Patenaude has high hopes for picks
At the end of the QMJHL draft in Sydney, the veteran general manager had a smile on his face and the belief that at least five of his picks could step into his young lineup in August.
“It’s hard for me to pinpoint any single one — I’m seriously excited about all of them,” Patenaude said. “That’s the nice thing about next season. They all have a chance to come in, showcase themselves, and make our team.”
The Mooseheads didn’t have a first-rounder and waited until the second round to call their first name. All told, they made nine selections, kicking it off with forwards Gabriel Desjardins (24th overall) and Alex Lemieux (40th).
Both are fast and gritty — Desjardins more of a scorer, Lemieux more of a hitter — and Patenaude coveted those attributes, perhaps in light of this year’s early playoff exit.
The 5-foot-10, 187-pound Desjardins was affable and confident around the Mooseheads’ draft table, shaking hands as he met the team’s staff and addressed reporters.
“I was very surprised they picked me because they had not talked to me at any time (before the draft),” said Desjardins, who had 22 points in 44 games for Montreal’s midget AAA team.
“I like Halifax,” he added. “It’s a good team.”
Lemieux, the younger brother of Shawinigan Cataractes defenceman Gabriel, is a product of the Quebec midget team Charles-Lemoyne and doesn’t speak any English. But the Mooseheads did the talking for him, comparing Lemieux to former Metro Centre favourite Frederik Cabana.
“He reminds us of Freddy — the style, the way he skates, the way he behaves himself,” Patenaude said. “He’s very intense, his skating is phenomenal. We like what we see.”
With their only other top-five pick, the Mooseheads selected 6-foot-2, 190-pound forward Jessyko Bernard in the fourth round (69th overall) from Cushing Academy prep school.
The Moncton native was a highly-touted prospect in last year’s draft, ranked 21st by Central Scouting. He was passed over because he intended to play NCAA hockey, but Patenaude said he has secured a commitment from Bernard.
“He’s going to play with us next year,” he said. “He’s a big kid, a scorer. He’s more of a skilled guy with good hands.”
The other two players the Mooseheads see stepping in are polar opposite blueliners. Ryan Matheson, a highly-skilled 5-foot-11 power-play quarterback from Newfoundland, came in the sixth round. Alex MacDonald, a rugged, 6-foot-3 stay-at-homer from Moncton, joined the fold in the seventh.
Cole Harbour McCain goaletender Kody Blois came in the eighth round, and he’ll come to camp to fight Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault for the right to back up Mark Yetman.
Andrew O’Leary, a skilled forward, came in the ninth round, but is eyeing NCAA hockey; South Shore Mustangs blueliner Andrew Morrison arrived in the 10th; and forward William Cloutier from the Quebec midget AAA ranks was plucked in the 12th, although Halifax had him ranked in the sixth.
“We won’t know until later (if the draft was a success) but the comments from my scouts and comments (from other teams) … We’re very excited to see them at camp,” Patenaude said.
As far as trades went, Patenaude said he “tried” and “it didn’t happen.” He wasn’t willing to elaborate, but the buzz was that he was going after the sixth overall pick to grab highly-touted defenceman Garrett Clarke. The Lewiston Maineiacs won those sweepstakes.
Patenaude did make a couple of nondescript draft-pick swaps and landed 19-year-old centre Linden Bahm from the Shawinigan Cataractes for a sixth-round pick in 2009.
For more on Bahm and scouting reports on each of Halifax's picks, visit Matthew Wuest's Q Files blog at www.metronews.ca/qfiles.
matthew.wuest@metronews.ca
