Sea Dogs select 10 players at 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - The Saint John Sea Dogs selected 10 players in this year's Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.

The Sea Dogs selected five forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders. Here's a quick look at the picks.

More info to come...

	Player	P	H	W	Team
RD 1, 14	Lawrence Williams	D	6'1	165	Weeks (NS)
RD 2, 31	Nathan Riendeau	RW	5'7	155	Collège Charles-Lemoyne (QC)
RD 6, 91	Carter Odell	C	5'9	140	Halifax Macs (NS)
RD 7, 113	Will Torres	G	5'10	148	Rivers School (MA)
RD 7, 116	Brodie Anderson	D	5'7	133	Cushing Academy (MA)
RD 9, 149	Philippe Harvey	G	6'0	137	Espoirs Saguenay (QC)
RD 9, 150	Brock Lyons	RW	6'1	180	Saint John (NB)
RD 11, 185	Justin Hamel	LD	5'10	165	St-Hyacinthe (QC)
RD 12, 203	Zack Labelle	C	6'0	132	l'Outaouais U17 (QC)
RD 12, 210	Thomas Bond	C	5'9	150	Jonquière (QC)

Notebook: Sea Dogs go D with top pick

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - For the first time since 2022, the Saint John Sea Dogs picked a defenseman with their first selection in the QMJHL Entry Draft.

The Sea Dogs picked d-man Lawrence Williams from the Weeks Majors Midgets with the 14th overall pick on Friday night. It's the 11th time in team history that Saint John has picked a defenseman with their first selection.

2005 - Alex Grant (1st round)

2006 - Yann Sauve (1st round)

2007 - Simon Despres (1st round)

2008 - Kevin Gagne (2nd round)

2009 - Pierre Durepos (1st round)

2014 - Luke Green (1st round)

2017 - Brendan Sibley (3rd round)

2018 - William Villeneuve (1st round)

2021 - Natan Grenier (1st round)

2022 - Jeremie Richard (3rd round)

Friday marked the first time the Sea Dogs had ever picked at No. 14.

MORE 2028 TALK

More on the 2028 Memorial Cup: it looks like it will indeed be four teams bidding to host the tournament.

Je peux confirmer que quatre équipes déposeront ou ont déjà déposé leur candidature pour obtenir le tournoi de la Coupe Memorial 2028.

Québec
Gatineau
Moncton
Terre-Neuve

Le choix final aura lieu cet automne. #LHJMQ

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) June 4, 2026

The Wildcats, Remparts and Regiment have all publicly announced that they will be bidding.

Gatineau, Quebec City and Moncton have all hosted previously but not in their current buildings. Newfoundland has never hosted but certainly has an arena capable of doing so.

Teams must officially submit their applications by July.

The 2027 Memorial Cup will be held in Guelph.

2026 first-round is in the books

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - The opening round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft has been completed.

After a lengthy evening inside Halifax's Scotiabank Centre, 13 forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders were selected.

Here's a quick recap of what went down.

		Player	P	H	W	Team (Prov)
1	ROU	Thomas Boisvert	C	5'10	149	Mount St. Charles
2	VIC	Vincent Boutet	D	6'1	196	Séminaire Saint-François
3	BLB	Jacob McKinnon	LW	5'8	157	Séminaire Saint-François
4	SHA	Pierre-Alexandre Lemieux	C	6'2	186	Collège Esther-Blondin
5	VIC	Jakob Royer	RW	6'0	159	Trois-Rivières
6	SHA	Julien Bergeron	LW	6'0	188	Châteauguay
7	HAL	Émrik Ménard	RW	5'10	146	Woodbridge
8	RIM	Justin Gagnon	RW	6'3	170	Collège Notre-Dame
9	SHE	Damien Leduc	LW	6'1	178	Châteauguay
10	RIM	Max Brien	C	6'2	185	Steele Subaru
11	CHA	Aslan Tremblay	C	6'1	206	Amos
12	BAC	Tommy Leroux	C	5'11	189	Collège Charles-Lemoyne
13	NFL	Damian Norris	C	5'11	167	Upper Canada College
14	SNB	Lawrence Williams	D	6'1	165	Weeks
15	ROU	Zachary Lainesse	G	5'11	161	Lévis
16	ROU	Malik Tremblay	RW	5'10	162	Magog
17	BAC	Enzo Roy	LD	5'9	148	Lévis
18	BAC	Nathan Boulanger	G	6'0	143	Collège Esther-Blondin

Sea Dogs acquire Charbonneau, Howard; draft Williams

HALIFAX - Pick No. 14 proved to be quite eventful for the Saint John Sea Dogs during Friday's opening round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.

Earlier in the night, the Sea Dogs acquired the 14th and 17th overall picks from the Victoriaville Tigres in exchange for the fifth overall selection. When pick No. 14 came around, the Sea Dogs made a major trade with the Quebec Remparts.

In exchange for the 14th overall pick, Saint John acquired defenseman Thomas Charbonneau, forward Ryan Howard and a second-round selection in this year's draft. The Sea Dogs are also expected to receive a second-round pick in the 2027 draft, which Quebec currently doesn't have.

Charbonneau, who will turn 17 next week, posted two goals and nine assists in 48 games during his rookie campaign with Quebec. He added an assist in 11 playoff games.

Charbonneau was drafted fourth overall by the Remparts in last year's draft. He previously played at Shattuck St. Mary's. 

C’est tout un revirement de situation.

À pareille date l’an dernier, Charbonneau était choisi 4e au total par Québec. Simon Gagné le comparait alors à Marc-Édouard Vlasic.

Les choses vont vite dans le junior. https://t.co/pe84KbLRKt

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) June 6, 2026

Howard, 18, recorded nine goals and 11 assists in 62 regular season games with the Remparts last season, his second with the club. He added two assists in eight playoff games.

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.

  🚨FINAL 2026 QMJHL DRAFT RANKINGS🚨
  
  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
  
  Full Top-100: https://t.co/cp0pMNqBHX pic.twitter.com/YQCelA3oVK

  — 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.

  Here it is, folks.
  
  The Annual Wildcast Podcast Mock Draft with special guest, @ARobScouting, and your favourite co-hoster, @Jeremy_Boucher. #QMJHLDraft pic.twitter.com/EEJVmmQTfL

  — 🎙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.