News & Notes From Draft Day

Some news and notes from draft day…

• Allan Walsh is Nathan Noel’s and Will Thompson's agent, so we can expect to hear a lot about them and the Sea Dogs on Twitter over the next few years. “Everyone tuck the name Nathan Noel away. He was the youngest player to make Shattuck’s Prep team in 9 years,” Walsh tweeted yesterday.
• Saint John has now selected a forward with their first pick in the draft each of the past four years.
• The Sea Dogs drafted Will Thompson, a RNS defenseman, with the pick they acquired in trading former RNS defenseman Kevin Gagne to Rimouski.
• “It’s the team I wanted to go to, so it worked out well,” Thompson told the Telegraph-Journal.
• This was the fourth time in Sea Dogs history that they had two picks in the first round. In each of those drafts they picked a forward and a defenseman.
• Only two Atlantic players were taken in the first round yesterday – Noel and Thompson.
• Noel, Dogs ninth round pick Antoine Landry, and current Sea Dog Matthew Highmore all played with Team Atlantic at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge this past year.
• Saint John drafted their first goaltender, Christopher Smith, in the fifth round. In the Mike Kelly era, the Sea Dogs have drafted a goaltender in the fifth round four different times.
• Again, Joey Richard’s playoff numbers.
• “It’s awesome,” defenseman Alexander McQuaid, Saint John’s fourth round pick, told The Guardian about being drafted. “I am pretty pumped, that’s one of the spots I wanted to go.”
• The Sea Dogs have selected an Atlantic born player with their first pick in each of the past six drafts.
• A Nova Scotian didn’t get picked until 33^rd overall when Nicholas Welsh went to Shawinigan.
• Cameron Askew was the only American taken in the first round, going 11^th overall to Drummondville. Word on the street is that Askew expected to go third to Saint John or 11^th to the Volts.
• Highly touted American defenseman Noah Hanifin went 26^th overall to the Quebec Remparts. He probably won’t report to the QMJHL this year, but it could get interesting if the Remparts are able to use 2015 Memorial Cup host as a recruiting tool.
• The Mooseheads drafted a car dealership in the second round, picking Taylor Ford.
• Moncton drafted a guy named Will Smith.
• Fredericton’s Luc Deschenes, projected to be a first rounder by most draft publications, slipped all the way to 50^th where Victoriaville selected him.
• How great are Saint John’s third jerseys? One of the best in the CHL.
• Charlottetown showed off their new jersey yesterday. Most people on the interweb were not huge fans and I would have to agree with them.
• Was thinking about this yesterday – Saint John, Moncton, and Halifax have owned the division over the past few years. How weird would it be if Cape Breton, Bathurst, and Charlottetown suddenly took over?
• The 2014 QMJHL Entry Draft will be held in Sherbrooke.
• The CHL Import Draft is just a few weeks away.