SN Staff
While much of the QMJHL continues their chase for the
President Cup and a trip to the MasterCard Memorial Cup, the Saint John Sea
Dogs have switched their focus to the 2014 Entry Draft which takes place on May
31 in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
After winning the draft lottery last week the Sea Dogs
now own the first overall selection in the draft, making them a perfect 4-0 in the
lottery selection process. There is plenty of talent in this draft class but,
with no clear cut top prospect, we reached out to our friends at HockeyProspect.com
to provide us a little insight into what we might expect from a few of these players
that seem likely choices for the Sea Dogs. We won’t be listing all the details
for all the top prospects, but these are the ones we feel have the best chance
to be drafted by the Sea Dogs with the top pick on draft day.
The top ranked player by HockeyProspect.com is Chad Krys -
an American defenseman. He has committed to the US Under-18 NTDP which means
he’s very unlikely to report to any QMJHL team for at least two years if at
all. The No. 2 ranked player is a defenseman out of Quebec, Samuel Girard,
who played for the Elites de Jonquiere in QMAAA this past season. The No. 3
ranked player is the top ranked forward in the draft, Pascal Laberge, who also
played in the Quebec AAA ranks and is currently playing in the QMAAA final for
the Châteauguay Grenadiers. For these two young prospects we
reached out to Jean-Francois Dore (@jeffdore), a scout based out of Quebec that
has seen plenty of these two kids.
Samuel Girard (Defenseman - ranked No.2
by HockeyProspect.com)
7G + 29A = 36pts in 42 GP
Samuel Girard’s best assets are his elite
skating abilities, great puck rushing skills, and excellent on-ice vision. Girard
has all the offensive tools to have an outstanding QMJHL career. He’s a game
breaker and excels when the game is on the line.
The biggest key for Girard will be to
continue to get stronger. His defensive game has improved throughout the
season. He’s a master of both controlling and organizing his team’s power play
unit. No other player in this year’s draft puts his team on his shoulders like
Girard. He’s a good kid with outstanding work ethic.
Pascal Laberge (Centre – ranked No.3 by
HockeyProspect.com)
20G + 23A = 43pts in 40 GP
Pascal Laberge is a six-foot, right
handed shooting centre. Laberge is a smooth skating natural goal scorer, but
also possesses smart playmaking skills with the ability to find his open
teammates with tape-to-tape passes. Currently he is playing in the QMAAA finals
and he is having a phenomenal playoffs for his club. He has outstanding hockey
sense and can read situations very well and quickly.
A big right handed centre that can take
over a game is always a hot commodity on draft day. Laberge has the size and
skill to come into the QMJHL and play in a team’s top six immediately and contribute.
I would like to see a little more
consistency to his game as Laberge does tend to disappear at times. But, he has
continued to improve on this throughout the season.
Switching over to the Atlantic Provinces,
we reached out to Al (@hockeyprospctNS) about the two top forwards from
Atlantic Canada - Jordan Maher and
Mitchell Balmas. Either of these two could be the top pick in this year's draft.
Jordan Maher (Centre - ranked No. 4 by
HockeyProspect.com)
23G + 24A = 47pts in 24GP
Jordan Maher might just be the hardest working forward in
this draft class. He started in major midget last year as an underage player
and this year he has played top minutes and responsibility for his team, the Central
Ice Pak, which won the right to play in the Atlantic Championships.
Maher’s energy level is typically the highest on the ice
and has excellent speed with and without the puck. He has great hands and
vision which allows him to make precision passes quickly. Maher is a great finisher
with pin point accuracy. He averaged two points per game throughout the season
- including the playoffs - along with a goal per game, showing his consistency.
Mitchell Balmas (Winger – ranked No. 7 by HockeyProspect.com)
19G + 27A = 46pts in 26GP
Mitchell Balmas is a highly regarded winger from Cape
Breton who had a very good season on a major midget team that struggled at
times. Balmas has an explosive skating style and is able to use his excellent
hands and large frame to protect the puck for long periods of time. He provides
a leadership presence for his teammates and is always cognizant of the
situation around him and can portray this hockey sense both offensively and
defensively.
Balmas excels on the power play and is equally
comfortable setting up goals as well as putting the puck to the back of the net
on his own. His skill will often draw in defenders, opening up his teammates and
allowing Balmas to use his precision passing to find the open man.
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