By Bert RichardsonStation Nation Staff
With one of the holiest days of the calendar year now complete, it is time to look back at just what went down on QMJHL draft day.
WELL DONE
First off, I want to state that I love the Q draft more Barbeque flavored Pringles. The time, effort, and money that the league spends to make the draft top notch is really superb. By making it a miniature version of the NHL’s draft, it is much more enjoyable for fans to watch and follow compared to the WHL and OHL selection processes.
But, finally, the draft went much more “smooth” than in years past. For once, at least in the first round, players that were chosen were the ones that wanted to be chosen. There were no Angelo Esposito’s or Jonathan Huberdeau’s – just legitimate picks that didn’t appear to involve previous meetings in some dark ally about NCAA asperations.
“The matter had become such an embarrassment and headache for a public relations-conscious league — players who stated they weren’t available in the draft naturally also didn’t attend the top prospects luncheon or the draft itself — that something had to be done,” says Chris Cochrane of the Chronicle Herald.
New rules were put into place this past December to try and stop the “I haven’t decided on whether or not I will play junior or NCAA next year” shenanigans. Whether the rules worked or not is a question that may never be answered, but they certainly did not hurt the process.
Whatever stopped the trend, it certainly made for a more enjoyable draft day.
MATHESON SLIDES
The top ranked skater available in the draft – Michael Matheson – slid all the way to the second round because of his believed intentions of continuing his journey to the NCAA ranks.
Matheson was picked up by the Shawinigan Cataractes with the 27th pick of the draft. With all the hype surrounding the new drafting guidelines, Commissioner Gilles Courteau no doubt would have been a bit suspicious if a team wasted a first round draft pick on Matheson. Instead, the Cataractes picked him up in the early part of the second round with their third pick of the day.
It is still unclear if Matheson will join the hockey club, but, as someone pointed out on Twitter, you have to wonder if the 16-year old is not intrigue about playing for a Memorial Cup contending team next season.
With one of the holiest days of the calendar year now complete, it is time to look back at just what went down on QMJHL draft day.
WELL DONE
First off, I want to state that I love the Q draft more Barbeque flavored Pringles. The time, effort, and money that the league spends to make the draft top notch is really superb. By making it a miniature version of the NHL’s draft, it is much more enjoyable for fans to watch and follow compared to the WHL and OHL selection processes.
But, finally, the draft went much more “smooth” than in years past. For once, at least in the first round, players that were chosen were the ones that wanted to be chosen. There were no Angelo Esposito’s or Jonathan Huberdeau’s – just legitimate picks that didn’t appear to involve previous meetings in some dark ally about NCAA asperations.
“The matter had become such an embarrassment and headache for a public relations-conscious league — players who stated they weren’t available in the draft naturally also didn’t attend the top prospects luncheon or the draft itself — that something had to be done,” says Chris Cochrane of the Chronicle Herald.
New rules were put into place this past December to try and stop the “I haven’t decided on whether or not I will play junior or NCAA next year” shenanigans. Whether the rules worked or not is a question that may never be answered, but they certainly did not hurt the process.
Whatever stopped the trend, it certainly made for a more enjoyable draft day.
MATHESON SLIDES
The top ranked skater available in the draft – Michael Matheson – slid all the way to the second round because of his believed intentions of continuing his journey to the NCAA ranks.
Matheson was picked up by the Shawinigan Cataractes with the 27th pick of the draft. With all the hype surrounding the new drafting guidelines, Commissioner Gilles Courteau no doubt would have been a bit suspicious if a team wasted a first round draft pick on Matheson. Instead, the Cataractes picked him up in the early part of the second round with their third pick of the day.
It is still unclear if Matheson will join the hockey club, but, as someone pointed out on Twitter, you have to wonder if the 16-year old is not intrigue about playing for a Memorial Cup contending team next season.
UPDATE: Steve Turcott says that the Cataractes have reportedly spoken with the Matheson family.
TWITTER SAVED CHRISTMAS
As we stated in our guide to surviving draft day, the QMJHL website would, without question, blow up at some point. Right on cue in the early parts of the first round, the website broke, throwing fans and media into their usual tailspin.
But, thanks to an amazing invention called Twitter, the annual entry draft was saved. With a number of reporters tweeting live from Marcel Dionne Centre (mostly from Halifax), everyone was kept in the loop with up-to-the-minute news.
You have to wonder, though, why the league doesn’t come up with a better way to broadcast this event. The website crashes every single season – but they don’t change or try to update the site. Just look at Harbour Station, their ticketing website collapsed every five minutes a few years back, but after some updates, the entire process has changed for the better.
Brought up by someone on Twitter was the wondering of why the league didn’t just tweet the entire draft like the USHL did. Yes, it would be time consuming for a particular individual, but I’d image they could easily hook up a feed to the drafting page.
I FEEL BAD FOR… WILDCAT FANS
Here are some words I never thought I’d say: “I feel bad for Moncton Wildcat fans.”
The team easily had the worst coverage of any of the maritime squads on Saturday. They had no Twitter updates, no Facebook updates, no website updates, and no live coverage from any media source. All of this while the Q site failed like my final history project last year.
They did, however, put up some solid videos following the draft. But, I mean, when we are asked by ‘Cat fans who their team drafted, you now there is a problem.
LEBLANC AND THE JUNIOR
If you haven’t heard by now, Montreal Canadiens 2009 first round draft pick Louis Leblanc had his rights traded from Chicoutimi to the Montreal Junior. At the moment, Leblanc is committed to Harvard University – but rumors have been flying all week about him possibly jumping ship for the upcoming season.
Although nothing is official, you have to think the Junior have some kind of upper knowledge on this situation. They gave one of their most prized players and a 2011 first round draft pick – all of this just for the rights to one player.
Pascal Vincent, the Montreal Junior general manager and head coach, is certainly knows his hockey. Also, as we saw in 2008, Vincent knows a thing or two about abandoning contracts as well.
I could go on, but Nathan White hits the nail on the head over at Coming Down the Pipe!
EAGLES, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
No sure why this bothers me so much – but it does.
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles decided to announce to the world that Morgan Ellis is now team captain on Saturday. Nothing wrong with that, but the Eagles decided to post this during the first round of the draft. Not like there was anything else going on I suppose.
Speaking of Ellis, he will now be known as “Captain Morgan.”
Editors Note: Bert Richardson is a writer for Station Nation. His column will appear every Monday during the off-season with his thoughts on the happenings around the league. Follow him on Twitter @SNBert.
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