Notebook: Volts happy to have Hughes

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Drummondville Voltigeurs general manager Philippe Boucher is looking forward to having Simon Hughes in his lineup this season.

“He’s loaded with natural skills,” Boucher said in an interview with The Guardian. “I’m very comfortable with our coaching staff that we can get the best out of him.”

Saint John traded the 17-year-old Hughes; the eighth overall pick in Friday's first-round of the QMJHL Entry Draft; and a fifth-rounder in 2023 to the Voltigeurs in exchange for forward William Dufour and a fourth-round pick (Bathurst) in 2022.

Hughes appeared in just seven games with the Sea Dogs last season - all coming in the restart. He played in one playoff game. He'll likely get quite a bit more playing time with the Volts.

The Stratford, PEI native was a second-round pick of Saint John in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft. The Sea Dogs were very high on Hughes after selecting him.

LOOKING BACK

Hughes was one of four players from the 2020 draft to play with the Sea Dogs this past season.

The others were Leighton Carruthers (first round, third overall), Nathan Drapeau (first round, 15th overall) and Hunter Gartley (sixth round, 103rd overall).

Saint John made 12 selections in last year's draft. They are scheduled to pick 10 times this year but that could obviously change.

PEDDLE UNDECIDED

Tyler Peddle, considered to be the best available Maritime player in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft class, is undecided on what playing route to take: major junior or US college hockey.

"It's been stressful for a while but it's really made the last few weeks even tougher trying to figure things out," Peddle told the Chronicle Herald this week. "It's hard to make the decision right now and it's a lot to take in as a 16-year-old."

An Antigonish native, Peddle recorded 31 goals and 15 assists in 47 games at Shattuck St. Mary's this past season. He was recently selected in the third round of the USHL draft by the Sioux City Musketeers.

Peddle is ranked second for this year's draft behind Magog forward Ethan Gauthier. This will be an interesting first round for Peddle given that the Halifax Mooseheads and Cape Breton Eagles are scheduled to pick in the top-10.

LAROSE TO UNB

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Larose has committed to the UNB Reds for this coming season.

The offensive defenseman put up impressive numbers in his overage season with the Cape Breton Eagles, recording 17 goals and 16 assists in 31 games.

“He has a high-level offensive skill package, highlighted by excellent skating ability and a powerful shot,” said Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall in a news release. “We heard great reviews from Eagles’ assistant coach and former UNB captain Chris Culligan about his maturity, passion for the game, and his potential to grow in our program.”

Larose spent parts of two seasons with the Sea Dogs. He was traded to Cape Breton during the 2018-19 season in the Alex Drover deal.

MORE DRAFT RANKINGS
Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds was ranked 71st for this year's NHL Draft by The Athletic's Scott Wheeler.

"I like his ability to absorb pressure, quickly decide whether to play through or away from it, and then maneuver out of trouble with whichever decision he has made with his skill in control," writes Wheeler.

Wheeler has former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy ranked 34th.

ECHL FINAL

Matt Murphy, Oliver Cooper and the Fort Wayne Komets begin the ECHL Kelly Cup Final on Friday night.

The Komets advanced to the league final following a 3-2 overtime win over the top-ranked Allen Americans on Tuesday. Fort Wayne erased a 2-0 deficit in the victory. Murphy had an assist in the game to give him three helpers in nine playoff contests.

Cooper, meanwhile, enters the final with three goals in five playoff games.

The Komets will play the South Carolina Stingrays for the Kelly Cup. Former Sea Dogs defenseman Chase Stewart has appeared in one playoff game with the Stingrays.

The ECHL is overall kind of weird (yet fun) and this series will reflect that. The first two games will be played at South Carolina's 550-seat practice rink due to their main rink occupied by an HBO shoot. The final three games (if all are needed) of the best-of-five will be played in Fort Wayne.

NEW WILDCATS JERSEYS

It's draft week and we typically see some new jerseys dropping around the league.

The Moncton Wildcats unveiled their 25th anniversary third jerseys on Tuesday - a blue jersey and socks pairing that features red stripes. The logo on the jersey doesn't feature the claws the team's primary logo has.

An authentic jersey can be ordered for $383.99 + HST.

The Wildcats also unveiled five "era series games" for the upcoming season. The club will celebrate it's very successful 2006-2010 era on Jan. 7 against the Sea Dogs.

OTHER THINGS

• Mathieu Joseph and the Tampa Bay Lightning are one win way from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight year. Game 7 of their semifinal series against the New York Islanders is Friday night in Tampa.
• The Cape Breton Eagles will now be running their ticketing through Ticketmaster, the team announced Monday. The Moncton Wildcats also use Ticketmaster.
• The MHL plans to play a full, balanced 52-game schedule in 2021-22.
• The OHL will announce its 2021-22 schedule on Tuesday. Hopefully the Canada/USA border issues are resolved by September, but it'll be interesting to see how the league plans for that.