On your 2006 QMJHL Draft Preview you have Lewiston selecting Maxime Sauve at #11. What makes you think that the MAINEiacs have had good luck with small forwards?

Mark Haidar: Judging by past drafts it seems as though the MAINEiacs aren’t really phased by drafting players under 6’00 tall. Players such as Stefan Chaput, Eric Castonguay, P-L Champagne, M-A Daneau ; those players were all 5’10 or shorter when Lewiston drafted them and all have turned out to be solid QMJHL players.

What do you think the MAINEiacs will do on draft day for later selections?

Mark Haidar: It is hard to say exactly what Clem Jodoin will do. Some GM’s prefer to draft the best player available throughout the draft, while others select players based on need after the first couple of rounds. Lewiston has seven draft selections in the first five rounds so it gives Clem a little bit of flexibility on being able to trade up in the draft if he sees a player falling too far, similar to what Lewiston did in 2004 when Jodoin traded two draft choices to be able to select Stefan Chaput 41^st overall.

What have you liked / disliked about the MAINEiacs picks in the last three drafts?

Mark Haidar: Many people say that all you need to do is get four players per draft that make your team long-term. Lewiston has done that and then some in the past three drafts. In 2003 Lewiston could have done better. It was the deepest draft in quite some time. Cliché in round 1 and Denny in round 2 were absolutely amazing selections. After that nothing really of note. Joyal and Chaisson are both in the QMJHL but neither on the MAINEiacs. 2004 was considered a very weak draft, yet Lewiston was able to select 7 players (Bernier, Chaput, Champagne, Mathieu, Daneau, Castonguay and Fullerton) who were on their roster during the 2005/2006 season, quite remarkable. 2005, although it is early, it looks as though Lewiston went for more safe selections. Marshall and Cusack are steady blueliners, both of whom will be regulars in the QMJHL . McCarthy and Paquet aren’t going to light the scoreboard up.but like Marshall and Cusack, they are safe bets to play in the QMJHL on a regular basis. Taylor is another one of those undersized players that Lewiston has a habit of taking. He played extremely well in Midget AAA this past season and he looks to have solidified a spot on the roster next season. A couple of wildcards from the 2005 draft are Karl Prefontaine and Tom Michalik. We really liked Michalik last season at the CSR weekend but he didn’t end up reporting. Word is he plans on being in training camp in August. Prefontaine torched the Quebec Midget AAA league this past season. He was only a ninth round pick but it wouldn’t surprise us if he ends up making the roster, or at least putting up a fight.

What MAINEiacs picks in the past three years do you view as busts or have not lived up to expectations?

Mark Haidar: It is always easy to look back in hindsight and pick apart a team’s draft. In 2003, the selection of David Chubb in round 5 stands out. Although Chubb decided to take a different route (NCAA) rather than reporting to the MAINEiacs so that wasn’t really a bust based on hockey talent, it was just a pick that didn’t materialize. Another situations was the 2004 fifth round selection of Matt Kronk. Kronk is a great player but he did not report to Lewiston to play. Guy Belisle on the other hand is the definition of a bust. He was selected in the 3^rd rd in 2004, played one season and hasn’t re-appeared in the league since.

Which team has drafted the best in the past three years?

