Bolstering the backend

Islanders acquire defenceman Cody Donaghey, goalie Blade Mann-Dixon from Moncton

The Charlottetown Islanders acquired a pair of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) veterans two days before opening training camp.

Blade Mann-Dixon, a 19-year-old goalie, will be in Pownal today as the Isles begin the 2016-17 camp. Overage defenceman Cody Donaghey will join the squad Tuesday.

The Islanders sent a fourthand a 10th-round pick to Moncton Saturday in return.

“By adding Cody we have improved our mobility and experience on the backend,” general manager Jim Hulton said. “He will come in and be a mentor to our younger players and log a lot of minutes for us.”

Donaghey was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and traded to the Ottawa Senators as part of the Dion Phaneuf deal in February.

Hulton said Donaghey is a two-way defenceman who will see power-play time.

“We were impressed by his battle level,” Hulton said, and “he elevated (his game) at playoff time.”

Donaghey will be playing with his fifth QMJHL team in five seasons.

“We did a lot of homework on that too because it does jump out at you,” Hulton said. “The big thing that was coming back was it was more of a compliment than a detriment.”

He joins Kameron Kielly and Jake Coughler as overages coming to camp.

Samuel Blais is still a possibility for the season, but it will be the St. Louis Blues decision.

“If he comes back, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Hulton said. “We think we’d have the luxury of then having four top-quality overages.”

The team would have to move one of them as squad can only have three on its roster. The team continues to try and find a home for overage Euro Filip Rydstrom.

Mann-Dixon is entering his third season in the league. He has played with the Saint John Sea Dgos and the Valley Wildcats of the Maritime Hockey League (MHL).

“We have been searching all summer for a veteran goalie to compliment Matt Welsh and with the addition of Blade we are very excited with our goaltender tandem going into training camp,” said Hulton, who is also the head coach.

While he added the team is not anointing them the team’s goalies, they appear to have the inside track.

“Someone’s got to come in and beat one of the two out for a spot, but that’s the beauty of competition at training camp,” Hulton said.

With the Donaghey acquisition, the Islanders have added a lot of experience to the defence this offseason. They acquired 19-year-old blue-liners Guillaume Brisebois and Jake Barter from Acadie-Bathurst at the draft to go with returnee Will Thompson, who is entering his fourth season in the league.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Andrew Smith return for their sophomore seasons while Finland’s Saku Vesterinen is here for his rookie campaign. David Comeau is also in camp after starting 2015-16 with Charlottetown before ending the campaign with Woodstock in the MHL.

Marc-Olivier Alain, the team’s first-round pick this year, is also in the mix. Hulton said having the veterans in place allows the team do a true assessment and not rush him into the lineup.