Central Catholic, St. Sebastian's lead local picks in annual QMJHL Draft

Jim Clark Saturday, June 04, 2016

Three members of Central Catholic’s 2016 Super Eight team were among the host of MIAA and Massachusetts prep school hockey stars who had their names called in Saturday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft.

While being selected in the QMJHL draft is considered to be a prestigious honor, rarely do players from Massachusetts make the jump to playing north of the border. Because the QMJHL is part of the Canadian Hockey League and considered a professional league by the NCAA, any player who skates for a CHL team would forgo all college eligibility.

Dream Teamer Jake Wise, who has committed to Boston University, was one of the first local players chosen. The sophomore was taken by the Halifax Mooseheads in the seventh round (No. 111 overall). One round later, freshman forward Sean Brown was tabbed by the Quebec Remparts in Round 8 (No. 134), while freshman goalie Matt Pasquale rounded out the Raiders contingent when he went to the Shawinigan Cataractes in Round 13 (No. 232).

The first MIAA player off the board was Sacred Heart defenseman Ryan Leonard. Proving that you can still play high school hockey, even at the Division 3 level, and get recognized, the big defenseman was chosen in the fifth round (No. 90) by the Drummondville Voltiguers. Shortly thereafter, freshman defenseman Patrick Keegan of Billerica went to the Moncton Wildcats in the sixth round (No. 109). Keegan is expected to skate for Cushing Academy next year.

The other MIAA player selected was Hingham freshman forward Gray Betts, who went to Drummondville in Round 13 (No. 232). Defenseman Jordan Tetreault, who played for Amherst-Pelham in 2014-15 and previously had a stint at Springfield Cathedral, was tabbed by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Round 12 (No. 204).

A fourth player with Central Catholic ties is defenseman Cam Boudreau, who now plays for Governor’s Academy. Boudreau went to Moncton in Round 10 (No. 176). Lawrence Academy’s Craig Needham, who once played at Arlington Catholic, was selected by the Charlottetown Islanders (Round 14, No. 245).

St. Sebastian’s led all local schools with four players selected. Liam Gorman was taken by Charlottetown in Round 8 (No. 135), followed Wyatt Schlaht to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in Round 12 (No. 217). A pair of Arrows went in a flurry of Mass. picks at the end of the draft in Round 14, with Thomas Lyons taken by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (No. 249) and defenseman Eric Jeremiah by the Gatineau Olympiques (251). Jeremiah, who previously played at Xaverian, was among the draft’s final three picks all hailing from the Independent Schools League, with Tristan Amonte of Thayer (Val-d’Or Foreurs, No. 252) and Ethan Kimball of St. Mark’s (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, No. 253) rounding out the day.

In addition to Keegan, Cushing had a pair of other selections, with center T.J. Walsh the first local player overall selected by Moncton in Round 5 (No. 86), followed by defenseman Brian Scoville going to Halifax (Round 12, No. 201). Winchendon also had a pair of selections in Sam Rand to Acadie-Bathurst (Round 11, No. 186) and Ben Thomas to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (Round 12, No. 205).

Other local prep players picked included: Jack Rathbone of Dexter (Halifax, Round 10, No. 165); John Murray of Noble & Greenough (Gatineau, Round 10, No. 179); John Copeland of Belmont Hill (Victoriaville Tigres, Round 13, No. 225); and Aiden Porter of Rivers (Rouyn-Noranda, Round 13, No. 235).

Here is the full list of players from Massachusetts high school prep and junior programs or from local towns:

T.J. Walsh, Cushing: Moncton (Round 5, No. 86)
Ryan Leonard, Sacred Heart: Drummondville (Round 5, No. 90)
Matt Gould, Jr. Bruins: Saint John (Round 6, No. 105)
Patrick Keegan, Billerica: Moncton (Round 6, No. 109)
Jake Wise, Central Catholic: Halifax (Round 7, No. 111)
Sean Brown, Central Catholic: Quebec (Round 8, No. 134)
Liam Gorman, St. Sebastian’s: Charlottetown (Round 8, No. 135)
Jack Rathbone, Dexter: Halifax (Round 10, No. 165)
Harrison Roy, Boston Bandits: Blainville-Boisbriand (Round 10, No. 175)
Cam Boudreau, Governor’s (formerly Central Catholic): Moncton (Round 10, No. 176)
John Murray, Noble & Greenough: Gatineau (Round 10, No. 179)
Ethan Zarach-Croke, Jr. Bruins: Baie-Comeau (Round 11, No. 182)
Sam Rand, Winchendon: Acadie-Bathurst (Round 11, No. 186)
Mike Higgins, Jr. Bruins: Moncton (Round 11, No. 194)
Brian Scoville, Cushing (ex-Winchendon): Halifax (Round 12, No. 201)
Jordan Tetreault, Jr. Bruins (ex-Amherst-Pelham, Springfield Cathedral): Acadie Bathurst (Round 12, No 204)
Ben Thomas, Winchendon: Blainville-Boisbriand (Round 12, No. 205)
Wyatt Schlaht, St. Sebastian’s: Chicoutimi (Round 12, No. 217)
John Copeland, Belmont Hill: Victoriaville (Round 13, No. 225)
Matt Pasquale, Central Catholic: Shawinigan (Round 13, No. 232)
Jordan Harris, Kimball Union (Haverhill): Val-d’Or (Round 13, No. 234)
Aiden Porter, Rivers: Rouyn-Noranda (Round 13, No. 235)
Gray Betts, Hingham: Drummondville (Round 14, No. 238)
Craig Needham, Lawrence Academy (ex-Arlington Catholic): Charlottetown (Round 14, No. 245)
Thomas Lyons, St. Sebastian’s: Cape Breton (Round 14, No. 247)
Eric Jeremiah, St. Sebastian’s (ex-Xaverian): Gatineau (Round 14, No. 251)
Tristan Amonte, Thayer: Val-d’Or (Round 14, No. 252)
Ethan Kimball, St. Mark’s: Rouyn-Noranda (Round 14, No. 253)

How many kids get drafted late because there is just a 4%-5% chance they would ever, ever (as in college doesn't work-out for them and they want to try something out of the ordinary) play in Quebec?

