Eagles select two at U.S. draft

The Cape Breton Eagles have added two young American hockey players, including the son of a former NHL star goalie, to their roster for the upcoming QMJHL season.

The league conducted its annual draft of players from the United States via a teleconference call on Monday, two days after the Q's annual Entry Draft in which the Eagles selected 17 players.

Cape Breton selected 16-year-old forward Connor Welsh with the 15th overall pick in the two-round draft before picking his Brunswick Prep School Bruins teammate, forward Beanie Richter, in the second round. Richter, whose father Mike, himself an American-born player, backstopped the New York Rangers to the 1994 Stanley Cup.

Welsh, who was also selected by the Sioux City Musketeers in the second round of the USHL futures draft, scored six goals and added 14 assists in 31 games as a freshman with the Greenwich, Conn.-based school. Richter, who turns 16 later this summer, tallied nine goals and 10 assists in 31 games in his rookie high school season.

Eagles general manager Jacques Carrière said Welsh has shown interest in reporting to the team's training camp. As for Richter, he plans to finish high school at Brunswick, but isn't ruling out the possibility of playing in Canada in the future.

The third and final draft for the Eagles and other Canadian major junior hockey teams is the CHL's Import Draft, which is usually held not long after the NHL's traditional June entry draft, although a date for this year's draft has yet to be set.

The Eagles selected Ivan Ivan in last year's draft. Ivan is expected back in the fold next season.