When Joseph Veleno was granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada two nights before the QMJHL Draft, a consensus No. 1 pick emerged. The Sea Dogs selected the 15-year-old first overall and made QMJHL history in the process. Veleno is the first-ever player in the Q with exceptional status and also the first player born in the 2000’s to be drafted.
In total, 253 players were selected with Antoine Dufort-Plante going to the Rimouski Océanic with the final pick. There were 215 Canadians selected, 36 Americans and two Russians. The Saint John Sea Dogs made the most selections, with 19, while the Sherbrooke Phoenix only drafted 12 players.
Here’s how the top 10 picks of the Q draft unfolded, as well as a few other notable players to be selected.
1. Joseph Veleno, F, Saint John Sea Dogs
Veleno is no stranger to lacing up with older players, playing in the Canada Winter Games for Québec this winter, competing in the QMJHL Gatorade Excellence Challenge and playing midget triple-A in Québec with the Lac St-Louis Lions. The six-foot, 170-pound centre excelled at each level, netting 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 points in 41 games with the Lions. With Team Québec, he had 10 points in six games, including four goals.
He joins a Sea Dogs team that struggled down the stretch in the regular season before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs. They have a solid blueline — anchored by Jakub Zboril and Thomas Chabot, both expected to go in the first round of the NHL draft this month — and Luke Green, the first overall pick in last year’s Q draft. Veleno will be counted on to provide offence on a team with the tools to take a step forward this season. He grew up idolizing Jonathan Drouin, played for the same midget team and much like Drouin, should be an early NHL draft pick when he’s eligible in 2018.
2. Antoine Morand, F, Acadie-Bathurst Titan
QMJHL Central Scouting ranked Antoine Morand behind Châteauguay Grenadiers teammate Maxime Comtois, but it was the smaller of the two who went second overall. The five-foot-eight, 156-pound playmaker had 55 points in 41 games with the Grenadiers. He took a step forward in the playoffs, scoring 12 goals and 30 points in only 16 games, propelling the Grenadiers to the Telus Cup national midget championship tournament. The team finished second and Morand finished fifth in tournament scoring with 11 points.
The Titan finished last in the standings and in the goal-scoring department, finishing with 158 goals on the season. The second-worst team, Drummondville, had 195. Production is desperately needed from the Titan — scoring, passing, anything will be better than last season. Morand has excellent hockey sense, setting up goals and providing them.
3. Maxime Comtois, F, Victoriaville Tigres
Maxime Comtois was the top ranked player by Central Scouting before the Veleno news, but fell to the Tigres for the third pick. Like Morand, Comtois played his best when the pressure was highest in the playoffs and Telus Cup. He had 56 points in the regular season, 31 points in the playoffs and finished second in Telus Cup scoring with 15 points.
Comtois can be used in all situations. With Châteauguay, he was used on the penalty kill and manned the point on the powerplay. A talented goal scorer, the six-foot-one, 176-pound forward should step in and contribute with the Victoriaville Tigres right away.
4. Shane Bowers, F, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
While the Saint John Sea Dogs benefitted the most from the Veleno news, it also meant the Screaming Eagles would get to select one of the elite three of Comtois, Morand and Bowers. They ended up with Shane Bowers, a talented and big forward who hadn’t committed to playing in the QMJHL before the draft. While a decision has yet to be made, there’s a good chance Bowers will report to the Screaming Eagles in his home province of Nova Scotia. He was also drafted by the Waterloo Black Hawks in the third round of the USHL draft in May.
The six-foot, 161-pound forward picked up league MVP honours in his first season in major midge with the Halifax McDonald’s, scoring 52 points in 34 games. Bowers is a dynamic offensive player with high hockey IQ and the ability to carry a team on his back as displayed in the playoffs when he almost single-handedly led the McDonald’s through the first round.
5. Dereck Baribeau, G, Val-d’Or Foreurs
The Val-d’Or Foreurs aggressively pursued the top goaltender, ranked seventh overall, by trading up in the draft. They sent the 13th overall pick and a 2017 second-rounder in exchange for the pick used to nab Dereck Baribeau. After the selection, they sent Edmonton Oilers prospect Keven Bouchard to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for a second-round pick in 2017.