Mark Haidar: It is hard to narrow it down to one team. It is rare in the QMJHL for teams to string successful drafts together, mostly because it’s a crapshoot. No matter how much time and effort you put into scouting these players, they are still 15 and 16 years old and a lot can change within 2-3 months after the draft. Over the past few drafts, a few teams emerged as having quite a bit of success. Lewiston, Shawinigan, Quebec, Halifax and Rouyn-Noranda. Scouts don’t get paid the big bucks to draft players in rounds 1 and 2; they get paid for finding those hidden gems. For example, Rouyn-Noranda drafted two bona-fide QMJHL defensemen in round 4 in 2005 (Guillaume Tougas and Marc-Andre Bourdon). Neither have played regularly in the QMJHL yet but if the draft was held over again they both would be pushing the 1^st round. It is selections like these that build contenders. Much like Lewiston’s ability in finding those hidden gems like Marc-Andre Daneau (round 8, 2004), Eric Castonguay (round 9, 2004) and Travis Fullerton (round 14, 2004). Even dating back to Sherbrooke, the franchise has always done well on draft day. I know it’s hard to believe for those who followed the Castors’ on ice product… Quebec has been aided by their ability to attract blue-chip American talent and not having to use high draft choices on them. But they have also pulled off a couple steals. Marc-Edouard Vlasic (round 4, 2003), Stephen Valente (round 8, 2005) and Felix Petit (round 14, 2005)… Halifax was able to draft an astonishing 8 players in 2003 who were regulars in the QMJHL two years later; (Sheppard, Lomanno, Saulnier, Pouliot, Brault, Munden, Moore and Furlotte). Although none are superstars, most teams would be VERY happy selecting eight future QMJHLers in one draft year. Halifax has also done a good job in the later rounds, four of those eight players above were sixth round picks or later. Also in 2004 Halifax was able to select Bryce Swan in round 4 and Rhode Island native Garret Peters in round 8, both were instrumental in advancing to round 2 of the playoffs in 2006… Shawinigan is a model of consistency on and off the ice. They never have bad teams and they always seem to do very well on draft day. Shawinigan has been able to select fourteen players who have played regularly in the QMJHL from their 2003 and 2004 drafts. Among those is current MAINEiac Stefano Giliati, of whom Shawinigan selected in the 2^nd round in 2004.

How many 16 year olds do you envision playing in the QMJHL next year?

Mark Haidar: If you look at the 2005 draft, this is how it shook down:

Round 1: 16 players selected born in 1989; 14 of them made their club teams, only two that didn’t were Patrick Cusack (Lewiston) and Nicola Riopel (Moncton).

Round 2: 13 players selected born in 1989; 6 players made their club teams.

Round 3: 11 players selected born in 1989; 4 players made their club teams.

Round 4: 14 players selected born in 1989; 2 players made their club teams.

Round 5: 14 players selected born in 1989; 2 players made their club teams.

In total, out of the 90 players drafted in the first 5 rounds in 2005, a total of 68 were born in 1989 and of those 68 only 28 players played regularly in the QMJHL as “16 year olds”. The others either decided not to report to the team that drafted them, or the team felt it would be best if they received more ice-time at a lower level.

Who will be the top US player taken in the upcoming draft?

Mark Haidar: Mike Cichy, a centermen from the Boston Junior Bruins should be the first American born player selected.   

Any other American players you see making the jump?

Mark Haidar: It is always hard to predict which American born players will make the jump. According to sources Mike Cichy is close to being in the QMJHL next year after that some other names who have shown interest are Greg Burke of the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs and Jack Downing of Taft Prep School. Downing was at the CSR prospect weekend, and impressed everyone there. But with American players it’s all about which team drafts them, there are too many variables to be conclusively saying that a certain player will report.It is always hard to predict which American born players will make the jump.         

Do you expect more of an increase of US players entering the Q in the future?   

Mark Haidar: There seems to be more interest from players south of the border, especially considering how well players such as Keith Yandle or Jordan Lavallee are doing. It will take time though. Young kids playing hockey in the North East USA still dream of playing for Boston College or other big name schools. It is still mostly the big market teams like Halifax, Quebec and Moncton who attract most of the high-end American talent, mostly because they can offer a better education package because of the market they play in.

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As mentioned at the end of part one of the interview with Mark Haidar, I will take email questions for Mark that will be published in a future Off The Post column at psmaineiac@yahoo.com. Hopefully you all have purchased a copy of Hockey Prospects Online’s 2006 QMJHL Draft Guide with over 70 pages of information and rankings on over 200 players for less than the published $12 CDN price. Most of us in Lewiston don’t have the luxury of seeing these players first hand, and from reading this guide, I feel like I know what to expect from these players like I had seen them all along. Compared to other reports that go for $30 or more for a lot less information, this report is the leader of anything available to the public. Hockey Prospects Online just released video on well over 150 players for the draft that is available FREE of charge to anyone interested, and is a great accompaniment to the draft guide.

Get those emails coming… draft day is less than two weeks away!