If Jacques Beaulieu were a betting man, he would pony up and bet the house on his thoroughbred this June.

Beaulieu, the head coach and general manager of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Québec Major Junior Hockey League, is confident if he was choosing a National Hockey League team's future among players in his league, he would choose none other than the player he named "The Big Horse."

At six-foot-four and 214 pounds with an overflowing tool kit of talent, Beaulieu thinks the pedigree of his 17-year-old defenceman Simon Després should make him the first NHL pick from his league in this summer's draft.

"If I had to pick anybody out of our league, it would definitely be him," Beaulieu said. "I think he stands out and is the best player available for sure."

Beaulieu should know. A year and a half ago, that same decision was his to make. After finishing with the worst record in the league in the 2006-2007 season, his team was granted the first overall pick in the 2007 QMJHL draft.

Although his franchise was just two years old, it was the third such year his team held the first overall pick in the draft. The Sea Dogs received the first pick after expansion then earned it the next two drafts with their record. In both previous instances, the team used the first overall pick to draft defencemen: Alex Grant in 2005 and Yann Sauvé in 2006.

As Beaulieu said, the glut of talented defencemen already in the Sea Dogs' fold did little to sway him from choosing another for the third year in succession.

"We were looking for the best player available and it was by far that Simon was the best player in our draft," he said. "We selected him and we have no regrets of selecting him."

Nor should they. Després quickly emerged as a two-way threat capable of maneuvering his big frame with perhaps the most important tool a player can have: the ability to think and process the game - hockey sense.

As Grant says, Després's hockey sense will play a big part in determining how much of his potential he reaches.

"I think the sky's the limit for him," said Grant, a fourth round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007. "He's got hockey sense and that's what you need. You can't play the game if you don't have the brain for it. He's got everything working for him right now. He's got all the tools and he's just got to keep working hard and put it all together."

The National Hockey League's Central Scouting certainly seems to think Després has the potential to put it all together. Després was the top ranked skater from the QMJHL in Central Scouting's preliminary rankings for the 2009 NHL draft.

In spite of being touted as a potential top 20 pick for the draft, Després remains unmoved by the rankings. Described as one of the quietest players by teammate Grant, Després would rather focus on more tangible goals that he can control, such as improving on his team's playoff run from a year ago and gaining entry to this year's Memorial Cup tournament.

"I don't like to watch the rankings," Després acknowledged. "If you think it's too easy, you're going to stop working hard."

Després certainly doesn't need a lesson in hard work. "A student of the game, he's always trying to make himself better," his coach said.

Proof of that is evident in practice as Després is not only the first one on the ice but often one of the last off it.

"I like fresh ice," he said sheepishly.

Well aware of his strengths, Després spends a lot of his time working on his perceived weakness: his shot. Després is happy with his power and accuracy but is more concerned with improving the timing of his release.

When asked who his favourite player was, the defenceman had a surprising answer: Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings. Rather than watching fellow defencemen, Després prefers the thrills a forward brings to the game.

"It's more fun to watch a forward play," he conceded.

It shouldn't be too surprising then to learn he wasn't always a defenceman. Després had once been a center, in peewee, before reverting back to his natural position on the blue line.

His experience as a forward shouldn't be overly surprising given his penchant for joining the rush.

"He's definitely offensive and he loves to join the rush," Grant said.

"He's big, he can skate, he has great vision - he has all the package," Sauvé added.

Després has the scary combination of the total package and the size to go with it. As Després continues to make a case to be the first player drafted from his league, this is one race Beaulieu doesn't expect to come down to the wire.