2023 QMJHL Draft

[scoutman1]

That, I agree with. Just saying the maritimes players are seen by all teams at all events, not just at one event at the end of the year

NL is probably under scouted though.

NL is under scouted but also a ton of its top talent leaves NFLD now and plays in prep schools...With Gatineau we use to have a NFLD scout who was the head coach to the u18 team in St John's but we got rid of him due to budget and we just took in NFLD games in tournaments and that was it. Im sure it is still the same though...

 

[Lap2000]

I certainly hope a player's chances of getting drafted would not be decided on a one weekend tournament . The week long Canada Winter Games tournament should have been a much more potent sign of what a kid can be as a player . A tournament in which you play against the BEST kids your own age in this country should tell you a lot more than a weekend tournament. Several maritime kids didn't do well in this tournament and apparently it didn't matter as they had good positioning in the draft . Others had great success and didn't fare off so well . Hard to understand for sure !!! There must be many other hidden factors that we are not aware of or else this drafting system is terribly flawed !!!

It’s not like that really. Canada games have decent talent but you have to keep in mind the age is younger overall in the tournament. Several of the kids in the Canada games teams will be on the bottom half of a normal U18 team in real team contribution. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still great information but it’s only a data point.

 

[Big Daddie]

It’s not like that really. Canada games have decent talent but you have to keep in mind the age is younger overall in the tournament. Several of the kids in the Canada games teams will be on the bottom half of a normal U18 team in real team contribution. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still great information but it’s only a data point.

To say that the Canada games have decent talent is a bit of an understatement as witnessed by the fact that the top ten picks in the OHL draft came from the Ontario Canada games team !!! Further to that , having watched them play in the Canada games , I am convinced that the Quebec team was talented enough that they could give many Major Junior teams a run for their money on any given night . I have never witnessed a team so skilled and so well coached at the U18 level . Older players or not , most of the players representing their province were well above average in skill level and many of them will make the team that drafted them . You couldn't ask for a better opportunity to appraise their skills than the Canada Games experience !!! I haven't had a chance to research it yet but I bet the top ten kids in the QMJHL draft were on their Canada Games Team . "Decent talent ", I would say so !!!

 

[Rinkthoughts]

That, I agree with. Just saying the maritimes players are seen by all teams at all events, not just at one event at the end of the year

NL is probably under scouted though.

While I agree that NL is underscouted compared to the rest of the provinces basically due to geography I have to commend the NLU18AAA league for doing what they can to help. The use of InStat has certainly helped and there is a lot more video for teams to see than ever before .

The biggest issue is that NL has to be part of the Q draft due to the short lived FogDevils . Back when you could declare for one CHL draft NL kids had more opportunities . The way it stands now NL players just don’t get the same opportunity . Q teams are sometimes hesitant to draft Maritime kids and even more so for the NL kid. This is twofold as Quebec teams prefer drafting local unless the player is exponentially better and are hesitant to draft a player who may not show up. The other side is true as well . There are more kids from NL going prep school or US college route due to not thinking they will get an opportunity in the Q so they preemptively move .

Some kids create their own opportunities like J Seymour who went away last year or Matthew Butler who went to SSM but is now heading to Charlottetown (where he will do well) but they are top end players who will be fine. It’s too bad for the kids a tier below them .

Saying that , the 07 group got a lot of buzz coming out of Covid (rightly so) and there are good players in the 08 class. I’m also interested to see how the 09 group progresses as they are first NL team to win the Atlantic Challenge Cup for U14 .

Sorry for the long winded post haha.

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

Speaking outside of 1-2 players each year who might make a Q team, it’s not even that NL kids think they aren’t going to make Q, the statistics year over year tells them they won't. Players like Butler/Seymour are very likely to have gotten drafted early and have good chances to play by 17 regardless of where they played first year of U18. For the rest might be totally different story.

Every year the current draft year thinks this year will be different, as this year is deeper than others, but the truth is only 4-6 players drafted every year and 1 may make it as the 16 or 17 year old. There's no 18 yr old making it from NL as a rookie.

