Draft: Canadian Kidd turns to QMJHL three times with Trudeau, Roy and Simoneau

MONTREAL — Trevor Timmins noted that the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League came under the microscope this winter as the most active junior league in Canada.

The Montreal Canadiens’ assistant general manager clearly liked what he saw, drawing four times in the QMJHL on Saturday, and notably selecting three Quebecers. These are the highest totals in these categories for Canada since 2013, when they drafted four QMJHL players, including two from Quebec.

He had not drafted three Quebecers in the same year since 2005.

The Habs defeated AKD-Bathurst Titan’s Riley Kiddie in the second round, 63rd overall, Charlotte Islanders defenseman William Trudeau, fourth round, 113th overall, Phoenix de Sherbrooke’s Joshua Roy in the fifth round, 150th overall. I chose. , and Javier Simono of the Islanders, in the sixth round, 191st.

“When I heard that I had been picked by the Canadians, I jumped with joy,” said Trudeau, who said PK Subban was a player he admired while playing with the Hubbs.

Timmins and general manager Mark Bergevin were criticized at the end of the 2020 draft for not selecting players from the QMJHL.

Trudeau, a native of Warrens, scored eight goals and 23 assists in 40 games with the Islanders last winter. He became the first Quebecer to be selected by a Canadian in the first four rounds of the draft since goaltender Zachary Foucault in 2013. Fukle was selected in the second round, in 36th place.

Trudeau has come a long way since being selected in the 11th round of the QMJHL’s draft, but the situation is quite different for Roy, who was elected in 2019.

The Saint-Georges-de-Beauce native shared last season among the Sea Dogs of Saint-Jean, NB, and Phoenix. He has scored 22 goals and 13 assists in 35 matches.

He switched sides at his request and on Saturday he skinned his old team over videoconferencing.

“The practices were not good,” he said, looking back at his time with the sea dogs. They lasted 30 or 40 minutes. It was fluidity and skill exercise. It was not very good. While traveling, the food was also not great. I thought it was not normal for a junior club. When I got to Sherbrooke I saw what a junior team was like. “

Although Roy has good offensive skills, many recruiters have noted his lack of commitment and criticized his work ethic.

However, he said that he aims to be one of the best players in the QMJHL next season. And he doesn’t worry about expectations or criticisms of him.

“I’m a guy who’s hard to distract. I don’t care about other people or the media, Roy said. I focus on what I control.

“I want to silence people who don’t believe in me. It’s a small goal.”

For his part, Simono collected 10 goals and 27 assists in 27 games with the Drummondville Voltigers during the previous campaign. He was in his third season of draft eligibility and is 20 years old.

He isn’t the biggest at five-foot-seven, but is known for his work. He was also the captain of the Voltigers.

Simone was traded to the Islanders in the off-season and would join PEI the following winter for his 21-year-old season, until he made the leap to pro.

For his part, Kidney gleamed with Titan last winter. He made 13 goals and 25 assists in 33 games in the regular season, then added two goals and 15 assists in nine games in the playoffs.

The Enfield, Nova Scotia, kidney native stands at five feet 11 inches tall and weighs 168 pounds. NHL Central Recruiting compared him to Nick Suzuki in their final report.

three Europeans and two Ontarians

In the second round, Canada also picked 64th place forward Oliver Kaplan.

Kapanen is a cousin of Kasperry, who plays with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored 41 points in 37 games for the junior team in Kaleven Pallo, Finland.

In the third round, Canada drafted right-handed defenseman Dmitry Kostenko in 87th place.

Kostenko was involved in the organization of Lada Togliatti last winter. He played 40 games in the Russian Second Division, collecting one goal and nine assists. He also scored one goal and eight assists in 10 games in the Russian Junior League.

In the fifth round, 142nd, the Canadian added another Russian defender to his crop: Daniil Sobolev. He was supposed to wear the colors of the Windsor Spitfires last winter, but the strategy did not pay off as the OHL season was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he spent winter training in Anaheim and Saginaw, Mich.

Sobolev still has plans to play for the Spitfires next season.

In the seventh round, at No. 214, the Canadiens caught Ontario giant-sized goalkeeper Joe Verbetic of the North Bay Battalion. He also didn’t play last season. He is six feet six inches tall and weighs 190 pounds.

The Canadian started the draft with 11 picks and ended up speaking nine times. He had picked Ontario defenseman Logan Meloux in 31st place the day before in the first round.