Lawrence signs USHL tender

USHL

Tynan Lawrence, one of the top prospects available for this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, has signed a tender agreement with the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks for the 2024-25 season.

The Lumberjacks announced the signing on Monday.

“It’s a great opportunity here,” Lawrence said in a news release. “I explored all of my options, and I really like the Lumberjacks. What they do with their players with their development.”

Lawrence, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, has been playing at Shattuck St. Mary's the past two seasons. He recently recorded four points in four games with Team Canada at the Youth Winter Olympics, a team that featured Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard behind the bench as an assistant.

“We are excited to add Tynan and his family to the Lumberjacks organization," said Muskegon head coach Parker Burgess. "He is a high-end talent and future NHL prospect. We are looking forward to working with him and helping him develop on and off the ice.”

Okay, so let's get right into this: what does this mean for the Saint John Sea Dogs?

There's little doubt that the Sea Dogs are targeting Lawrence in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft. This news could help them, given that a lot of teams will choose not to select the Fredericton native because of he's intentions to go the college hockey route. At the same time, this could complicate things for the Sea Dogs given that, well, Lawrence could simply continue on with the college hockey path following the draft.

The exact same situation played out last year when Quispamsis native Liam Kilfoil signed a tender agreement with the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints in March. He was later picked in the second-round of the draft by the Halifax Mooseheads and signed with the QMJHL club in July.

A lot of junior hockey followers don't like players making these kind of "threats" in order to land in their preferred QMJHL destinations. But the reality is this: the QMJHL is better with these players in the league, no matter where they are playing. How many first round NHL Draft picks has this league produced in recent years? The QMJHL needs to start doing everything it can to get players like Lawrence into the league.

One thing that is certain: this news adds further drama to this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, which will take place June 7-8 at Moncton's Avenir Centre.

The Sea Dogs do not have their own first round pick in this year's draft but they do have Gatineau's and Blainville-Boisbriand's.