QMJHL Entry Draft first round recap

The 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft continues today.

After last night's YouTube broadcast of the first round, the remainder of the draft won't be aired anywhere. Fans can follow along pick-by-pick on the league's draft page.

There were some concerns heading into last night's broadcast given the disastrous draft lottery show. Those concerns quickly went away though, as the league produced a high quality program with much of the same video that would have been used if the draft was held in-person.

Unlike the draft lottery, last night's show was broadcast from a studio. Commissioner Gilles Courteau announced the picks from a podium.

Behind the scenes! Here's what our studio looks like for the very first virtual #QDraft of our history! 💻 pic.twitter.com/QPAvR9FLJ1

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) June 5, 2020

The Cape Breton Post's Jeremy Fraser tweeted that 5,500 people were watching the broadcast at one point.

Saint John Sea Dogs alumni Mike Hoffman and Nathan Beaulieu were among the former QMJHL players to send video messages of "good luck and best wishes" before the draft started.

The only negative was the amount of time it took for trades to be confirmed, especially the Jakob Pelletier deal that was all but confirmed 45 minutes before the draft even started. But, again, trades taking a long to confirm is something that happens at in-person drafts as well.

All in all, this was probably the most entertaining thing most of us have watched over the past three months. Kudos, QMJHL.

The Sea Dogs have another busy day ahead of them. Here's where the team is currently picking.

Round 2, 34th overall (Rimouski)
Round 2, 38th overall (Sherbrooke)
Round 4, 59th overall (Bathurst)
Round 4, 70th overall (Charlottetown)
Round 5, 88th overall (Charlottetown)
Round 7, 120th overall
Round 9, 156th overall
Round 11, 192nd overall
Round 13, 228th overall
Round 14, 246th overall

Sea Dogs land Carruthers, Drapeau

The Saint John Sea Dogs didn't deliver any jaw dropping drama on the first day of the 2020 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft, instead opting for two seemingly solid picks that give the team some added depth up front and on the backend.

After speculation that the Sea Dogs may move the third overall selection, the team kept the choice and landed forward Leighton Carruthers of the Halifax McDonald's. With their second pick of the first round, Saint John selected defenseman Nathan Drapeau from the Collège Notre-Dame Albatros with the 15th overall selection.

Carruthers, who won't turn 16 until next month, recorded 18 goals and 19 assists in 35 games with the McDonald's last season. He added nine goals and six assists in 10 post-season games.



Carruthers, listed at 5'11" and 199 lbs., was ranked fourth overall by HockeyProspect.com and 11th by QMJHL Central Scouting.

"His frame is major junior ready, he’s strong and has a great first few strides," writes HockeyProspect.com. "Carruthers is definitely more of a shooter than a playmaker (and) he has a lethal release."

2020 QMJHL Entry Draft need to know

Here's what you need to know heading into this weekend's QMJHL Entry Draft...

When: The first round (20 picks) takes place tonight beginning at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic. Rounds 2-14 take place tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m.

Where: This year's draft is virtual, with the first round being broadcast the QMJHL's YouTube page. Saturday's rounds can be followed on the league's draft page.

Picks: Here's where Saint John is currently picking in the draft:

Round 1, 3rd overall (Baie-Comeau)
Round 1, 15th overall (Drummondville)
Round 2, 34th overall (Rimouski)
Round 2, 38th overall (Sherbrooke)
Round 4, 59th overall (Bathurst)
Round 4, 70th overall (Charlottetown)
Round 5, 88th overall (Charlottetown)
Round 7, 120th overall
Round 9, 156th overall
Round 11, 192nd overall
Round 13, 228th overall
Round 14, 246th overall

The full draft order can be found here.

Info: If you haven't checked out our draft coverage, here's some pieces to read.

• Who will the Sea Dogs draft this weekend? Lorne examines.
• Kevin's mock draft of the first round.
• On the Cam MacDonald signing - and could it lead to the picking of Evan Nause?
• On the trades Saint John made this past Wednesday.

Questions: Some things to look out for this weekend:

• Will Saint John pick at third overall? The team has made it known that they are willing to move the pick, which makes sense given where the squad is at in their rebuild.
• If the Dogs move the pick, that would indicate that the player they want will likely be available later on... which adds fuel to the Evan Nause speculation (or another player where there may be some uncertainty around him reporting).
• Will Saint John make a move for a goaltender? President and general manager Trevor Georgie told Rogers TV a couple weeks ago that "there are a lot of goalies out there that are 19 and 20 that I think could be good mentors for Noah (Patenaude) or share the duties. We're going to look at getting a goalie in here to share those duties with Noah and may the best goalie win." 

Who will the Sea Dogs draft?

By Lorne Webster | SN Staff 

There are a lot of armchair general managers preparing for the 2020 version of the QMJHL Entry Draft – which starts at 7:30 p.m. tonight. However, as Saint John Sea Dogs head scout and assistant general manager Anthony Stella said during the recent “Tuesday Night Takeover” show of Facebook Live, he and his team of scouts have spent countless hours in cold arenas around the world preparing for this weekend. One could say “they’re making their lists and checking them twice” for their Christmas in June.

While people outside of Stella’s “cone of silence” likely will never see the actual final list, the team at Station Nation has prepared its own reference list for the draft. To do so, we start with the player rankings published by the QMJHL Central Scouting team. Then we subscribe to the HockeyProspect.com QMJHL Draft Guide and, in the past two years, we have supplemented the spreadsheet with the rankings of a respected Quebec area scout – Benoit Belanger.

