QMJHL Entry Draft less than a week away

Former Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Maxime Joyal will be in charge of the Gatineau Olympiques at this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

The announcement was made on Friday following the decision of interim general manager Jean-François Fortin to step down from the position. The QMJHL Entry Draft is next Saturday.

“Maxime has been with our organization for three years as hockey operations advisor," stated an Olympiques news release. "He has worked closely with the hockey department on all transactions and draft selections over the past three seasons. In fact, he has been busy preparing for the 2023 draft for several months."

Joyal will be assisted by consultant Jacques Leblanc and Olympiques shareholder Derick Brassard.

This all follows Gatineau's May 23 decision to part ways with head coach and general manager Louis Robitaille. After being swept by the Quebec Remparts in the semifinals, the Olympiques are likely heading into a rebuild.

Joyal, now 36, appeared in 31 games with the Sea Dogs during the 2006-07 season, posting an 8-17-1 record to go along with a 4.99 goals against average and a .862 save percentage.

Here are a few other notes as the draft approaches...

• The 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft takes place next Saturday in Sherbrooke beginning at 11 a.m.
• JF Plante reports that goaltender Vincent Filion of the Moncton Wildcats will be traded to the Rimouski Oceanic. Filion has struggled to find his game in the QMJHL and will likely be Jacob Steinman's backup next season if he stays in Moncton.
• The Wildcats will pick first overall on Saturday and, as the Telegraph-Journal (paywall) reports, the team has made their decision on who to select. Forward Caleb Desnoyers is the projected No. 1 pick by draft experts.
• The Sea Dogs, at this time anyways, are not scheduled to select until the second-round.
• The Charlottetown Islanders have signed forward Matthew Butler, a fifth-round pick of the team in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft. Butler, a St. John's native who spent last season at Shattuck St. Mary's, is listed at 5'6" and 143 lbs.
• HockeyProspect.com's annual QMJHL Draft Guide is now available for purchase. Their rankings of the top-five players is available for free and is led by Desnoyers.