On Saturday, June 10, all 18 franchises will gather in Sherbrooke to hold the first in-person Entry Draft since the pandemic. The Moncton Wildcats currently have the first overall pick followed by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
Ahead of the draft, QMJHL Central Scouting has unveiled its final rankings. As expected, forward Caleb Desnoyers of the Saint-Hyacinthe Gaulois was ranked first following by his teammate, forward Emile Guite. Forward Zachary Morin, who has signed a tender agreement with the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms for next season, rounds out the top-three.
Morin spent this past season playing in the United States and his USHL signing certainly gives a strong indication that he is favouring the NCAA route. It will be interesting to see where he - and other high end players that are considering college hockey - end up going in the draft.
The top-ranked Maritimer is Nova Scotia's Cole Chandler of the Dartmouth Steele Subaru under-18 squad. Chandler, also a forward, was ranked seventh.
The top-ranked New Brunswicker was Quispamsis forward Liam Kilfoil at No. 13. Like Morin, Kilfoil played in the US this past season and has already signed with the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints for next season.
The Saint John Sea Dogs currently aren't scheduled to pick until the second round. Via the French fan boards, here are Saint John's current bank of picks:
2Mon-2BC-4Vic-6-10-11-13-14
The Sea Dogs have had plenty of success with second-round picks in the past and new general manager Anthony Stella will be hoping for more of that luck this year.
The QMJHL announced Wednesday that the league's Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place June 8 in Sherbrooke while new commissioner Mario Cecchini will hold at press conference on the afternoon of June 9.
The first-round of this year's draft will be broadcast by Eastlink TV and streamed on CHL TV.
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