The Station Nation Composite Draft Rankings highlight the diverse opinions of the various scouts, especially this year. Most notably, outside of rather minor differences in round one (i.e. 5-10 positions), the range for rounds two through six can be as much as 60-75 positions. Also, we, like most fans, may only see some of these players once or twice prior to their draft day. With that in mind, here is a list of players that the Sea Dogs could target in the draft this weekend.

(NOTE: Since president and general manager Trevor Georgie has made it known that the Sea Dogs are “open for business” on the trade front, the actual draft positions may change during the draft)

ROUND 1 – BAC No. 3 overall (acquired 2019-01-06 for Alex D’Orio) 
After consensus No. 1 – Tristan Luneau – the next five players all show outstanding skills which project them to be impact players in the QMJHL and likely NHL stalwarts down the road. Antonin Verreault (St-Eustache - QC) and Luke Woodworth (South Shore - NS) are small centres with incredible offensive talents. Michael Mastrodomenico (Laval-Montreal – QC) is a mobile two-way right-handed defenseman. Leighton Carruthers (Halifax – NS) and Michael Lastarza (Shattuck St. Mary’s – QC) are a pair of power forwards with size and outstanding shots.

ROUND 1 – DRU No. 15 overall (acquired 2017-12-19 for Joe Veleno)
Noah Warren (Charles-Lemoyne – QC) is a huge (6’4” 203 lbs.), mobile defenceman who represented Canada at the 2019 Youth Olympics. He reportedly may benefit from another year in midget AAA as he grows into his body. Dylan Andrews (Cole Harbour – NS) is a strong two-way centre with high-end skating and hockey IQ.

MacDonald latest to leave NCAA commitment

The 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft keeps looking better and better for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs took some significant risks on draft day last year, but those risks are now bringing some big rewards.

With today's news that Cameron MacDonald has signed with the club, Saint John has not gotten their top four picks in the 2019 draft - Joshua Roy (first overall), Peter Reynolds (21st overall), Charles Savoie (34th) and MacDonald (51st overall) - to join the team.

On top of that, Robert Orr, a fifth round pick by the Dogs last year, was flipped to the Halifax Mooseheads on Wednesday for a second and fourth round selection in this year's draft.

That's a decent crop of players to say the least - especially considering that for some time it appeared as though Roy would be the only regular to commit to the team. Saint John now has a strong core group of 2003-born players, which could extend their competitive window into 2023.

The MacDonald announcement got plenty of attention for a couple reasons. For one, Saint John continues to stockpile high end, NHL potential players. And two, Saint John continues to stockpile previously committed NCAA players.

Excited to sign with a great Organization, can’t wait to get started! @sjseadogs pic.twitter.com/jEahuBVVMc

— Cam Macdonald (@cammacdonald61) June 4, 2020

As the Sea Dogs news release notes, MacDonald (Boston College) joins Peter Reynolds (Boston College), Charlie DesRoches (Northeastern), Josh Lawrence (Boston University), Matt Gould (Providence College), Dawson Stairs (uncommitted) and Kale McCallum (uncommitted) to jump ship and choose the junior hockey route over the past two years. That is a significant amount - especially considering, as we've brought up many times, that the Sea Dogs did not have too many success stories in this department in the first 10-12 years of the franchise.

SN's 2020 QMJHL first round mock draft

By Kevin Chambers | SN Staff

The first round of the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft takes place virtually on Friday night.

While the draft will look much different than it usually does, the concept remains the same: teams need to have success on Friday and Saturday if they want to have success on the ice in the future.

On that note, here’s a look at this year’s first round mock draft, which features 20 picks due to Val-d’Or and Victoriaville receiving compensation.

1. Gatineau – Tristan Luneau (D)
Luneau has been the consensus No. 1 pick throughout the season and all signs suggest Gatineau will waste no time in selecting him first overall. Luneau is a gifted offensive defenseman with excellent speed and skill. Luneau has a verbal commitment with the University of Wisconsin, so we’ll see how that plays out.

2. Gatineau – Antonin Verreault (F)
After selecting the best overall player and a defenseman, the Olympiques could turn to the best forward in the draft in Verreault. Verreault is described as a dynamic and versatile winger or center. He has a very high hockey IQ and is skilled with the puck on his stick. Verreault also posses a strong and accurate shot.

3. Saint John – Samuel Savoie (F) 
Another dynamic and very skilled forward which adds to the depth of the Sea Dogs existing core. Savoie has excellent speed to go along with a strong shot with a quick release.

4. Gatineau – Michael Mastrodomenico (D) 
The Olympiques will continue to grow their defense stable with the addition of Mastrodomenico. Another real intelligent and smooth skating defender who sees the ice exceptionally well. Mastrodomenico can break the puck out on his own or make a heads-up breakout pass on the tape of his teammates.

5. Quebec – Luke Woodworth (F) 
The Remparts add an elite level playmaking center. Woodworth can find his teammates with crisp passes through traffic. His vision and hockey IQ are exceptional. He’s a small forward but he has speed and can use it to beat defenders.

6. Val-d’Or – Maveric Lamoureux (D) 
Lamoureux already has good size at 6’4” and 171 lbs. Despite his size, he’s also an excellent skater with a good hard shot. Lamoureux is also a physical player often intimidating opposing forwards in the corners. The Foreurs have a solid stable of defenders that will help elevate Lamoureux’s overall game.