2026 first-round is in the books

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - The opening round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft has been completed.

After a lengthy evening inside Halifax's Scotiabank Centre, 13 forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders were selected.

Here's a quick recap of what went down.

		Player	P	H	W	Team (Prov)
1	ROU	Thomas Boisvert	C	5'10	149	Mount St. Charles
2	VIC	Vincent Boutet	D	6'1	196	Séminaire Saint-François
3	BLB	Jacob McKinnon	LW	5'8	157	Séminaire Saint-François
4	SHA	Pierre-Alexandre Lemieux	C	6'2	186	Collège Esther-Blondin
5	VIC	Jakob Royer	RW	6'0	159	Trois-Rivières
6	SHA	Julien Bergeron	LW	6'0	188	Châteauguay
7	HAL	Émrik Ménard	RW	5'10	146	Woodbridge
8	RIM	Justin Gagnon	RW	6'3	170	Collège Notre-Dame
9	SHE	Damien Leduc	LW	6'1	178	Châteauguay
10	RIM	Max Brien	C	6'2	185	Steele Subaru
11	CHA	Aslan Tremblay	C	6'1	206	Amos
12	BAC	Tommy Leroux	C	5'11	189	Collège Charles-Lemoyne
13	NFL	Damian Norris	C	5'11	167	Upper Canada College
14	SNB	Lawrence Williams	D	6'1	165	Weeks
15	ROU	Zachary Lainesse	G	5'11	161	Lévis
16	ROU	Malik Tremblay	RW	5'10	162	Magog
17	BAC	Enzo Roy	LD	5'9	148	Lévis
18	BAC	Nathan Boulanger	G	6'0	143	Collège Esther-Blondin

Sea Dogs acquire Charbonneau, Howard; draft Williams

HALIFAX - Pick No. 14 proved to be quite eventful for the Saint John Sea Dogs during Friday's opening round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.

Earlier in the night, the Sea Dogs acquired the 14th and 17th overall picks from the Victoriaville Tigres in exchange for the fifth overall selection. When pick No. 14 came around, the Sea Dogs made a major trade with the Quebec Remparts.

In exchange for the 14th overall pick, Saint John acquired defenseman Thomas Charbonneau, forward Ryan Howard and a second-round selection in this year's draft. The Sea Dogs are also expected to receive a second-round pick in the 2027 draft, which Quebec currently doesn't have.

Charbonneau, who will turn 17 next week, posted two goals and nine assists in 48 games during his rookie campaign with Quebec. He added an assist in 11 playoff games.

Charbonneau was drafted fourth overall by the Remparts in last year's draft. He previously played at Shattuck St. Mary's. 

C’est tout un revirement de situation.

À pareille date l’an dernier, Charbonneau était choisi 4e au total par Québec. Simon Gagné le comparait alors à Marc-Édouard Vlasic.

Les choses vont vite dans le junior. https://t.co/pe84KbLRKt

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) June 6, 2026

Howard, 18, recorded nine goals and 11 assists in 62 regular season games with the Remparts last season, his second with the club. He added two assists in eight playoff games.

Who will Sea Dogs draft?

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - Assuming the Saint John Sea Dogs keep the fifth overall pick in this weekend's QMJHL Entry Draft, who could they select?

The first-round of this year's draft takes place Friday night at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre. Here are some potential picks based on what the experts/educated guessers believe.

• QMJHL Central Scouting released their final rankings back in March. If those rankings were to become reality, the Sea Dogs would pick Séminaire St-François Blizzard defenseman Vincent Boutet. Boutet, who won't turn 16 until next week, is listed at 6'1" and 190 lbs.
• Craig Eagles has a breakdown of each player ranked in the first-round by CSR.
• Puck Preps has Magog Cantonniers forward Malik Tremblay at No. 5. Tremblay is listed at 5'9" and 150 lbs but posted 37 points in 42 games last season.

  🚨FINAL 2026 QMJHL DRAFT RANKINGS🚨
  
  The time has finally arrived for us to reveal our list of the top-100 players for the 2026 QMJHL Draft, led by SSF Blizzard forward Jacob McKinnon!
  
  Free Article noting 20 HMs: https://t.co/mucoEADyVc
  
  Full Top-100: https://t.co/cp0pMNqBHX pic.twitter.com/YQCelA3oVK

  — Puck Preps Eastern Canada (@PuckPrepsEastCa) June 3, 2026

• Elite Prospects has Châteauguay Grenadiers forward Julien Bergeron ranked fifth. He posted 55 points in 42 games, finishing as the "highest-scoring 2010-born player in the QM18AAA this season, and third in the entire league."
• Halifax Sports Hub has the Sea Dogs taking Moncton Flyers forward Nathan Leblanc, which would be an off-the-board pick this early in the draft. Leblanc was ranked 54th by QMJHL Central Scouting.
• The Wildcast podcast has the Sea Dogs taking forward Zaac Charbonneau fifth overall – which would be "a classic Saint John draft move" given that the Quebec native tendered with the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks back in December. That means it's very possible the Sea Dogs may have to wait a year to land Charbonneau – if at all. It's a pick that would come with added risk. Charbonneau, a nephew of Daniel Brière, played at Mount St. Charles last season.

