Who will Sea Dogs draft?

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - Assuming the Saint John Sea Dogs keep the fifth overall pick in this weekend's QMJHL Entry Draft, who could they select?

The first-round of this year's draft takes place Friday night at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre. Here are some potential picks based on what the experts/educated guessers believe.

• QMJHL Central Scouting released their final rankings back in March. If those rankings were to become reality, the Sea Dogs would pick Séminaire St-François Blizzard defenseman Vincent Boutet. Boutet, who won't turn 16 until next week, is listed at 6'1" and 190 lbs.
• Craig Eagles has a breakdown of each player ranked in the first-round by CSR.
• Puck Preps has Magog Cantonniers forward Malik Tremblay at No. 5. Tremblay is listed at 5'9" and 150 lbs but posted 37 points in 42 games last season.

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  The time has finally arrived for us to reveal our list of the top-100 players for the 2026 QMJHL Draft, led by SSF Blizzard forward Jacob McKinnon!
  
  Free Article noting 20 HMs: https://t.co/mucoEADyVc
  
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  — Puck Preps Eastern Canada (@PuckPrepsEastCa) June 3, 2026

• Elite Prospects has Châteauguay Grenadiers forward Julien Bergeron ranked fifth. He posted 55 points in 42 games, finishing as the "highest-scoring 2010-born player in the QM18AAA this season, and third in the entire league."
• Halifax Sports Hub has the Sea Dogs taking Moncton Flyers forward Nathan Leblanc, which would be an off-the-board pick this early in the draft. Leblanc was ranked 54th by QMJHL Central Scouting.
• The Wildcast podcast has the Sea Dogs taking forward Zaac Charbonneau fifth overall – which would be "a classic Saint John draft move" given that the Quebec native tendered with the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks back in December. That means it's very possible the Sea Dogs may have to wait a year to land Charbonneau – if at all. It's a pick that would come with added risk. Charbonneau, a nephew of Daniel Brière, played at Mount St. Charles last season.

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  — 🎙Wildcast Podcast 🎧 (@MonctonWildcast) June 3, 2026

The remaining rounds of this year's draft will take place on Saturday. Saint John currently has a second-round pick but none after that until round six.

Draft weekend is here

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - It's one of the most wonderful times of the year in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

The first-round of the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft takes place tonight beginning at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre. The remaining 11 rounds will take place on Saturday.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will select first overall. The Saint John Sea Dogs, meanwhile, currently hold the fifth overall pick.

The full draft order can be found on the QMJHL website.

Here's where Saint John is scheduled to pick at the moment:

1st round, 5th overall 

2nd round, 34td overall (ROU) 

6th round, 95th overall 

7th round, 113th overall 

8th round, 131st overall 

9th round, 149th overall 

10th round, 167th overall 

11th round, 185th overall 

12th round, 203rd overall 

12th round, 210th overall (SHA)

The Sea Dogs entered the week with the 15th overall pick as well but dealt that selection to the Rouyn-Nornada Huskies in the Samuel Meloche trade.

Trades will be permitted during the draft.

Guité to play college hockey in 2026-27

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Émile Guité will play NCAA hockey at the University of New Hampshire this coming season, the Anaheim Ducks prospect confirmed on Instagram Thursday.

The status of Guité for the 2026-27 season had become a talking point with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens making so many deals this week. If Guité were to play in the QMJHL in the fall, he would have been one of the most coveted players on the trade market.

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A post shared by Guité (@emile.guite) 

Guité, who turned 19 last week, posted 32 goals and 33 assists in 59 regular season games with the Sags. He added eight goals and six assists in 20 playoff games, helping Chicoutimi capture the Gilles-Courteau Trophy.

Only Maxim Massé had more goals on the Sags in the regular season.

Guité's decision is notable for a few reasons.

• He's likely a player the Sea Dogs would have been interested in acquiring: a point-producing, NHL drafted forward who is coming off a championship playoff run.
• In the Nolann Héroux trade announced Thursday, the Sea Dogs acquired a pick that Chicoutimi would no doubt like to acquire in some way: the Saguenéens' first-round pick in the 2027 QMJHL Entry Draft.
• On that note, Guité departing for the NCAA certainly doesn't help the Sags on the ice next season. That's good news for Saint John given they own Chicoutimi's first-round pick.