Now the Foreurs will roll with Baribeau and Etienne Montpetit between the pipes. Montpetit played well in his rookie season, eventually wrestling starting duties away from Keven Bouchard. Val-d’Or finished sixth in the standings, but allowed 266 regular season goals, third worst in the league.
Baribeau is mobile, but the first thing that jumps outs his six-foot-four, 172-pound frame. He’s huge and will only get bigger as he gets older. In midget triple-A, he had a GAA of 2.28 and .927 save percentage with the Séminaire St-François Blizzard.
6. Peyton Hoyt, F, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
The Screaming Eagles added more firepower by nabbing Peyton Hoyt, the first New Brunswicker selected, with the sixth overall pick. The five-foot-nine, 154-pound forward does one thing really well — score. In 30 games with the Fredericton Canadiens Midget AAA, he had 29 goals and nine assists. He’s an explosive skater with a booming shot and has a physical edge to his game.
7. Arnaud Durandeau, F, Halifax Mooseheads
The second member of the Lac St-Louis Lions to be drafted, Arnaud Durandeau went to the Halifax Mooseheads with the seventh selection. He had 25 goals and 25 assists with the Lions, finishing one point behind teammate Joseph Veleno. He’ll step in with the Mooseheads and provide offence right away for a team that will most likely be without Winnipeg Jets prospect Nikolaj Ehlers next season.
8. Louis-Filip Côté, F, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
The rush on forwards continued with the Huskies nabbing Louis-Filip Côté, a point-per-game player with the Lévis Commandeurs. Côté missed out on a chance to play for Québec at the Canada games because of an injury this season.
9. Alex D’Orio, G, Saint John Sea Dogs
With overage goaltender Sébastien Auger wrapping up his Q career at the end of the season, drafting a goalie was a high priority for Saint John. With the ninth pick they grabbed the second goalie of the day, Alex D’Orio. The six-foot-two, 194-pound player had a goals-against average of 2.30 with the Magog Cantonniers in midget triple-A.
10. Cedric Pare, F, Saint John Sea Dogs
The Sea Dogs used their third pick in the top 10 to bulk up the offence with the surprise pick of Cedric Pare. The six-foot-two, 190-pound forward was ranked 27th but turned into a top-10 pick. Pare had 13 points in 41 games last season.
11. Antoine Crête-Belzile, D, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Four blueliners were listed in Central Scouting’s top 10 list, but Antoine Crete-Belzille was the first off the board at 11. Ranked fourth, Crête-Belzile’s strongest asset is his skating and he has the potential to turn into a power-play quarterback for the Armada. He wasn’t at the draft in person and there’s a chance he goes the U.S. College route.
28. Ilya Putintsev, F, Halifax Mooseheads
The first non-Canadian off the board was Ilya Putintsev, a Russian forward playing for the Boston Jr. Bruins under-16 team. Since he’s been playing in the U.S. for the past few seasons, he was able to go in the Q draft and didn’t have to wait for the CHL Import draft. A dangerous goal scorer, Putintsev led the Jr. Bruins with 36 goals and 19 assists.
36. Mikhail Denisov, G, Shawinigan Cataractes
Another Russian playing for the Jr. Bruins, the Cataractes drafted Mikhail Denisov in the second round. In 2013, the CHL changed its rules and no longer allowed European goalies to enter the import draft. Import goalies that were playing were allowed to continue playing. Marvin Cüpper was the last European goalie in the Q, wrapping up his junior career with the Cataractes this past season. His successor could be Russian Denisov, a European who was eligible for the Q draft. He was drafted in the fourth round of the KHL draft this year as well.
90. Jack Bliss, F, Gatineau Olympiques
Jack Bliss was the first American selected in the draft, going in the fifth round to the Gatineau Olympiques. He wasn’t selected in the USHL and hasn’t committed to college. Bliss had 11 goals and nine assists in 24 games with Milton Academy’s high school team.