  Here it is, folks.
  
  The Annual Wildcast Podcast Mock Draft with special guest, @ARobScouting, and your favourite co-hoster, @Jeremy_Boucher. #QMJHLDraft pic.twitter.com/EEJVmmQTfL

  — 🎙Wildcast Podcast 🎧 (@MonctonWildcast) June 3, 2026

The remaining rounds of this year's draft will take place on Saturday. Saint John currently has a second-round pick but none after that until round six.

Draft weekend is here

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - It's one of the most wonderful times of the year in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

The first-round of the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft takes place tonight beginning at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre. The remaining 11 rounds will take place on Saturday.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will select first overall. The Saint John Sea Dogs, meanwhile, currently hold the fifth overall pick.

The full draft order can be found on the QMJHL website.

Here's where Saint John is scheduled to pick at the moment:

1st round, 5th overall 

2nd round, 34td overall (ROU) 

6th round, 95th overall 

7th round, 113th overall 

8th round, 131st overall 

9th round, 149th overall 

10th round, 167th overall 

11th round, 185th overall 

12th round, 203rd overall 

12th round, 210th overall (SHA)

The Sea Dogs entered the week with the 15th overall pick as well but dealt that selection to the Rouyn-Nornada Huskies in the Samuel Meloche trade.

Trades will be permitted during the draft.

Guité to play college hockey in 2026-27

Embed from Getty Images 

Émile Guité will play NCAA hockey at the University of New Hampshire this coming season, the Anaheim Ducks prospect confirmed on Instagram Thursday.

The status of Guité for the 2026-27 season had become a talking point with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens making so many deals this week. If Guité were to play in the QMJHL in the fall, he would have been one of the most coveted players on the trade market.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guité (@emile.guite) 

Guité, who turned 19 last week, posted 32 goals and 33 assists in 59 regular season games with the Sags. He added eight goals and six assists in 20 playoff games, helping Chicoutimi capture the Gilles-Courteau Trophy.

Only Maxim Massé had more goals on the Sags in the regular season.

Guité's decision is notable for a few reasons.

• He's likely a player the Sea Dogs would have been interested in acquiring: a point-producing, NHL drafted forward who is coming off a championship playoff run.
• In the Nolann Héroux trade announced Thursday, the Sea Dogs acquired a pick that Chicoutimi would no doubt like to acquire in some way: the Saguenéens' first-round pick in the 2027 QMJHL Entry Draft.
• On that note, Guité departing for the NCAA certainly doesn't help the Sags on the ice next season. That's good news for Saint John given they own Chicoutimi's first-round pick.

The Sags have been/will be very busy this week as they complete trades previously made to load up for this year's playoff run. The moves obviously paid off – but now they are paying the price.

The next QMJHL trade window opens during the first-round of the draft, which begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Baldwin added to Providence roster

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's not a big surprise but it is now official: Everett Baldwin will play NCAA hockey this coming season.

Baldwin, 19, was eligible to return to the Saint John Sea Dogs but it was expected that he would only spend one season in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League before heading for college hockey.

The Providence native will play for his hometown Providence College Friars beginning this fall, the school confirmed Thursday.

A second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft, Baldwin registered 15 goals and 29 assists in 62 games. He also added two assists in four playoff games.

Providence native and @TBLightning prospect Everett Baldwin joins the 2026-27 roster after setting the @SJSeaDogs record for goals by a rookie defensemen last season!

Welcome to Friartown, Everett! pic.twitter.com/WCTBLtL1Ri

— PC Men's Hockey (@FriarsHockey) June 4, 2026

Baldwin's 15 goals tied him with Charlottetown's Marcus Kearsey for the league lead amongst defensemen.

A fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in last year's NHL Draft, Baldwin joined the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on an amateur tryout after Saint John's season ended but did not get into any games.

Baldwin will become the second former Sea Dogs defenseman to play for Providence. Kale McCallum spent this past season with the Friars where he registered five goals and nine assists in 31 games. He turned pro after the season ended, joining the ECHL's Trois-Rivieres Lions.

Providence plays in Hockey East which will feature plenty of former QMJHL players. The conference's 2026-27 schedule has not yet been released.