Playing in USA or CDN prep can help NL players get seen in some cases, in most cases it isn’t a guarantee . I just don’t think scouts get a large enough sample size of NL players going to Monctonian/IG and maybe Atlantics. Therefore they aren't taking risk on kids vs those they have seen play since U13 from Maritimes or QC. And no scout is using Instat to determine how a players skill translate to the Q unless they also see them a ton live or has been watching them since U13/15.

When teams drafting NL players outside 4th round they expect players to stay beyond 48hrs its difficult for kids to cut off a potential path as Q path is very unlikely. And yes, people can provide isolated examples where that wasn’t the case but those examples are few and far between.

The phrase “ if you are good enough they will find you” doesn’t apply well to most NL kids.

 

[TJHKY]

This draft is pretty bad for PEI kids. There are only 6 players (07) + one overage (06) drafted.
2F+4D +1G
Usually every year there are around 10-12 players drafted. This year is so awful. 2 kids went to Q cup and did not get drafted. Another D rating did not drafted either. Not even talking about E rating were not drafted from Island at all.

Considering this group of kids played the Canada Winter Games in home soil, they were doing worst in the recent CWG. They are #11 in the final standing. In other years, Team PEI is either #9 or #10.
This year they lost to YK 3:5 and NL 1:7, and every players in the team were losing stock during the draft. Even Murphy was considered as first round prospect and he was drafted in third round. There is no surprise that more NL kids got drafted than PEI kids.

 

[QCM18AAA]

Trying to understand here...are you guys saying that kids from NL and PEI did not get drafted because of their location? Could it be because talent wise, NL and PEI just didn`t measure up to others? During the December challenge, maritimes teams didn`t do well. Canada game same thing unfortunately. I don`t think Q cup made much difference in the overall draft other than for Villeneuve who magically appeared top 10 prospect after cup from not even being on the list in the previous months...but that`s another debate! Some players that were drafted in first round didn`t have points during the Q cup and still got picked 1st round.

 

[hockeylife11]

To say that the Canada games have decent talent is a bit of an understatement as witnessed by the fact that the top ten picks in the OHL draft came from the Ontario Canada games team !!! Further to that , having watched them play in the Canada games , I am convinced that the Quebec team was talented enough that they could give many Major Junior teams a run for their money on any given night . I have never witnessed a team so skilled and so well coached at the U18 level . Older players or not , most of the players representing their province were well above average in skill level and many of them will make the team that drafted them . You couldn't ask for a better opportunity to appraise their skills than the Canada Games experience !!! I haven't had a chance to research it yet but I bet the top ten kids in the QMJHL draft were on their Canada Games Team . "Decent talent ", I would say so !!!

To say that the Canada games have decent talent is a bit of an understatement as witnessed by the fact that the top ten picks in the OHL draft came from the Ontario Canada games team !!! Further to that , having watched them play in the Canada games , I am convinced that the Quebec team was talented enough that they could give many Major Junior teams a run for their money on any given night . I have never witnessed a team so skilled and so well coached at the U18 level . Older players or not , most of the players representing their province were well above average in skill level and many of them will make the team that drafted them . You couldn't ask for a better opportunity to appraise their skills than the Canada Games experience !!! I haven't had a chance to research it yet but I bet the top ten kids in the QMJHL draft were on their Canada Games Team . "Decent talent ", I would say so !!!

2019 NL Canada Games team only had 4 drafted to the Q.

 

[Wintersun]

cup made much difference in the overall draft other than for Villeneuve who magically appeared top 10 prospect after cup from not even being on the list in the previous months...but that`s another debate! Some players that were drafted in first round didn`t have points during the Q cup and still got picked 1st round.

Trying to understand here...are you guys saying that kids from NL and PEI did not get drafted because of their location? Could it be because talent wise, NL and PEI just didn`t measure up to others? During the December challenge, maritimes teams didn`t do well. Canada game same thing unfortunately. I don`t think Q cup made much difference in the overall draft other than for Villeneuve who magically appeared top 10 prospect after cup from not even being on the list in the previous months...but that`s another debate! Some players that were drafted in first round didn`t have points during the Q cup and still got picked 1st round.

