Sherbrooke prepares for the QMJHL Draft
Eastern Townships will be represented greatly at 2017 QMJHL Draft
Young elite hockey players and their families across eastern parts of the country will flock to the home of the 2017 President’s Cup trophy winners, the Saint John Sea Dogs.
Fresh off a run for the Memorial Cup that came up just short with a semi-final finish, the Sea Dogs will be this year’s host of the QMJHL Draft. Unlike their OHL counterparts that held their Priority Selection back in April, the QMJHL welcomes prospects to the league with a Draft much like the NHL.
This year’s edition of the draft sees the Sherbrooke Phoenix picking second and eleventh overall. In 2016, the Birds traded back at the draft to the tenth overall selection before drafting Anderson Macdonald.
Macdonald took the league by storm as a rookie scoring often as a 16-year-old player in the QMJHL earning a spot on the QMJHL rookie team. The Birds history of first round picks has been strong since entering the league; Daniel Audette in 2012, Jérémy Roy in 2013, Evan Fitzpatrick and Thomas Grégoire in 2014, and Macdonald in 2016.
The top five prospects for the draft are Alexis Lafreniere, Samuel Poulin, Jakob Pelletier, Xavier Parent and Alex Newhook.
Poulin is the younger brother of Phoenix power-forward and assistant captain Nicolas Poulin. Last month at the QMJHL’S Gatorade Excellence Challenge the younger Poulin scored the second most points, 11 (6G, 5A), in the whole tournament as a member of Quebec-white, the top team with a perfect 50 record.
According to the Phoenix’s General Manager Poulin has the tools to be successful in the league. “He’s a big strong power forward, he’s fast, has great skills and a big shot,” said Jocelyn Thibault. “He plays with passion and can play on the wing or centre.”
The Excellence Challenge’s top scorer was Dawson Mercer from team Newfoundland with 13 points (4G, 9A). Prior to leading the charge for team Newfoundland, Mercer spent the 2016-2017 season playing for the Bishop’s College School Bears. The 15-year-old caught the attention of scouts after getting 12 points in 11 games in the U18 PSHF and 22 points in 18 games in the MPHL.
“He’s fast, has great skills and playmaking abilities,” said Thibault on the Bears’ centre.
Mercer is ranked 12th among all prospects. One spot ahead of him on the QMJHL’S final prospect rankings at 11th overall is Magog Cantonniers defenceman Jérémy Jacques. Jacques is the fourth highest ranked blueliner in the whole draft. As part of the Cantonniers he scored four goals and added nine assists for 13 points in 36 games. Jacques size combined with his skating is one reason that talent evaluators are high on the Cantonniers rearguard. “He’s big, a good all-around D-man and a good skater,” said Thibault on the Magog product.