Mathieu, Bowers Highlight Sea Dogs' Busy QMJHL Entry Draft

Published on June 4, 2016 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Saint John Sea Dogs News Release

Saint John Sea Dogs Draftee Olivier Mathieu
(Saint John Sea Dogs, Credit: Vincent Ethier/QMJHL Media)

Forwards Olivier Mathieu and Shane Bowers headlined the 14-round selection process for Saint John at Eastlink Centre. In all, General Manager Darrell Young and his scouting staff called the names of nine forwards, four defencemen and one goaltender.

Saint John used the 11th overall pick to select Mathieu from the Magog Cantonniers of Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League (LHMAAAQ). The 16-year-old had 23 goals and 50 points in 46 games last season as a teammate of 2015 first-rounder and Saint John goalie prospect, Alex D'Orio.

The Drummondville-native, listed at 5'8.5" and 154 lbs., also had seven goals and 14 points in 18 playoff games.

The Sea Dogs created a buzz on the draft floor midway through the second round when they traded second-round selections in 2017 and 2018 to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens to acquire the 32nd overall pick.

They used it to select highly-touted forward Shane Bowers.

Listed at 6'0" and 162 lbs., he registered 15 goals and 33 points in 56 games last season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He was named to the USHL second all-star team. He also played five games as the captain of Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

The highly-regarded Bowers, who turns 17 in July, was originally selected fourth overall by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft. Cape Breton were awarded a league-mandated compensatory draft pick in 2016 after relinquishing his rights earlier this year.

The Sea Dogs stayed in the forward ranks in the third round, choosing forward Isiah Campbell 51st overall.

The Pierrefonds, Quebec, product played most of the 2015-16 season with the Lac-St-Louis Lions (LHMAAAQ) where he posted four goals and seven points in 38 games. The 6'2.5", 178-pounder had another four goals and seven points in 17 playoff games, helping the Lions win the Quebec Midget AAA Championship. Campbell, 15, totaled two goals and three points in a bronze-medal performance at the TELUS Cup in Quispamsis. He played 11 games with the Lac-St-Louis Predateurs (Quebec Midget Espoir) as well.

Saint John had two selections in the fourth round.

The team used its own pick, 69th overall, to add Nathan Cyr-Trottier from his hometown Trois-Rivieres Estacades (LHMAAAQ). The 16-year-old right winger accumulated four goals, ten points and 47 penalty minutes in 44 games. Cyr-Trottier, listed at 6'2" and 174 lbs, was held pointless in five playoff games.

Defenceman Simon Elsliger was taken 72nd overall, with a pick acquired in the Adam Marsh trade with the Val-d'Or Foreurs earlier in the day. The 16-year-old from Dieppe had one goal and 15 points in 35 games with the Moncton Flyers of the New Brunswick/PEI Major Midget Hockey League (NBPEIMMHL).

The Sea Dogs and Sagueneens hooked up for another trade in the sixth round. Saint John acquired the 103rd overall pick in exchange for a 2017 fifth-round choice.

With the pick, Saint John selected 16-year-old defenceman Devan Newhook. The St. John's-native totaled one goal and five points in 18 games for the St. John's Privateers of the Newfoundland and Labrador Major Midget Hockey League (NLMMHL).

Two slots later, at 105th overall, Saint John made its first trip south of the border to grab left winger Matt Gould. The native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, split last season between the Bay State Breakers U18 (six goals, 13 points in 22 games) and the Boston Jr. Bruins U18 programs (one goals, six points in 12 games) in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL).

Sixteen-year-old Kevin Mason became a Sea Dog in the seventh round, 123rd overall. The 6'1", 164-lb. centre from Stellarton, Nova Scotia, compiled 15 goals and 26 points in 35 games with the Weeks Major Midgets (Pictou) of the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League (NSMMHL).

Saint John went back to the blueline with its eighth-round selection, 141st overall, adding Dartmouth-native Jack McGovern. The 16-year-old, listed at 6'0" and 170 lbs., won NSMMHL championship with the Dartmouth Steele Subaru Major Midgets, registering five goals and 13 points in 37 games. In 16 games between the playoffs and TELUS Cup, he posted two assists.

Centre Jordan Ehrensperger came to the Sea Dogs in the ninth round, 153rd overall, with a selection acquired this week from the Victoriaville Tigres. The 16-year-old had seven goals and 14 points in 42 games last year for the Laval-Montreal Rousseau Royal (LHMAAAQ).

The Sea Dogs also selected Thomas Ashe in the ninth round, 159th overall. The 16-year-old blueliner from Dieppe, earned one goal and five points in 30 games for the Moncton Flyers as a teammate of Elsliger.

Forward Matthew Steinburg came to Saint John in the tenth round, 177th overall. The 15-year-old tallied three goals and eight points in 16 games for his hometown Halifax McDonald's (NSMMHL).

In another draft-floor move, the Sea Dogs dealt their twelfth-round choice, 213th overall, to the Sherbrooke Phoenix in exchange for a 2017 eleventh-round pick. Saint John did not pick again until the thirteenth round.

Goaltender Derek Fournier became the team's second American selection at 231st overall. He played high school hockey last season in Bangor, Maine. The 17-year-old was the only goaltender taken by Saint John.

The Sea Dogs closed their draft with the selection of 6'5", 191-lb. centre Etienne Croteau. The 16-year-old from St-Augustin, Quebec, posted five goals and eleven points in 32 games for the Quebec Typhon (Quebec Midget Espoir).

Saint John Sea Dogs Draftee Olivier Mathieu (Vincent Ethier/QMJHL Media)

Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from June 4, 2016

• Wildcats 2016 Draft Recap - Moncton Wildcats
• Mathieu, Bowers Highlight Sea Dogs' Busy QMJHL Entry Draft - Saint John Sea Dogs
• Islanders Trade Kennedy to Moosehead - Charlottetown Islanders
• Sea Dogs Select F Shane Bowers in Second Round - Saint John Sea Dogs
• Mooseheads Acquire 20-Year-Old Bradley Kennedy - Halifax Mooseheads
• Islanders Acquire Brisebois & Barter from Titan - Charlottetown Islanders
• Sea Dogs Select F Olivier Mathieu in First Round - Saint John Sea Dogs
• Islanders Select Marc-Olivier Alain in First Round - Charlottetown Islanders
• Wildcats Trade 15th Overall Pick to the Armada - Moncton Wildcats
• Mooseheads Make Groulx and McIsaac Top Two Picks at QMJHL Draft - Halifax Mooseheads
• Sea Dogs Trade Marsh to Val-D'Or - Saint John Sea Dogs

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