Draft Day News & Notes

Some news and notes from draft day…

• Hockey’s Future has a good take on the Sea Dogs taking Joseph Veleno and what it means for the team moving forward.
• The Chronicle Herald recaps the Veleno selection.
• The Sea Dogs website has some video on the Veleno selection.
• Curious to hear why the Sea Dogs selected Cedric Pare so early. They are presumably big on him. He was projected to be a mid-second round pick by Central Scouting and HockeyProspect.com. Saint John didn’t have a second round pick, so that no doubt had some impact in the decision. Also, in fairness, HP has said that he's been steadily improving, and if that continues…
• Still weird seeing Danny Flynn associated with the Sea Dogs.
• There were three players from the Maritimes taken in the first round: Shane Bowers (4^th), Peyton Hoyt (6^th) and Keenan MacIsaac (19^th). MacIsaac played at Rothesay Netherwood this past season.
• There wasn’t a defenseman taken in the draft until 11^th overall. There were only five taken in the first round.
• The Sea Dogs used a Drummondville pick in 2009 to draft Jonathan Huberdeau. In this year’s draft they used a Drummondville pick to take Joseph Veleno. That’s got to be hard to swallow.
• Hard to believe, given how many talented offensive players the Sea Dogs have had in their history, that this was the first time they used the first overall pick to take a forward.
• Michael O’Leary, who the Screaming Eagles drafted 14^th overall last year but were unable to get him to report, was taken in the third round by the Moncton Wildcats. He is committed to Cornell University for 2016-17.
• A couple picks later, the Wildcats selected University of Maine recruit Ethan Crossman. In the 7th round, Moncton took Maine recruit Adam Dawe. Wildcats gonna Wildcat.
• Pierre-Olivier Joseph, the younger brother of Sea Dogs forward Mathieu Joseph, was selected in the fifth round, 78^th overall by the Charlottetown Islanders.
• Vincent Martineau, drafted in the third round by Saint John, is the brother of Screaming Eagles forward Phelix Martineau.
• Speaking of Marineau, he was HockeyProspect.com’s 16^th top ranked prospect and Central Scouting's 33^rd. Saint John picked him 51^st overall.
• TVA Sports had the broadcast rights to the draft this year and provided no “legal” stream, basically no pre-draft coverage and aired the first round and nothing more. Disappointing.
• The draft finally returns to the Maritimes next year with Charlottetown hosting.