MacDonald drafted by Lightning

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Cam MacDonald was the lone Saint John Sea Dog to be selected in this year's NHL Draft.

MacDonald was taken in the fifth-round, 160th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He joins Mathieu Joseph (2015), Bokondji Imama (2015) and Maxim Cajkovic (2019) as Sea Dogs to be selected by the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.

The 18-year-old forward is coming off a strong campaign with the Sea Dogs, recording 10 goals and seven assists in 30 games. He has the makings of a well-rounded, 200-foot player who will play a much larger role with the Dogs in the coming seasons.

Coming in at No. 160 is Cameron MacDonald from the @SJSeaDogs of the @QMJHL!

Welcome, Cam 👋 pic.twitter.com/vqmnYIGeVL

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) July 24, 2021

MacDonald was not included in a lot of mock drafts and rankings. He was ranked 136th amongst North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds did not have his name called. It comes as a surprise given that he was ranked as high 37th by Dobber Prospects; 47th by Elite Prospects; and 89th by Future Considerations.

Seven players on my board went undrafted:
71. C Peter Reynolds
73. C/LW Jeremy Wilmer
81. C/LW Trevor Wong
87. RHD Kalle Ervasti
91. LHD Jimi Suomi
97. LHD Luke Mittelstadt
100. RHD Ruben Rafkin

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) July 24, 2021

Reynolds recorded 15 goals and 16 assists in 33 games with Saint John last season. He'll likely receive an invite to an NHL rookie/training camp this fall.

Other notables to be picked: 

• If you missed it, Russian forward Fyodor Svechkov, Saint John's first-round pick in the 2020 CHL Import Draft, was selected in the first-round, 23rd overall by the Nashville Predators.
• Quebec Remparts defenseman Evan Nause, a Riverview native, was taken in the second-round, 56th overall by the Florida Panthers.
• Fredericton native Cole Huckins of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan was a third-round, 77th overall pick of the Calgary Flames.
• Defenseman Guillaume Richard, a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft and a Providence College commit, was picked in the fourth-round, 101st overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• Titan forward Jacob Melanson became the first QMJHL player to be drafted by the Seattle Kraken when he was selected in the fifth-round, 131st. overall.
• Halifax Mooseheads forward Bobby Orr, a fifth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in 2019, was taken in the fifth-round, 136th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes.
• Former Sea Dogs forward and current Sherbrooke Phoenix Joshua Roy was selected in the fifth-round, 150th overall by the Montreal Canadiens.

24 QMJHL players were selected in this year's NHL Draft. Rounds 2-7 took roughly seven hours to complete, so let's not do this virtually ever again!