Saint John Sea Dogs director of hockey operations Mike Kelly has pulled the trigger on a trade that will see goaltender Marco Cousineau playing in a Sea Dogs jersey.
"This is very good news because they are the best team in the league,” said Cousineau in a phone interview last night with
Sports Juniors Magazine. “I have the chance to win twice, it cannot be bad news.”
Cousineau won a league championship with Drummondville last season and was named the top goaltender of the 2009 Mastercard Memorial Cup. He also won the defensive player of the week award once in his career and was placed on the second all-star team in 2007-08.
The price for the overage goalie comes at a steep price however. The Rocket opted to add draft picks for the next two QMJHL Entry Drafts by obtaining three 2010 picks: Second round pick (Baie-Comeau), a fourth round selection from (Lewiston-from Saint John) and a seventh round pick. They also pick up a 2011 third round selection.
Along with Cousineau, Saint John gets the Rocket’s 2010 fifth round pick (Baie-Comeau) in 2010 Entry Draft.
“Marco is a talented goalie with a significant amount of post-season experience,” said Kelly to saintjohnseadogs.com. “He’s a great addition to our roster and we’re looking forward to having him in Saint John for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.”
“The play of Evan Mosher this year has given us some tremendous flexibility to be able to trade Marco and acquire significant draft picks for this year and next," said Rocket President Serge Savard Jr. in a release. "Evan has played extremely well and has earned the number one position and we want to give him the opportunity to carry this team forward for the remainder of this year."
Cousineau’s career is yet another feel good story. He was drafted in the twelfth round, 204 overall, by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in 2006. He played in 26 games as a rookie and had a record of 4-12-0. He spent the next one-and-a-half seasons in Baie-Comeau before being traded by the Drakkar to Drummondville on January 7 of this year.
He went 12-4-0 with the Volts and carried them into the post-season. In the playoffs, he had a record of 13-3-0 as the Voltigeurs went on to win the Presidents Cup. Then in Rimouski at the Memorial Cup, he picked up the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the top goaltender of the tournament.
His regular season stats are anything but spectacular. In his four year career, he has a record of 69-74 with a goals against average of 3.18 and save percentage of 0.896. But as Mike Kelly pointed out, Cousineau is a big game goaltender.
In 23 career playoff games, he has a record of 14-7 with a G.A.A. of 2.45 and save percentage of 0.912. In four games in the 2009 Memorial Cup, he went 2-2-0 with a G.A.A. of 2.94 and save percentage of 0.911.
In 2008, he was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the third round, 83 overall, in the NHL entry draft. He will become the sixth drafted player on Saint John’s current roster.
News of this trade broke last week and was first reported by RDS as a done deal last night. He sat on the bench at Harbour Station last night as the Sea Dogs defeated the Rocket 5-2. It is believed that he did travel back to the Island with the Rocket.
Also, with Cousineau being 20-years-old, Saint John will likely be trading overage goaltender Marc-Antoine Gelinas in the coming days.
