More notes from draft weekend

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - Here are some assorted notes (not Saint John Sea Dogs related) from this weekend's Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.

First, here's a look inside Scotiabank Centre. The vibes were good and Halifax, unsurprisingly, was a great host. It's almost too bad the weather was so nice as it likely kept some fans outside rather than coming inside to the free event.

The draft continues to be a very fun and entertaining event. Hopefully the league continues to ignore the NHL's lead and keeps things going the way they are for years to come.

A look at Saint John's 2026 draft class

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - With the 2026 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft now completed, let's take a closer look at the Saint John Sea Dogs' class.

Saint John selected 10 players this weekend at Scotiabank Centre: five forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders.

Here's a closer look at each.

Round 1, 14th overall - D Lawrence Williams (6'1"m 165 lbs)

Lawrence spent last season with the Weeks Major Midgets where he recorded 10 goals and 28 assists in 32 games. He added another goal and six helpers in 14 playoff games.

The Pictou native was ranked ninth overall by QMJHL Central Scouting – the highest ranked Atlantic Canadian player. Elite Prospects had him ranked 20th and called him "a future QMJHL shutdown defenseman" – which is something Saint John could certainly use.

With the 14th overall selection (finally) @SJSeaDogs select defenseman Lawrence Williams from @WeeksU18

The reigning U18 Nova Scotia rookie defender of the year had 38 points in 32 games. pic.twitter.com/OerZpySnTW

— Puck Preps Eastern Canada (@PuckPrepsEastCa) June 6, 2026

"This kid is a natural transitional 'new era' D, with tons of offensive skill coupled with nasty gritty side to his game," writes Craig Eagles. "His skating is exceptional and only going to get better with maturity, he processes the game so well, always willing to jump into the play, but perhaps his strongest attribute is the ability to pick and chose when to jump in and he also has the innate ability to know when to start driving offensive transition, which a lot of young D don’t understand or ever really figure that out."

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.