Sea Dogs make trio of trades

QMJHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced three trades during a brief opening of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's trade period on Wednesday.

The biggest of the three deals saw the Sea Dogs acquire (has had been previously reported) New York Islanders prospect William Dufour from the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

“William will bring size, skill, grit and a scoring touch to our lineup,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He’s the exact type of player we were looking to add this off-season, and we expect him to make an immediate impact.”

The Sea Dogs also acquired a fourth-round pick (Bathurst) in next year's QMJHL Entry Draft from the Volts. In return, Saint John sent forward Simon Hughes; the eighth overall pick in Friday's first-round; and a fifth-round pick in 2023 to Drummondville.

Hughes, a second-round pick of Saint John in last year's draft, appeared in only seven regular season games and one playoff match this past season. He joined the team just as COVID was shutting down the Maritimes Division in the fall.

Dufour recorded 17 goals and 12 assists in 23 games with Drummondville this past season. Saint John will be his fourth QMJHL team after stops in Rouyn-Noranda, Chicoutimi and Drummondville.

The 19-year-old forward was a fifth-round pick of the Islanders in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The Sea Dogs play the Voltigeurs on Nov. 6 and Feb. 20.

Another move saw the Sea Dogs trade overage forward Nicholas Girouard and a first-round pick (Halifax) in next year's draft to the Cape Breton Eagles in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (Saint John) and a 2023 second-round selection (Saint John).

In his only season with the Sea Dogs, Girouard recorded 13 goals and 13 assists in 31 regular season games. He added three goals and four assists in six playoff games.

Moving out Girouard opens up an overage spot on Saint John's roster. Forward Ryan Francis and defenseman Christoper Inniss are presumably locks to take up two of the three spots (assuming Francis returns to junior). It's been rumoured that the Dogs are making a move to acquire Val-d'Or Foreurs netminder Jonathan Lemieux - but we'll see what happens there.

The Dogs did acquire a goaltender on Wednesday, trading for Ventsislav Shingarov of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Along with Shingarov, Saint John acquired a 12th-round pick (Saint John) in 2022 in exchange for a 12th-round pick in 2023 and a seventh-round choice in 2023.

Shingarov, 18, has appeared in just six career QMJHL games, posting a 3.65 goals against average and a .884 save percentage.

The QMJHL's trade period opens again on Friday when the first-round of this year's Entry Draft takes place. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic.