 |
| Micheal Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs |
The Saint John Sea Dogs officially traded their captain to the Memorial Cup hosts on Monday morning, just hours before the QMJHL trade deadline. In return, the Sea Dogs receive four picks in the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft.
#QMJHLTrade 🔄@SJSeaDogs
— QMJHL (@QMJHL) January 6, 2025
➡️ Rimouski : Eriks Mateiko (2005-11-18)@oceanicrimouski
➡️ Saint John : 3rd round 2026, 4th round 2026, 4th round 2026 (SNB), 5th round 2026 pic.twitter.com/oZaeVxs531
The return for Mateiko – one of the best imports in the QMJHL – looks underwhelming right now. That will be fixed at the draft in June when this deal is fully completed. It's expected Saint John will receive two first round picks.
Despite appearing in just 23 games with the Sea Dogs during the first half of the season, Mateiko continues to be Saint John's leading goal scorer. He's posted 14 goals and five assists this season.
The Latvian forward spent two-and-a-half seasons with Saint John, recording 53 goals and 45 assists in 134 career QMJHL games. He'll go down as one of Saint John's best CHL Import Draft picks, being picked in the second round in 2022.
Mateiko will now get the opportunity to compete for a Memorial Cup championship with the Oceanic. He proved during this year's IIHF World Junior Championship that he can thrive in big games, pulling Latvia into the quarterfinals with five goals in five games.
The Oceanic's next game is Friday against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. They visit Saint John on Jan. 24.
No comments:
Post a Comment