NHL Draft: Lavoie, Milota Chosen - Three More Eagles Invited to Camps

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QMJHL Cape Breton Eagles

NHL Draft: Lavoie, Milota Chosen - Three More Eagles Invited to Camps

July 2, 2024 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Cape Breton Eagles News Release


It was a big weekend for the Cape Breton Eagles at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft this past weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.

18-year-old defenceman Tomas Lavoie was chosen in the third round, 89th overall by the newest NHL franchise, the Utah Hockey Club. Lavoie was the second highest drafted player from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League in this year's draft after being projected by central scouting to be chosen between the second and fourth rounds throughout the season. A former first overall draft pick in the 2022 QMJHL draft, Lavoie used his 6'4 frame to become a shutdown, defensive defenceman in his second year with the Eagles, as well as scoring 24 points in 65 games.

Just ten picks later, 18-year-old, Czech-born goaltender Jakub Milota was chosen in the fourth round, 99th overall by the Nashville Predators. Milota was the highest drafted goaltender from the QMJHL during this year's draft. Milota will take the reigns from recently traded goaltender Nicolas Ruccia as the Eagles #1 net minder next season and is expected to have breakthrough career season with a promising looking Eagles club in the 2024-2025 season. In his rookie campaign, he played 33 games and finished with a .905 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-allowed average.

Following the draft, a number of Eagles players received invites to various NHL club development and rookie camps.

Forward Jacob Newcombe is currently taking part in Utah's development camp in Park City, Utah after receiving an invite from the club prior to the draft. This will be Newcombe's second NHL development camp, after attending the Ottawa Senators camp in 2022. This past season, the 20-year-old scored 24 points in 26 games during the regular season, and an additional 17 points in 14 games in the playoffs.

Forward Lucas Romeo will attend the Boston Bruins rookie camp in September, after an impressive first campaign with the Eagles this season. 19-year-old Romeo scored 24 points in 21 regular season games since joining his new club at the mid-season trade deadline while also adding an additional seven points in 14 playoff games. This will be Romeo's second NHL camp after attending the Chicago Blackhawks rookie camp last summer.

Romeo will be joined by fellow Eagle Tomas Cibulka at the Bruins upcoming camp. Cibulka also joined the Eagles at Christmas time, and went on to play big minutes on the club's top d-pairing alongside Tomas Lavoie. Cibulka scored 21 points in 28 games during the regular season with the Eagles and added an additional 11 points in the post-season.

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from July 2, 2024


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