Dauphin was a key part of Canada winning the IIHF U18 world championship (The Canadian Press)

Laurent Dauphin has proved he can score — now it's all about the finer points.

The shifty centre was a poster child for steadily moving up the hockey ladder during his rookie season with the Chicoutimi Saguéneens. Coming in as a 17-year-old, the 6-foot, 166-pound Dauphin finished fifth in rookie scoring by tallying 25 goals and 57 points, including a league-high nine game-winners, across 62 games for a young Sags outfit that finished in the middle of the QMJHL pack. The Repentigny, Que., native also held his own in showcase events; he was named a top player during the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game after being added as an injury replacement just 48 hours before puckdrop and was also a top-six forward and power-play contributor while helping Canada win the IIHF world U18 championship for the first time in five years.

Dauphin, ranked 28th among domestic skaters by NHL Central Scouting, could prove to be a good value pick if his acceleration and physicality progress once he becomes a drafted player.

John Hayden is committed to joining reigning NCAA champion Yale University (Tom Sorensen photo)John Hayden enjoys playing against type.

Since a mention of his hometown of Greenwich, Conn., is sure to trigger a response such as "affluence" during word association games, it seems like a more likely place to turn out a stockbroker than a grim-minded winger whose stock in trade is turning pucks over.

The Yale University recruit raised his draft status over the past season by displaying exceptional agility for a 6-foot-2½, 210-pound teenaged forward with the U.S. under-18 team. How early Hayden comes off the board at the June 30 NHL draft might depend on how much pressure NHL teams feel to add a big winger.

"I get a lot the 'Greenwich pretty boy' stuff, that gets me fired up," says Hayden, who is NHL Central Scouting's 29th-ranked domestic skater. "I like to play a hard game, that's my style.

Spenser Jensen is Central Scouting Service's 76th-ranked domestic skater (Larry MacDougal, The Canadian Press)

A NHL team in need of stay-at-home defencemen in their pipeline might pluck Spenser Jensen out of Alberta at the end of this month.

The former first-rounder in the Western Hockey League bantam draft had a promising sophomore season with the Medicine Hat Tigers, showing some raw potential as a tall shutdown defenceman. At 6-foot-4 and 191 pounds, the Airdrie, Alta., native showed he could use his length to break up offensive sequences and cause turnovers, making the young Tigers a tough out in the Dub's Eastern Conference.

"It takes a little while for you to get the little skills like puck handling when you're a gangly guy," says Jensen, whom NHL Central Scouting has ranked 76th among domestic skater. "I think that's been coming along. I've put on 20 pounds the past two years so hopefully I can continue with that.

Gatineau-bound overage Marc-Olivier Brouillard averaged more than a point per game last season (The Canadian Press)

Nineteen players changed addresses during the QMJHL entry draft held in Chicoutimi, Que., Saturday as teams began to understand a little more clearly what they have heading into next season.

The draft is one of three trading periods in the QMJHL season where the exchange of active players is allowed. 24 trades were two more than last season’s draft, and 19 players was seven more than 2012.

The biggest trade in terms of sheer volume was a trade between the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the Gatineau Olympiques. The Titan acquired forwards Adam Chapman and Alexandros Soumakis and four draft picks: a first, sixth and seventh rounder in 2013, and a third round pick in 2015. The Olympiques received forward Marc-Olivier Brouillard and five picks: a first and fifth rounder this year, second rounders in 2014 and 2015 and a fifth round pick in 2015.

Chapman, 19, had 54 points, with 19 goals in 66 games for the Olympiques last season. He added two points in 10 games in the playoffs. Soumakis, 19, was injured most of the season, chipping in with a pair of assists in 11 games last year, and an assist in four games in the playoffs. Both players will provide solid offensive depth for the Titan next season.

Brouillard, 20, split the 2012-13 season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Titan. He had 27 points in 27 games for the Titan after the trade, and had 39 points in 33 games with Drummondville. He had three points in four games in the playoffs. Brouillard is a good top-six forward who plays with a bit of an edge and a pest quality on the ice, who will be a fan favourite in Gatineau.

