Quebec Major Junior Hockey League < hr > Canadian Major Junior Outline < hr > < br > The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League ( French : " la Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec " , abbreviated " QMJHL " in English , " LHJMQ " in French ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League . Due to its cumbersome name , the league is often referred to as " The Q . " Introduction . The QMJHL is the smallest of the three Canadian junior leagues in numbers of teams . Its teams are based in the Canadian provinces of Quebec , Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island . The has also had former members based in the provinces of Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador as well as in the American states of Maine and New York . The commissioner of the QMJHL is Gilles Courteau . The President ' s Cup is the championship trophy of the league . The QMJHL champion then goes on to compete in the Memorial Cup against the OHL and WHL champions , and the CHL host team . The QMJHL has traditionally adopted a rapid and offensive style of hockey . " The Q " is known for producing more high - quality offensive players and goalies than defencemen . Former QMJHL players hold many of the Canadian Hockey League ' s career and single season offensive records . Hockey Hall of Fame alumni of the QMJHL include Mario Lemieux , Guy Lafleur , Ray Bourque , Pat LaFontaine , Mike Bossy , Denis Savard , Michel Goulet , Luc Robitaille , and goaltender Patrick Roy . History . The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was founded in 1969 , through the merger of best teams from the existing Provincial Junior League and the Metropolitan Montreal Junior League , declaring themselves a " major junior " league . Of the original eleven QMJHL teams , six came from the PJHL and five from the MMJHL . The Cornwall Royals , from Cornwall , Ontario , near the Quebec border , had transferred from in the Central Junior A Hockey League to the Metropolitan League . The Rosemont National , Laval Saints , Cornwall Royals , Saint - Jérôme Alouettes and Verdun Maple Leafs transferred from the MMJHL . The six teams from the QJHL were the Drummondville Rangers , Quebec Remparts , Shawinigan Bruins , Sherbrooke Castors , Sorel Éperviers , and the Trois - Rivières Ducs . From the first season in 1969 – 70 , only Shawinigan remains in the same city with an uninterrupted history , although the team ' s name has changed to the Cataractes . In 1972 the QMJHL had been in operation for three years , and wanted a team in the province ' s largest city - Montreal . In 1962 Montreal Junior Canadiens had received permission from the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association to play in the Ontario Hockey Association ( OHA ) . The QMJHL wanted the Juniors out of the OHA . It threatened a lawsuit to force the team out of the OHA into the Quebec - based league . Over the summer of 1972 , the OHA granted the Junior Habs a " one - year suspension " of operations , while team ownership transferred the team and players into the QMJHL , renaming themselves the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge in the process . The OHA then reactivated the suspended franchise for the 1973 – 74 season in Kingston , Ontario , under new ownership and with new players , calling the team the Kingston Canadians . QMJHL teams have won the Memorial Cup eight times since 1969 , with the Granby Prédateurs , the Hull Olympiques and the Rimouski Océanic each winning once , the Quebec Remparts winning twice ( once in their first edition 1969 – 1985 , and once in their second edition 1997 – present ) and the Cornwall Royals winning three times . Starting in 1994 , the QMJHL began to expand further east , outside of Quebec . The " Q " filled the void in Atlantic Canada after the exodus of American Hockey League franchises , when the AHL had a strong presence in the 1980s and 1990s ; all of the Eastern Division cities save for Acadie - Bathurst are former homes of AHL franchises . Teams in Atlantic Canada comprise the entire Eastern Division of the QMJHL . In recent seasons , the QMJHL has been scouting players from the Atlantic Canada region along with a surge in players coming out of the New England area . Canadian Hockey League records . This is a list of Canadian Hockey League career and single season records accomplished by QMJHL players . Champions . " Teams in bold also won the Memorial Cup that season " Memorial Cup champions . The Memorial Cup has been captured eleven times by QMJHL teams since the league ' s founding in 1969 ( bold denotes won as host team ) :