More takeaways from Saint John's draft

By Lorne Webster | SN Staff

The 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft may not have been like 2019 when the Sea Dogs were the talk of the draft. But Sea Dogs head scout and assistant general manager Anthony Stella and his team of scouts are to be commended for what appears to be another stellar job.

It’s likely fair to say that the Sea Dogs managed to avoid much of the draft hoopla this season. Gatineau – with four top 10 draft selections in the first round - and Drummondville – who maneuvered their way to get four first-round rated players (including drafting a likely NCAA player - Michael LaStarza - in round 7) – staked claims to the “King of the Q Draft” crown in 2020.

Virtually every team left the draft feeling very good about what they accomplished Friday evening and Saturday. While it takes roughly three years - or more - to effectively assess a team’s draft results, we will attempt to provide an initial view of how the Sea Dogs fared - based on our Composite Draft Rankings (‘CDR’) spreadsheet.

The Sea Dogs added a number of high-quality prospects to the stable. Including Guillaume Richard – who was drafted seventh overall in 2019 but re-entered the draft after not signing with Victoriaville – Saint John selected eight players rated in our CDR top 110 and seven of those were rated in our CDR top 60. Those results are the best in the 2020 QMJHL draft class. Other teams close behind the Sea Dogs in these terms were: Drummondville (eight in the top 110 with six top 60), Gatineau (seven in the top 110 with five top 60) and Rouyn-Noranda (eight in the top 110 and five top 60).

Per these comments, the type of players that Stella and president and general manager Trevor Georgie deem worthy to be drafted by the Sea Dogs is becoming more apparent. In the HockeyProspects.com ("HP") guide, terms such as strong, size, speed, agility, smooth skating, work ethic, physical and “tough to play against” were prevalent. Another thing to note is that there are very few openings on the 2020-21 Sea Dogs roster at this point. So, most of these draftees will be looked upon to return to "U18 AAA" or play tier-two junior, where they'll be key players on their respective teams.

NOTES

• In addition to Leighton Carruthers, the Sea Dogs added two other power forwards - Simon Hughes and Davide Patella - to the stable and three likely top four defensemen - Nathan Drapeau, Guillaume Richard and Duncan Ramsay. In a post-draft interview with John Moore, Stella acknowledged that drafting Richard was a calculated gamble and he is an “elite level skater and thinks the game at a high level. We will do everything we can to get him to Saint John.”
• After a somewhat rare run on goalies in rounds one and two, the Sea Dogs added Michael D'Orazio at No. 42. He was rated in the same range as the goalies taken in round two. HockeyProspects.com had D’Orazio rated very close to Riley Mercer and Olivier Ciarlo. He is also the highest drafted goaltender drafted by Saint John since Alex D’Orio in 2015 (ninth overall).
• The QMJHL’s Central Scouting ("CSR") list had three Sea Dogs draftees rated as "second round" – Duncan Ramsay (24), Nathan Drapeau (30) and Simon Hughes (34). To highlight the wide range of opinions within the QMJHL scouting community, HockeyProspects.com had Drapeau rated as first round (17) and Davide Patella rated as second round (27). Benoit Belanger, meanwhile, had Drapeau at 19, Hughes at 25 and Patella at 36. As for Leighton Carruthers, HP had him No. 4; Benoit had him No. 6; and CSR at No. 11... but, most importantly, Anthony Stella and his staff had him “top three."
• A potential fan favourite, drafted in the ninth round (156th overall), is Di-D'Abram Mianscum. Mianscum could be the next in a line of "truculent" players who Saint John fans love having in the Sea Dogs’ lineup. While not suggesting he'd be a future captain and team leader in the mold of Mike Thomas, he reportedly provides plenty of sand paper and grit.
• The Sea Dogs have been vilified in many circles for drafting and/or signing talented players with NCAA considerations, such as Josh Lawrence, Peter Reynolds, Cam MacDonald and, to a lesser degree, Robert Orr. This year, Halifax drafted four “undecided” players with known NCAA options – Markus Vidicek, Jordan Dumais, Jake Furlong and James Swan. Shawinigan drafted four as well – Michael Mastrodomenico, Isaac Menard, Matthew Maltais and Mikka Kelechian. It will interesting to see if the Mooseheads and Cataractes are successful in their recruiting efforts... and if they too are vilified by certain reporters and keyboard warriors, like Saint John has been in the past.