The other big trade Saturday was an all-Maritime affair. The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles sent forwards Zach Beaton and Sébastien Lemieux and a ninth round pick to the Charlottetown Islanders for overage goaltender Maxime Lagacé and an eighth round pick. Beaton, 18, and Lemieux, 17, appeared sparingly in the Cape Breton lineup last season.

Nicolas Roy was taken first overall by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the 2013 QMJHL Entry Draft in Chicoutimi, Que. (Photo credit: Dominic B. Gagné / QMJHL)

Apparently, the NCAA rumours didn’t steer the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles from making the pick they said they would.

They took forward Nicolas Roy first overall at the 2013 QMJHL Entry Draft in Chicoutimi, Que., confirming exactly what head coach and general manager Marc-Andre Dumont said they would do. This comes despite what Nicolas Roy’s father said earlier in the week, that Nicolas would go to the draft and put on the jersey, which he did, but will not report to Cape Breton over distance and education issues.

The tantalizing talent of Roy was too much for the Screaming Eagles to pass up, a big player with excellent vision and positioning, who could be an elite playmaker and two-way player in the QMJHL. He is an all-around offensive player who isn’t afraid to start or finish plays, and makes his teammates better. He is a true centerpiece for the Screaming Eagles who will grow well with their prospects already in the system.

Val-d'Or used three picks in the first round of the 2013 QMJHL Entry Draft, most of any team. (Photo credit: Dominic B. Gagné / QMJHL)

The Shawinigan Cataractes used the second overall pick

Nicolas Roy has not yet committed to Cape BretonAnother man has spoken in the Nicolas Roy sweepstakes, and he isn’t as optimistic as Cape Breton coach and GM Marc-Andre Dumont appears to be in getting the Mario Lemieux trophy winner to report to Cape Breton Island.

Nicolas Roy’s father, Nick, said that his son will wear the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles jersey if he is selected first overall in the QMJHL draft Saturday in Chicoutimi, Que., but he will pursue other options if Cape Breton doesn’t trade his rights to a Quebec team.

Roy reportedly wants his son to be taken by a Quebec team so he can complete his schooling in the Quebec school system. He doesn’t want his son to have to deal with finishing his education out of the province of Quebec. Also, the drive from Amos, Que., to Sydney, N.S., isn’t exactly a quick 20-hour one.

Matteau, pictured here with the New Jersey Devils, was traded from his hometown Blainville-Boisbriand Armada to the Rimouski Oceanic Friday (Getty Images)

Hey, Rimouski: he’s your problem now.

That was the message the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada sent to the QMJHL after sending Stefan Matteau to the Rimouski Océanic Friday. The Armada will receive conditional picks in the third round this season and the second round next season to complete the deal. The deal effectively washes the Armada’s hands of the young forward, who spent most of the year with the club, playing two months in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils in between.

The marriage of the Matteaus and Blainville-Boisbriand was anything but smooth. The last straw was Stefan’s reaction to getting benched in Game 2 of the Armada’s semifinal against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Matteau reportedly got into a shouting match with head coach J-F Houle and was promptly cut from the team, returning home with his dad, now-former assistant coach and former NHLer Stephane, on the team’s fan bus.

Nicolas Roy has not yet committed to Cape BretonThe Cape Breton Screaming Eagles won’t leave any question to which player they are taking first overall in the 2013 QMJHL Entry Draft Saturday in Chicoutimi, Que.

That pick will be used on 6’3” forward Nicolas Roy, who head coach and general manager Marc-Andre Dumont called by far the best player available. He also said that Roy is a franchise player, and has Mario Lemieux’s poise with the puck.

Roy had 33 points, including 17 goals, in an injury-shortened 27 games for Amos in the Quebec Midget AAA ranks this season. He was awarded the Mario Lemieux trophy as the best 15-year-old prospect available.

Roy will make the third draft in a row that a forward was taken first overall, along with Sherbrooke’s Daniel Audette last year and Halifax’s superstar Nathan MacKinnon in 2011. The last non-forward selected first overall in the QMJHL draft was defenceman Dillon Fournier selected by the now-defunct Lewiston MAINEiacs in the 2010 edition of the draft.

Roy is reportedly considering the NCAA