Whatever happened to the 'Timber' kid in the Q?

C.M. ?
2015-16 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 65 games, 12 goals, 7 assists, 100 penalty minutes, for a -23

Ouch.

I wonder whether people here would change their tune about kids playing in the Q if college here was as cheap as it is in Canada? McGill University, one of the top universities in the world has annual tuition of US$1,500 for residents of Quebec!!!! As it is, an American kid who paid full freight for 4 years at McGill would pay less than a hockey player at BU with a 2 for 4 deal (with the Q education package it would be more like 3 for 4)--at a much better school!! To me, the real travesty of the whole NCAA hockey experience is people subverting their kid's education and sending them to second tier schools like UVM, UNH and UMaine (70-80%+ admit rates) just to cut down on their tuition bill. IMO, if it weren't for the college price discrepancy EVERY kid from this area would jump at playing in the Q, not only because of the hockey but also simply because Quebec is a lot closer than the USHL territory.

Produce me a list of Americans that played in the Q, and then went to college in Quebec???

I guess you missed the point of the post--didn't score that high on the reading portion of the SAT, eh?

sorry your kid didn't make it.

Fatal flaw of the D Boards. People are so anxious to tell you you're wrong that they don't bother to read what you actually said. There's a reason Twitter only allows 140 characters.

The other travesty on the DBoard here is that people will pontificate some alternate point or use education as an excuse of why their kid didn't make a DI program

The question was whether, if the price of American college was in line with the price of Canadian colleges, you would be more likely to send your kid to the CHL? To put it another way, how much does the high price of college influence your emphasis on a kid playing college hockey rather than CHL?

Again, show me a list of American kids who played in the Q, and now go to a canadian college? You would be hard pressed to find anyone, so your above arguement is a moot point, it's a scenario that doesn't exist.

Isn't The Q for American kids if they don't want to go to college or they flunk out of college? Lil' Tidbit (C.G.) bailed on his Penn State deal so he wouldn't have to study, Charlie Coyle flunked-out of BU and went north...seems unlikely once a college adverse kid finishes hockey he would want to go back to school to speak French.

That is generally the case though there lots of ex-CHL players (Q, O and W) on the rosters of Canadian college hockey teams. Of course Canadian kids don't have to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to school afterwards. The educational package they receive playing in the CHL covers their college costs.

It makes perfect sense for kids who are good hockey players but aren't great students to choose the Q because for them the cost of doing so isn't so great. They probably wouldn't graduate if they went the college route initially and they won't incur the extra cost of college afterwards because they won't go. College isn't for everyone and it doesn't mean you're an idiot if you don't go.

Its ironic that you cite Conner Garland and Charlie Coyle, 1 current NHLer and 1 future NHLer. Both did great in the Q and are doing fine without the NCAA.

Both would have done fine in the NHL after playing college hockey too...

With our presidential options down to Trump and Hilary, maybe Canada's not such a bad idea! Eh!!

GET OUT

The CHL is for kids thinking pro first then college if pro doesn't work. NCAA is for players thinking college first then pro if possible. If kid doesn't make pros from Q he graduates college at about the same age that the NCAA kid does. Difference is if he does make pros he's on his 2nd contract by the time the NCAA kid who makes it starts his first. With very limited NHL careers for most players 3 or 4 extra years of pay after their entry level deal can be huge.

Oh, and all the Ametican kids everyone mocks on here for going to the Q have guaranteed post high school education packages from the minute they step on the ice. They also all take classes while they are there, even if they've graduated from high school already, unlike in the USHL, where HS graduates play video games all day.

It's a hypothetical question, which I'll try to state more clearly for you--if college in the US was as cheap as college in Canada, would you be more likely to let your kid play in the Q? It has nothing to do with kids going to the Q now and going to Canadian university afterwards.

Let me give you an example: suppose UVM was $10,000 per year for tuition, room and board (instead of $50k), the same as McGill. Your son has the opportunity to play for the Quebec Remperts for 4 years and receive $40k (4 x $10k per year) of educational assistance when he goes to UVM afterwards or he can go to UVM now on a 4 for 4 deal and play hockey. Under both of these scenarios, the net cost of college is $0. Since there is no cost difference anymore, would you be more likely to let your kid play in the Q?

As it is now, with UVM costing upwards of $50k per year for out of staters, the net cost of playing for the Remperts and then going to UVM would be $160,000 ((4x $50k) - (4 x $10k)) so clearly it makes more sense, from a cost basis, to play college hockey.

Once again, this is a HYPOTHETICAL question. Think outside the box.

McGill 4500-6500 for Canadians plus living costs, add another 3-6k

McGill? One of top 25 schools in the world? I'd rather send my kid to Merrimack on a 2 for 4 and have him be a phys ed major and play Hockey East. Only an idiot would send their kid to Canada.

I don't know. Merrimack is a long way from my house and I hear the people up that way are difficult to deal with and the food isn't any good. I myself have never been outside of 495 so I'm not really sure but that's what I've heard from people here in Southie.

You're kidding, right? Merrimack over McGill?

Of course I am.

Really we have 2 Ryan Leonards in Western Mass huh? The next RL may be better!

Do these players lose their ncaa eligibility? Confused by this process.

Yes, it's vewed as professional Jr. Hockey.