Series lead, new records, draft lottery and more | Eagles Recap | April 16, 2024
History on the ice, history in the stands
In what was set to be a historic weekend of Eagles hockey at Centre 200 in Sydney, a defence-heavy Eagles squad shutdown a young Chicoutimi offence in all areas of the ice, leading to two shutout victories in front of nearly 5000 faithful in Sydney to go up 2-0 in their second round series.
Adding onto his already impressive and record-breaking regular season totals, 20-year-old goaltender Nicolas Ruccia captured his first and second career shutouts in the series first two games, breaking an Eagles record in the process for longest time played in the playoffs without allowing a goal at 133:44. More impressively, this was Ruccia’s eighth shutout of the season so far.
While history was being made on the ice, another record was broken in the stands on Friday night. With a complete sell out of 4922 tickets, game one and game two held the largest crowds at an Eagles game in its 27-year history. They were also the most attended games across the entire QMJHL this past weekend.
“It was such a great weekend,” said Eagles General Manager of Business Joey Haddad. “A sellout is something we haven’t seen in a long time at Centre 200, so to see such great support from our fans so far this playoffs just feels right. The team has been playing awesome, and with a big, loud crowd behind them it will play a big part in carrying this team to great things. It is exciting to think what we can create when everybody comes together to support this team and create the atmosphere that our fan base and community wants to see. And that was evident this weekend, how great that could be for everyone involved.
The first two games of this series saw the first sell out for an Eagles game at Centre 200 since April 2002 when 4819 fans gathered to watch the Eagles defeat the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 3-1 in their third round series. André Martineau had two goals and an assist in the game, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 31-saves in net for the Eagles.
Eagles Lottery Pick
The lottery to determine the draft order for the upcoming QMJHL Entry Draft will take place on Thursday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m., on RDS.
This year, the Eagles will have 3 balls in the lottery and a 14 per cent chance to draft first overall on June 7 at the Avenir Centre in Moncton.
The Eagles received Saint John’s draft pick in a January 2022 trade which saw the Eagles deal then 18-year-old forward Connor Trenholm, a 2022 3rd round selection (Cape Breton), 2023 2nd round selection (Cape Breton), 2023 3rd round selection (Blainville), and a 2024 3rd round selection (Cape Breton) for Charles Savoie, Carter McCluskey, a 2023 2nd round pick (Saint John) and Saint John’s 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th round selections in 2024.
Here are the teams that finished in the bottom five in the 2023-2024 overall standings:
18- Val-d’Or Foreurs
17- Québec Remparts (pick traded to Foreurs)
16- Saint John Sea Dogs (pick traded to Eagles)
15- Charlottetown Islanders (pick traded to Remparts)
14- Gatineau Olympiques (pick traded to Sea Dogs)
In the lottery to determine who will draft first, the 21 balls will be distributed as follows:
18th place: 9 balls, 43% chance of drafting 1st
17th place: 6 balls, 28% chance
16th place: 3 balls, 14% chance
15th place: 2 balls, 10% chance
14th place: 1 ball, 5% chance
On April 25, during the RDS lottery, the General Manager of the Eagles Sylvain Couturier will be live in the studio.
Lavoie, Milota and Romeo listed in final NHL Prospect list
Earlier today, NHL Central Scouting revealed its final list of the top North American skaters and goalies, and the top International skaters and goalies ranked for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft this summer.
Earlier this year, defenceman Tomas Lavoie and goaltender Jakub Milota were both part of the first two ranking lists to be selected this summer.
In the final list of the season, both Lavoie and Milota have been named in addition to the Eagles mid-season pickup Lucas Romeo.
Lavoie was ranked 57th amongst all available North American skaters. The 6’3, 215lb 17-year-old defenceman from Repentigny, Quebec had three goals and 21 assists in his second QMJHL season this year, as well as 24 penalty minutes. In January, the former first overall pick was one of only four QMJHL players to compete in the NHL\CHL Top Prospects Game.
18-year-old Milota is ranked 18th amongst North American goaltenders in the latest scouting report. The Czech Republic product had a 2.82 goals against average and a .905 save percentage in his first 33 games with the Eagles. He also sprouted three shutouts in his debut season and alongside Nicolas Ruccia, set the new Eagles franchise record for combined shutouts in a single season with seven. Most recently, Milota was a finalist for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Raymond Lagacé Trophy, an award which is given to the defensive rookie of the year each season.
18-year-old Lucas Romeo was ranked 149th amongst North American skaters. The Oakville, Ontario winger joined the Eagles club in January through a trade deadline changeup with the Charlottetown Islanders which saw the Eagles send forward Will Shields in return.
Since then, Romeo has scored 16 goals and five assists in just 26 games with the club. Romeo went undrafted in his first eligible draft year last season, but received an invite to the Chicago Blackhawks rookie development camp this past year.
The full list of the NHL’s latest Central Scouting can be found below.