Nah, they were drafted just fine. Thought Boland or Carson MacKenzie could have been picked up, but it's not necessarily wrong for teams to just prefer other players over them either.

For NL, I do think it's underscouted a little bit most years (doesn't mean that more players should get drafted in the end).

That said, this year there was the Q Cup in Dieppe, the Monctonian, the Icejam, the Canada Games where there are 4 maritimes teams and then the QMJHL Cup at the end too...

If anything, the maritimes players were probably more heavily scouted than ever this year, so it's certainly not a flaw of not seeing these guys enough or not having scouts.

Even I, from Quebec, was able to see most Maritime players at least 10 times each this season...

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

Nah, they were drafted just fine. Thought Boland or Carson MacKenzie could have been picked up, but it's not necessarily wrong for teams to just prefer other players over them either.

For NL, I do think it's underscouted a little bit most years (doesn't mean that more players should get drafted in the end).

That said, this year there was the Q Cup in Dieppe, the Monctonian, the Icejam, the Canada Games where there are 4 maritimes teams and then the QMJHL Cup at the end too...

If anything, the maritimes players were probably more heavily scouted than ever this year, so it's certainly not a flaw of not seeing these guys enough or not having scouts.

Even I, from Quebec, was able to see most Maritime players at least 10 times each this season...

At the same time, I heard directly from advisor helping NL kids who was contacted by a QC team scout the night before this years draft asking who were the best players from NL. I know that is not representative of the entire league but is still terrible and I don't think the same calls were made to other 3 Atlantic provinces.

I just don't think the situation will change as Hockey-NL isn't doing enough to help NL players transition to next levels of hockey and there are very few hockey people in NL promoting kids. I would go as far as to say HNL are not measuring how NL players are doing at next levels and there is no plan to improve the situation. End Rant.

 

[hockeylife11]

At the same time, I heard directly from advisor helping NL kids who was contacted by a QC team scout the night before this years draft asking who were the best players from NL. I know that is not representative of the entire league but is still terrible and I don't think the same calls were made to other 3 Atlantic provinces.

I just don't think the situation will change as Hockey-NL isn't doing enough to help NL players transition to next levels of hockey and there are very few hockey people in NL promoting kids. I would go as far as to say HNL are not measuring how NL players are doing at next levels and there is no plan to improve the situation. End Rant.

It’s only about the money for Hockey NL. It has been for years and years. They don’t measure anything and do not care about development. This has been bought up to them every year and every year we wait for it to change and it never does and probably never will

 

[Lap2000]

To say that the Canada games have decent talent is a bit of an understatement as witnessed by the fact that the top ten picks in the OHL draft came from the Ontario Canada games team !!! Further to that , having watched them play in the Canada games , I am convinced that the Quebec team was talented enough that they could give many Major Junior teams a run for their money on any given night . I have never witnessed a team so skilled and so well coached at the U18 level . Older players or not , most of the players representing their province were well above average in skill level and many of them will make the team that drafted them . You couldn't ask for a better opportunity to appraise their skills than the Canada Games experience !!! I haven't had a chance to research it yet but I bet the top ten kids in the QMJHL draft were on their Canada Games Team . "Decent talent ", I would say so !!!

The CWG is a single year snapshot of players. It's a good showcase no doubt as I mentioned. The ontario and quebec teams are very good and all teams have great players for the year - but all teams also have players who are not in the top tier of players. Heck 3/4 of the rostered players of the Maritime teams will not even play a meaningful number of Q games and will end thier career in Junior A even with the extra development - which hey I think is a great achievement. A team from the maritimes in the CWG woudl compete with a decent Major team. They may win, they may loose. Your comment about Quebec giving any CHL team a run for their money is kindof out there though. They would not compete at all, nor would they be expected to. Even first round players do not play top line minutes generally because the skill grows so much with age and development over these years. These CWG players do not simply cakewalk through CHL, instead they become the players the future CWG teams would have to play against!

