First, a BIG welcome and thank you to Pineland Lumber Company and Windsor Windows and Doors for sponsoring “Off The Post” for the 2006-07 season. Pineland Lumber CEO Neal Ouellette has been a big fan and sponsor of the Lewiston MAINEiacs since day one and we are very happy that his company has come aboard as the columns’ exclusive sponsor. Next time you do a home improvement job, stop by Pineland Lumber for all your project needs and thank them for sponsoring the MAINEiacs and “Off The Post”.

I apologize ahead of time to the readers here and to Mark Haidar of Hockey Prospects Online for the tardiness of the wrap up column. Always insightful and knowledgeable, Mark lends his thoughts on the MAINEiacs draft selections, takes a look league wide as well as looks ahead to the 2006-07 season…

In general terms, what did you think of the draft in Charlottetown overall?

Mark Haidar: The draft was a great experience as always.  In terms of the actual drafting there weren’t as many surprises as we have grown accustomed to in the Q. 

What did you think of the MAINEiacs draft overall?

Mark Haidar: I felt Lewiston had a superb draft.  It was obvious that they had a plan heading in, in terms of what style players they wanted to select. In fact we graded Lewiston’s draft as an A-, only behind Rimouski who monopolized the first round.

What are your thoughts of each of the MAINEiacs draft picks?
Mark Haidar: Dannick Hudon-Paquette was a very solid selection, arguably one of the more feared physical players in the draft, and he has a nice touch around the net, a smaller version of Keven Asselin (formerly of Cape Breton). Michael Ward is one of the purest skaters availble.  He is a 1989 born player, which means he will be a 17 year old this coming season and will be able to step right in and play solid hockey in all three zones. Victor Heselton, this time last season Victor was being regarded as a potential first round pick.  Things didn’t pan out that way but he is a still a very talented defnesemen, and another smooth skating one at that. Alex Beaton is a very talented player who can play both center and wing. He plays an “Ales Hemsky” style game, very skilled, but one draw back is he doesn’t shoot very much and sometimes over passes. That being said, solid selection, high end potential from a 5th round pick. Peter Delmas is an athletic goaltender, good size, moves well in the net, but he needs to work on his technical game. With Bernier, Fullerton and Muir in the system he wont be expected to step in anytime soon. Nicholas Therrien is another highly skilled puck moving defensemen.  With the rules such as they are Lewiston made it a point to pick puck movers from the back end and along with Ward and Heselton, Therrien is just that. David Perron, not much has been said of him mostly because he played JR AAA and he is an 88. From what we have heard at HPO he is a highly skilled offensive player who doesn’t mind getting his nose dirty. Matt Bourdeau is a local New Englander, picked fairly high by Lewiston so perhaps they have a commitment from Matt. That being said, he played in the Empire Junior league has a 16 year old, and he held his own. Michael Muir is very solid selection.  In our opinion he projects to be a solid QMJHL goaltender, but the crease is a little crowded in Lewiston all of a sudden. He is a strong technical goaltender, very nature and he has strong work ethic. Yann Nelson is a very solid all-around defensemen, good leadership qualities, not the biggest kid but he has a big heart. Carl Hayes is a solid 2 way winger. He showed flashes of high end offensive skill this season but his main asset is his skating ability and his smarts on both sides of the puck. Maxime Joyal is a familar name for many MAINEiacs fans. This Joyal is an undersized puck moving defensemen, seems as though Lewiston keyed on this style with the way the game is being called. Samuel Metivier is a grinder, loves to stir it up on the ice and use his physical game to give his team a spark. Peter Stevens was a late arrival to NS Midget AAA this season. Peter is a north/south style player, good hands and good size, very good pick this late in the draft. Steve Moses is one of the best players on the Boston Jr. Bruins, but Lewiston scooped him up in round 12, which means he isn’t likely to report. Jean-Philippe Samson is another smaller, puck moving defender. The first player Lewiston has picked from Midget Espoir since choosing P-L Champagne from Suroit back in 2004. Samuel Daoust is a very solid selection in round 14, he is a hard working winger who can play some PK. Nick Broadwater is an athletic, smaller goaltender, but in round 15, its hard to believe he wants to persue a QMJHL career or someone would have chosen him earlier.
 
Thinking ahead, how many of the MAINEiacs draft class do you see playing for Lewiston within the next two seasons?

Mark Haidar: It is always hard to say because its impossible to predict how players will develop over time but usually if a team can get 4-5 players out of each draft class it is considered successful. Looking at the picks, Lewiston made very good selections and that is one of the reason’s we gave them an A- as their draft grade.  I think with the 18 players Lewiston selected it would be a conservative estimate to say that at least 6 or 7 will be full time QMJHLers in 2 years time.

