Saturday, June 8, 2024

Deeper dive into Saint John's draft class

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
MONCTON – A couple things quickly stand out when looking at the Saint John Sea Dogs' 2024 draft class.

The first is size. The Sea Dogs selected 13 players during this weekend's Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft and only three of them were officially (they may have grown since) under 6'0" in height.

The second is that the team is taking several swings at landing players considering US college hockey. Saint John selected four American players and another three Canadians who played in the United States last season. The team is hopeful impending changes to the NCAA/CHL agreement – which would make CHL players eligible to play NCAA hockey – will help land some of these players in Saint John.

In total, Saint John selected six forwards, six defensemen and one goaltender. Along with the four Americans, Saint John picked eight players from Quebec and just one from the Maritimes (from Nova Scotia).

For a deeper dive into Saint John's three first-round picks made on Friday night, check out this post. Below is a look at Saint John's Saturday selections.

Round 2, 26th - Cruz Scanzano - RD - Lac St-Louis Lions
Listed at 6'1 and 184 lbs, Scanzano posted six assists in 41 games with the Lions last season. He was held pointless in seven playoff games.

Scanzano was ranked 88th by QMJHL Central Scouting.


Round 3, 45th - Rafael Courchesne - G - St-Hyacinthe Gaulois
After selecting a pair of forwards and a pair of defensemen with their first four picks, Saint John used their fifth choice to select goaltender Rafael Courchesne from the St-Hyacinthe Gaulois.

Courchesne posted an 11-11-0 record to go along with a 3.76 goals against average and a .895 save percentage in 24 regular season games. He also appeared in three playoff contests.

QMJHL Central Scouting had Courchesne ranked as a fifth-round selection. From Central Scouting's Maxime Ouellet:

Rafael is a goaltender who crouches a lot, which makes him look smaller than his 6’2’’ frame. The result is that he can get beat on high shots, with his hands not reacting enough in front of his body. His lateral movements and the explosion in his legs needs to improve for him to get his body in the shooting lanes more often.

While a better balance in net will help him out on rebound situations, Courchesne’s overall technique remains very good and is definitely his best asset. It will be interesting to see how he can adjust to the pace of the game from here to the end of the season and if he can make better use of his strong basic qualities.

Round 6, 93rd - Joshua Henry - D - Rothesay Netherwood
A Middle Sackville, NS native, Henry played this past season at Rothesay Netherwood where he posted four goals and eight assists in 44 total games. He spent the previous season with the Bishop Kearney Selects under-14 program.
Henry is a big defenseman. He was ranked in the fourth round by QMJHL Central Scouting.

"Joshua is a very intriguing prospect," writes Taylor Burke of Central Scouting. "He is a big and imposing defenseman at 6’2' and 180lbs. He skates well and has great speed, which he often uses to join the rush and carry the puck into the offensive zone."



Round 6, 95th - Jamie Glance - RW - Mount St. Charles Academy
Glance, a native of Stratham, NH, was the first American the Sea Dogs selected in this year's draft.

Glance had quite a season at Mount St. Charles Academy, posting 54 goals and 58 assists in 58 games. He led the US prep school squad in scoring last season.

Elite Prospects has him committed to the US National Team Development Program next season.

This pick is certainly the Sea Dogs taking a big swing. The intrigue here is that Glance is a New Hampshire native who played at Mount St. Charles – just like current Sea Dog Egan Beveridge.

Round 7, 113th - Brian McFadden - RD - Catholic Memorial School
McFadden, from Holbrook, Massachusetts, is listed at  6'3" and 175 lbs. Elite Prospects has limited numbers on him.
Round 8, 131st - Zachary Morin - LW - Youngstown Phantoms
The Sea Dogs took a swing at Morin in the eighth round. Morin, 17, was a first-round pick of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada last year but spent this past season with the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms. 

Listed at 6'1" and 186 lbs, Morin is committed to Boston University for the 2026-27 season.


Morin posted eight goals and 11 assists in 54 games with Youngstown last season. He also recorded an assist in seven games with Team Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
Round 11, 185th - Frédérick Bourque - D - Outaouais Intrépide
Bourque is another big defenseman, listed at 6'2" and 181 lbs. He spent time last season with both the Outaouais Intrépide under-17 team (two goals and eight assists in 32 games) and the under-18 Gatineau L'Intrépide (no points in one game). He was listed in the "other eligible players" category by Central Scouting.

Round 12, 203rd - Dylan-Alec Chery - F - Taft School Rhinos
Another US prep school product, Chery recorded two goals and eight assists in 25 games with the Taft School Rhinos. A Montreal native, Chery spent the previous two seasons in Quebec. He was listed in the "other eligible players" category by Central Scouting.

Round 13, 221st - Matas Janulis - RD - Islanders HC 16U
A Lincoln, Massachusetts native, Janulius registered five goals and 11 assists in 58 games with the under-16 Islanders Hockey Club, which is based in North Andover, MA. The defenseman is listed at 6'0" and 163 lbs.

Round 14, 239th - Matthew Krayer - C - Mount St. Charles Academy
Another Mount St. Charles Academy skater, Krayer recorded an impressive 32 goals and 47 assists in 56 games this past season. A Concord, Massachusetts native, Krayer has spent the past two seasons at the US prep school. He was a fifth-round pick of the Tri-City Storm in this year's USHL Futures Draft and previously committed to the BCHL's West Kelowna Warriors for the 2024-25 season.
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