong, it’s now possible to assert that Chapman feels like at home in Gatineau. If some players have struggled to adapt to their new environment, we can say that it was the opposite for the friendly hockey player. "I am so blessed to have had the chance to join a team so glorious, he was quick to confirm. It's really great to be coached by Benoit (Groulx), one of the best coaches in the Canadian Hockey League. He helped me a lot. When you give your 99% on the ice, he knows it. Instantly, he pushes you to be even better. I love life here. This is a beautiful place and our fans are like no other. They proudly support their team and they are very noisy. "

At the dawn of the playoffs, the left winger knows extremely well that the Olympiques will not repeat their exploits achieved during the last playoffs in 2011. On the other hand, he expects that his team will be able to play the troublemakers. “I would like for us to cause some surprises, he wished. In hockey, any team can win. We just have to follow our game plan and play as a team. I know how the Olympiques excel in the playoffs and I am very excited with the idea to take part of it”.

Simon Bédard, Gatineau Olympiques