Sea Dogs select 13 players at 2023 QMJHL Draft
SAINT JOHN – The 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft was held on Saturday, and the Saint John Sea Dogs added 13 players to the organization including three forwards, eight defencemen, and two goaltenders.
“We’re really pleased with what we were able to do at this years draft,” said Sea Dogs general manager Anthony Stella. “We felt there was good depth on D and that we’d potentially find some value with those later picks. Our goal was to multiply some picks and we did that while not sacrificing anything in the early rounds.”
“On paper we’re very pleased with the prospects we left with. We’ve added some good pieces while also filling a need for depth on the backend,” Stella added.
The Sea Dogs came into the draft with three selections in the second round, with their first pick coming at 30th overall. With the pick they selected top ranked American forward Egan Beveridge from the Chicago Mission 15’s. The East Kingston, New Hampshire native had 16 points in 10 games this season and added 10 points in five post-season games. Beveridge, who also racked up 103 points in 62 games with Mount St. Charles Academy U14 during the 2021-22 campaign, is the highest drafted American in the QMJHL Draft since 2015.
“Egan is a player we’re very excited to be adding. Tenacious and skilled, he fits what we’re trying to do here and we’re honoured he chose to play hockey and develop with the Sea Dogs,” said Stella.
Two picks later the team was back on the clock and they elected to take defenceman Olivier Duhamel from the Collège Charles-Lemoyne Riverains. The five-foot-11, 165-pound blueliner collected 10 points in 40 games this season before racking up seven more in five playoff contests. With the final pick of round two, 40th overall, the Sea Dogs took another defenceman in Benjamin Amyot. The product of Sainte-Martine, Quebec posted 16 points in 40 games with the Châteauguay Grenadiers.
“Duhamel and Amyot are two defencemen we’ve had our eyes on all season. We went into the draft thinking we had a chance at maybe getting one of them, so to get them both is huge for us going forward in growing our D core for the future.” said Stella on the team’s two other selections in the second round.
Our three 2nd round picks in their new colors 🙌#CityOfChampions | #QDraft pic.twitter.com/r6WB3hbHW4
— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) June 10, 2023
The team’s next pick came in the fourth round and was used to select goaltender Kyan Labbé of the Magog Cantonniers. Labbé, the son of AHL Hall of Famer Jean-François, had a 11-6-1 record in the regular season with a save percentage of .903 and a 3.14 goals-against-average. He also competed in the 2023 QMJHL Cup where he posted shutouts in each of his two appearances for Team Lafleur.
“Kyan is a goalie who’s competitiveness was something we really admired and valued. We had him as our goalie target going into the draft so getting him was a success.” commented Stella.
A trade with Gatineau in the sixth-round saw the Sea Dogs send pick #98 to the Olympiques in exchange for picks #117 and #127. Saint John used those selections on forward Alexis Beaudoin and defenceman Julien Bonnet, respectively. Beaudoin, a five-foot-seven right-winger, spent the 2022-23 season with the Trois-Rivières Estacades notching eight goals and eight assists in 42 games. Bonnet, a six-foot-three defenceman, had 14 points in 34 games with the Jimmy-Ferrari Cup champion St-Hyacinthe Gaulois and was the 43rd ranked prospect on QMJHL Central Scouting’s final list. The St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec product was also a member of Team Quebec at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
“Alexis led U18 in hits and is a hard-nosed player. We felt he was the Jacob Beaulieu of this draft so to add him to our mix is great for us and bad for our opponents,” said Stella.
“Julien was on Team Quebec for the Canada Games and also on the Telus Cup host team. We’ve seen him a lot and think he has all the tools to play in the Q. We were surprised with where we got him and think this could be one of the steals of the draft if all goes well.”
Defencemen Tomas Lulic of the Collège Bourget Voltigeurs and Giuliano Caputo of the Collège Esther-Blondin Phénix were the Sea Dogs two 13th round selections followed by goaltender Samuel Doyon-Cataquiz in the 14th round.
A couple of 2022 Memorial Cup champions joined us at the #QDraft this weekend 👀
Thanks to @williamdufour16 and @tom_couttt for helping us welcome the newest Sea Dogs!#CityOfChampions pic.twitter.com/wgPAPuyINi
— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) June 13, 2023
Saint John finished the day by taking two players in the QMJHL American Draft. With the fourth overall pick, the Sea Dogs grabbed defenceman Jeremy Poirier from the New Hampshire Avalanche 16U and then picked up forward Daniel Daley from the Franklin High School Panthers.
“We were happy to add size on the backend with our later picks and to mix in some 2006’s who could push for spots or be affiliates for us,” Stella said. “There’s some added excitement for Development Camp after the draft. It will be great to see some of these players out there and in our colours sporting the Sea Dogs logo. It’s going to be a great weekend and I look forward to seeing this new draft class on the ice.”
