Hade Headed To Sherbrooke

The Saint John Sea Dogs have made yet another trade.

The team announced today that 18-year old defenseman Benjamin Hade has been traded to the Sherbrooke Phoenix in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.

Hade was a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in 2010. He has only appeared in 17 career QMJHL games – 12 this year and five last season. He has one assist this year with the Dogs and missed much of the first half with a concussion.

This is a bit of unexpected trade as it appeared Hade had potential to be a solid d-man with Saint John. In a release, Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Mike Kelly said he wanted to send Hade to a team where he’d get more playing team.

“This move was made to give Benjamin an opportunity to play,” said Kelly. “With Ben we had nine defensemen and he would have had to take his turn sitting out games. Ben deserves a chance to play regularly, and when the opportunity came to move him to a team where he would get that chance we decided it was probably good for him. We wish Ben good luck and thank him for everything he has done for his team.”

Saint John’s defense currently features four rookies in Steven Duda, Olivier LeBlanc, Jeremy Doucet, and Jurij Repe. The team also traded for Michael Abbott and brought back Ian Saab. David Weckworth and Pierre Durepos are the others on the backend.

With Hade gone and Jonathan Huberdeau headed to Florida, LeBlanc, Sebastien Auger, and Alex Fournier are the only Quebec-born players on the Sea Dogs’ roster.

The QMJHL’s trade deadline is tomorrow at 1pm.

The Sea Dogs are back in action on Friday night in Rimouski. They visit Hade and the Phoenix on Sunday.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation