Charlottetown ready to host QMJHL teams and prospects for annual draft
The CHL playoffs wrapped up earlier this month and the Memorial Cup was presented to the London Knights over the weekend. Now, it’s time for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the City of Charlottetown to take center stage with the annual draft being held on Saturday, June 4th, at the Eastlink Centre.
Representatives of each of the league’s 18 teams will gather in the province’s capital in hopes of drafting their next franchise player and starting the process of building a winning team.
Saturday’s draft will be the culmination of a year of hard work by teams’ scouting staff who have looked at hundreds of prospects over the past season. They will gather one more time this week before the draft gets underway on Saturday.
The Halifax Moosehead will pick first, while the Baie-Comeau Drakkar hold the second pick. The Charlottetown Islanders will select 17th.
Benoit-Olivier Groulx, son of former Gatineau Olympiques coach Benoit Groulx, and Nova Scotia defenseman Jared McIsaac are projected to be the top two prospects in the draft.
This is the second time the annual Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft has been held in Charlottetown. The first time was in 2006 when the P.E.I. Rocket picked fourth overall, taking Charlottetown’s own Chris Doyle.
President of Operations for the Charlottetown Islanders, Craig Foster, says being able to host the draft brings nothing but good things to the organization and the City of Charlottetown.
“The draft is a great opportunity to showcase the province of P.E.I. and the city of Charlottetown,” said Foster. “During the week leading up to the draft, the QMJHL has official league meetings in Charlottetown, as well as a number of other events around the city. By hosting the event we should be able to generate interest in our team as well as the city and province.”
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is the only league in the CHL to hold a conventional draft. Players and teams gather in one location and newly drafted players have the opportunity to put on their new team’s colors for the first time.
“It really is something that people need to come out and experience for themselves,” said Foster. “The league uses the NHL draft as a model and people will be amazed at the production of the event. It’s also a great opportunity to come and see the stars of the future as they begin their junior hockey careers.”
The draft will begin at 10a.m. AST. Doors at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown open at 9a.m. and admission is free to everyone wanting to attend. Things wrap up around 6p.m. after the completion of 14 rounds.