The Sags have been/will be very busy this week as they complete trades previously made to load up for this year's playoff run. The moves obviously paid off – but now they are paying the price.

The next QMJHL trade window opens during the first-round of the draft, which begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Baldwin added to Providence roster

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's not a big surprise but it is now official: Everett Baldwin will play NCAA hockey this coming season.

Baldwin, 19, was eligible to return to the Saint John Sea Dogs but it was expected that he would only spend one season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League before heading for college hockey.

The Providence native will play for his hometown Providence College Friars beginning this fall, the school confirmed Thursday.

A second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft, Baldwin registered 15 goals and 29 assists in 62 games. He also added two assists in four playoff games.

Providence native and @TBLightning prospect Everett Baldwin joins the 2026-27 roster after setting the @SJSeaDogs record for goals by a rookie defensemen last season!

Welcome to Friartown, Everett! pic.twitter.com/WCTBLtL1Ri

— PC Men's Hockey (@FriarsHockey) June 4, 2026

Baldwin's 15 goals tied him with Charlottetown's Marcus Kearsey for the league lead amongst defensemen.

A fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in last year's NHL Draft, Baldwin joined the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on an amateur tryout after Saint John's season ended but did not get into any games.

Baldwin will become the second former Sea Dogs defenseman to play for Providence. Kale McCallum spent this past season with the Friars where he registered five goals and nine assists in 31 games. He turned pro after the season ended, joining the ECHL's Trois-Rivieres Lions.

Providence plays in Hockey East which will feature plenty of former QMJHL players. The conference's 2026-27 schedule has not yet been released.

Héroux traded to Foreurs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs have traded Nolann Héroux to the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

In exchange for the 17-year-old forward, the Sea Dogs receive a first-round pick in the 2027 QMJHL Entry Draft (Chicoutimi) along with two second-round picks in 2028 (one being Val-d'Or's and the other Drummondville's).

The Sea Dogs confirmed in a news release that Héroux requested a trade.

“Nolann is a good player, and he was looking for a greater opportunity. We wanted to accommodate him in that,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie. “For us, this transaction was about maximizing value for the future. Chicoutimi’s first-round pick in 2027 was a critical asset, and adding two second-round picks gives us significant flexibility moving forward. Turning one player into three high-value assets puts us in a strong position moving forward.”

This is a sizeable return for the Sea Dogs – particularly the first-round pick, which could end up being in the lottery. These picks could certainly be used to make other deals this weekend or in the future.

The Sea Dogs selected Héroux with the 10th overall pick in last year's draft. He appeared in 39 games with Saint John, recording three goals and 10 assists. He also played in all four of the team's playoff games.

Héroux spent most of the first half of the 2025-26 season with under-18 Saint-Eustache Vikings where he recorded 15 goals and 18 assists in 26 games.

Héroux is a speedy forward with skill but the knock on him is his size. He's listed at just 5'8" and 151 lbs on the QMJHL website.

The next trade window is during the first-round of the QMJHL Entry Draft, which begins Friday night at 7:30 p.m. AT.

More moves likely to come

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a big splash during the first trade period of QMJHL Entry Draft week – and there are likely more moves to come.

On Tuesday, the Sea Dogs acquired veteran forward Olivier Lemieux from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Buffalo Sabres goaltending prospect Samuel Meloche from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Those were the first of what could be many significant moves for the Sea Dogs in the coming days.

Mikaël Lalancette reported earlier this week that the Sea Dogs are expected to trade forward Nolann Héroux – who the team selected with the 10th overall pick in last year's draft – to the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

La LHJMQ ouvrira une fenêtre de transactions ce mardi.

Xavier Lebel prendra le chemin de Victoriaville, Dominic Pilote ira à Baie-Comeau et Nolann Héroux à Val-d’Or, notamment.

Quelques infos glanées ici et là:https://t.co/A5ZCH03uI5

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) June 2, 2026

Héroux appeared in 26 games with the under-18 Saint-Eustache Vikings in the first half of last season, posting 15 goals and 18 assists. He finished the season with Saint John, recording three goals and 10 assists in 39 games.

A top-10 pick who turned 17 in March, Héroux will likely fetch a big return for Saint John.