What clubs do you view as the draft day winners?

Mark Haidar: We should first state that our draft grades are based on the players picked on the day of the draft, now obviously there will alwasy be busts and late round surprises and those thing will only become available with time. In HPO’s post-draft recap we graded each team and two teams (Lewiston and PEI) were given grades of A- and only three teams (Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda and St-John’s) were given grades of A.
 
Which clubs were a disappointment?

Mark Haidar: The one team that sticks out immediatly is Gatineau. They reached on their first round pick (Travis Stacey) and their next 3 picks were a little surprising as well.  It is too early to say their draft was a huge disappointment but at this early stage it didn’t look like a banner year for Gatineau.  Drummondville is another team that looks to have had a sub-par draft.  They drafted a lot of smaller players early on, and none project to be big time offensive players.

Do you view the MAINEiacs as being a contender for the league championship this season?

Mark Haidar: Definitely.  Lewiston is returning a solid core of forwards and defensemen, as well as Jonathan Bernier, who by himself can win games.  Lewiston also has a couple 20 year old spots open, which can be viewed as both good and bad.  Bad, because they need to give up assets to get one, but its also good because now they can add 2 impact players.

What do you think needs to happen for the MAINEiacs to be viewed as a favorite for the league title?

Mark Haidar: As I mentioned earlier, I think upgrading on the 20 year old position will be key. Aubin looks to be on his way to the AHL and with Mathieu and Faubert as the two 20 year olds, it wouldnt hurt to trade for one if not 2 impact 20’s, which shouldn’t be too difficult to do during training camp.

Where do you see the two divisions going into the 2006-07 campaign?

Mark Haidar: It’s always hard to predict this far in advance of opening day, because a lot can change with trades and camp surprises. A look at the Western Division:

1. Quebec — They aren’t without question marks, but they are returning most of their forwards and defense, they may need a number one goalie if Lacasse ends up going pro.
2. Gatineau — Similar to Quebec, they are looking for a number one, but they have depth up front on the blueline.
3. Rouyn-Noranda — Loaded with young depth, question, do they want to go for it this year coming back or wait 2 years for their plethora of young players to develop.
4. Val d’Or – They are in “go for it” mode.  Adding Mathieu Roy, Brad Marchand and Alexandre Vincent should easily put them into the top 4.
5. Baie-Comeau — They will fill the net this coming season and with Dupont in net and the addition of JS Adam to stablize the young defense they will finish higher than some think.
6. Drummondville — Everything with the Volts hinges on whether or not PO Pelletier can stay healthy.
7. Rimouski — They are loaded with young talent, but young talent doesn’t win the QMJHL, they are still a year away from home ice in the playoffs.
8. Victoriaville – When will Victo stop rebuilding? They have been in rebuild mode for the last 5 years and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
9. Chicoutimi — They were on top of the Q for two straight years so no surprise they will be in the basement this season. The loss of Boisclair, Lascek, Zagrapan, Coulombe and Vincent will be huge, and they have already started to rebuild by selecting 7 players in the first 4 rounds in Charlottetown.
10. Shawinigan — With Ellis likely leaving that leaves a huge hole to fill in the net. It will be a rough year for Shawi.

Eastern Division:
1. Bathurst – They have 3 elite level 20’s, solid defensive crew and a group of talented young forwards, only question mark is between the pipes, they need a goaltender to help young Gougeon.
2. Lewiston — Great depth on defense, with Bernier between the pipes the goals against will be tiny, if Clem can acquire a couple scorers Lewiston should be at the top of the division.
3. PEI — Higher than some people expect but with Mior in the net and a solid top 4 defense with Gragnani, Guilbault, Lessard and Lund they shouldn’t need to score a lot to win games.
4. Cape Breton — Ondrej Pavelec will cover up a lot of the mistakes the younger defensemen will make, and with Cape-Breton’s solid top 6 forwards they should be able to solidify home ice in round 1.
5. Halifax — If Duchesne is back Halifax will finish in the 4th/5th range.  The defense is deep, the forwards are young so Duchesne will be counted on to keep games close.
6. St-John’s — St-John’s surprised a lot of people last year, me included. They play a very effective brand of hockey, a very well coached team.  They are a little more talented this year which should help.
7. Moncton — They will get wins early on but expect them to deal off the vets at the Christmas deadline to speed up the rebuilding.
8. Saint John — Joyal should be able to fill in for Churchill, and with a young talented defensive crew brewing the future looks bright.

Who do you view as being the “odds on favorite” for the league title as it stands right now?

Mark Haidar: I don’t see any clear cut odds on favorite to win the league.  There are 2 or 3 teams in each division who should all be in the mix but a lot depends on what moves each team makes as I see holes in each teams lineup. It should be interesting to see how camp shakes down.