 

[Big Daddie]

The CWG is a single year snapshot of players. It's a good showcase no doubt as I mentioned. The ontario and quebec teams are very good and all teams have great players for the year - but all teams also have players who are not in the top tier of players. Heck 3/4 of the rostered players of the Maritime teams will not even play a meaningful number of Q games and will end thier career in Junior A even with the extra development - which hey I think is a great achievement. A team from the maritimes in the CWG woudl compete with a decent Major team. They may win, they may loose. Your comment about Quebec giving any CHL team a run for their money is kindof out there though. They would not compete at all, nor would they be expected to. Even first round players do not play top line minutes generally because the skill grows so much with age and development over these years. These CWG players do not simply cakewalk through CHL, instead they become the players the future CWG teams would have to play against!

You may not have noticed that I said the Quebec team could give MANY teams a competitive game . In every league there are weaker teams who would definitely be challenged by that Quebec team that was highly skilled and so well coached . Never would I suggest that they would be competitive with the majority of CHL teams and in fact would probably be blown out by the higher skilled teams . I was just so impressed with their approach to the game and felt that the Atlantic teams just didn't have a comparible level of talent and coaching . Also , if your suggestion that most of these drafted players will end up in Junior A , that is probably a good reason why so many kids go the prep school NCAA route . The majority will require a good level of education regardlees of which route they follow . The NCAA route usually means they start their educatioin at an earlier age rather than just beginning at 21 or 22 years of age . There are pros and cons to everything I guess !!!

 

[QCM18AAA]

Kilfoil Commits to Mooseheads​

Why a change of mind? Is it because he didn't want to play for any other team? Why sign him right away? From what I seen from him at the Canada games, I don't think he can play in the Q this season. Unfortunately I cannot see why there was such a hype around him earlier on.

 

[Wintersun]

Kilfoil Commits to Mooseheads​

Why a change of mind? Is it because he didn't want to play for any other team? Why sign him right away? From what I seen from him at the Canada games, I don't think he can play in the Q this season. Unfortunately I cannot see why there was such a hype around him earlier on.

Was the initial hype warranted ? Likely not. Is he capable of playing at 16 in the Q? Yeah, I'd say so, but he won't be that productive. He's going to be a solid top 6 player for Halifax in his prime.

I'd say if he had reported to all teams, he would have been a late first round pick in this draft.

 

[TJHKY]

Q training camp is around the corner. Just curious how many 07 players will crack the Q rosters?

 

[QCM18AAA]

Q training camp is around the corner. Just curious how many 07 players will crack the Q rosters?

I see most of 1st rounder making the cut...maybe 1-2 sent back.
half of second rounders and then maybe 5 from other rounds.

Tough to say always depends what teams are looking for.

 

[ccmribcore]

I see most of 1st rounder making the cut...maybe 1-2 sent back.
half of second rounders and then maybe 5 from other rounds.

Tough to say always depends what teams are looking for.

Which is historically about right

Last year, only Anthony Paré (aside of the no-show) was sent back to M18 from the 1st rounder

9/18 from the 2nd round made it

7 kids from the other rounds made it, including one OA (Fullarton) and 1 that was eventually returned at xmas (Murray)

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

What are the average #s for 17 yr old players that would make it next yr and assume not many 18yrs are entering the league the year after?

 

[Prospect Tracker]

I would say that usually 10 to 15 players get a regular spot (top 12 F and top 6 D) as 18 years old rookies

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

Hearing that Jack Carter (G) from NL is playing really well at Islanders camp. Peddigrew and Seymour are also still at their respective camps.

How are the other 07s doing?

 

[TJHKY]

William Lacelle (#10 of 2023 draft) left the training camp voluntarily
Jeremy Loranger (#17 of 2023 draft) left the training camp voluntarily
Zachary Morin (#19 of 2023 draft) committed to Boston University

 

[Prospect Tracker]

Lacelle and Loranger didn't clearly state that they wanted to go South. Considering they have nothing to gain in rushing things for now, it's a smart decision.

Loranger has the profile to lean towards NCAA but the fact that he could play in his hometown could help in his decision to play QMJHL.

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

How many 07's are playing in the Q this yr ?

 

[TJHKY]

How many 07's are playing in the Q this yr ?

Total 26 players from 2007 will play in the opening night.
QC: 18
NB: 3
NS: 2
NL: 2
US: 1
PE: 0