Big trades made ahead of draft day

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MONCTON - It was a quiet day for the Saint John Sea Dogs but a major day for several teams in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

The league opened another trade window on Thursday morning and a number of major deals were announced.

• The Moncton Wildcats acquired 20-year-old forward Markus Vidicek and a couple third round picks from the Halifax Mooseheads in exchange for second year forward Shawn Carrier. Carrier was the sixth overall pick in last year's draft but saw limited ice time with Moncton in his rookie season.
• The Wildcats also acquired defenseman Dylan MacKinnon – a Riverview native – in exchange for Halifax's own first, second and third round picks in 2026.
• The largest deal of the day saw the Memorial Cup host Rimouski Oceanic acquire 20-year-old defenseman Pier-Olivier Roy from the Victoriaville Tigres in a three-team deal that also involved the Val-d'Or Foreurs.
• The Acadie-Bathurst Titan picked up 20-year-old defenseman Francois-James Buteau from the Rouyn-Noranda Hukies, returning Rouyn-Noranda's first-round pick in the deal.
• Back-to-back President Cup champion forward Kassim Gaudet was traded to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in exchange for a couple second-round picks.
• The Drummondville Voltigeurs dealt forward Justin Cote to the Quebec Remparts.

The full list of trades can be found on the QMJHL website .

There are at least a couple big trades expected to be made on Friday. The Quebec Remparts are still expected to acquire the first overall pick from the Cape Breton Eagles while the Oceanic are expected to trade for Mathieu Cataford from the Mooseheads.

Mooseheads forward Mathieu Cataford will move to the Rimouski Océanic tomorrow. Halifax will receive two first-round picks and two second-round picks to make its acquisition. Another big piece ahead of the 2025 Memorial Cup. #lesole

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) June 6, 2024

The QMJHL Entry Draft begins Friday night at 8 pm at Moncton's Avenir Centre.