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2015 QMJHL Draft: Veleno taken first overall by Sea Dogs as first QMJHL exceptional status pick

The Saint John Sea Dogs, picking first for the second time in two years and the fifth time in their history, grabbed Joseph Veleno first overall. (Vincent Ethier)
The Saint John Sea Dogs, picking first for the second time in two years and the fifth time in their history, grabbed Joseph Veleno first overall. (Vincent Ethier)

The Saint John Sea Dogs followed the script Saturday and took the player everyone predicted, selecting Joseph Veleno first overall at the Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet in Sherbrooke.

Predicted since Thursday, anyway, when Hockey Canada finally allowed Veleno’s application for exceptional status. Veleno turned 15 years old in January. He is the first exceptional status player to enter the QMJHL.

The Kirkland native had 52 points in 41 games in Quebec’s highest midget circuit. He also had 10 points in six games for Team Quebec at the Canada Winter Games this season, and added five points in five games for Quebec Blue at the Gatorade Excellence Challenge. He is a gifted offensive player but also plays a 200ft game, and will be a great asset for the Sea Dogs on and off the ice.

There have been four other CHL players granted the exceptional status tag and all four entered the OHL draft.

He’ll have his work cut out for him, as the Sea Dogs look to retool following a trying year with a roster filled with OHL retreads and free agent invites. Veleno is the latest in a line of good prospects for new head coach Danny Flynn to mold, along with Nathan Noel, Matthew Joseph, Samuel Dove-McFalls, Matthew Green and last year’s number one pick Luke Green on the back end.

Acadie-Bathurst took Antoine Morand second overall. (Vincent Ethier)
Acadie-Bathurst took Antoine Morand second overall. (Vincent Ethier)

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan took to the stage for their second pick, and selected Antoine Morand from Chateauguay. There were rumours that the Titan were looking to trade the pick, but they ultimately settled on Morand, a great skater and heads-up offensive star who uses his speed to maximum capacity on the ice, with the puck and without. Morand was ranked second in the QMJHL central scouting list.

The Victoriaville Tigres took Morand’s teammate Maxime Comtois third overall. The top ranked prospect according to the league’s scouting team, Comtois is a power forward who could be a force to be reckoned with both offensively and physically if his potential pans out. He could be a franchise center for the Tigres.

Cape Breton picked next, and after a timeout, they put their hands on Halifax forward Shane Bowers. A controversial pick, Bowers said he was excited to be picked by the Screaming Eagles, and head coach and director of hockey operations Marc-André Dumont was clearly ecstatic he was available.

However, a report from The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy surfaced soon after, saying that Bowers will not report to Cape Breton, and will evaluate his options. That report has been challenged, but we will only know for sure once training camp opens.

The Val-d’Or Foreurs made the fifth pick, and they went for the best goalie available. Dereck Baribeau is going to the Foreurs. The tallest pick of the first round, at almost 6’4”, Baribeau backstopped St-François last season and was first in save percentage and second in goals against average. He is a quick goalie who has good control on the fundamentals of the position and can use his size to his advantage.

Shane Bowers (Vincent Ethier)
Shane Bowers (Vincent Ethier)

Cape Breton stepped back up on stage for the sixth pick and selected Fredericton’s Peyton Hoyt. Hoyt is a goal scorer. He put the puck in the back of the net 29 times to his 9 assists. He’s a north-south player, and can play with an edge to his game. Halifax took pint-sized wizard Arnaud Durandeau seventh, while Rouyn-Noranda picked offensive force Louis-Filip Côté eighth. Rounding out the top ten was a pair of Saint John picks: netminder Alex D’Orio and forward Cedric Pare.

Chicoutimi ended up making a heck of a splash at the tail end of the round, making moves to get three picks in the round, taking Alexander Krief at 16, Jeremy Groleau at 17 and Keenan MacIsaac at 19.

The hometown Sherbrooke Phoenix made a couple of deals at their home rink to off-set the lack of a first round pick. They acquired overager Guillaume Gauthier from the Quebec Remparts, for Lucas Thierus and two picks, and they shipped netminder Alex Bureau to Gatineau for two picks.

The Olympiques weren’t done there, sending bottom-six forward Marc Beckstead to Victoriaville for a seventh rounder. Sherbrooke sent that seventh rounder for an eighth rounder to make it a three team trade.

In other player deals, the Val-d’Or Foreurs sent their starter Keven Bouchard to Baie-Comeau for a second rounder. Not done there, the Foreurs acquired overage defenceman Carl Tremblay from Chicoutimi. The Sags added to their forward ranks, grabbing Jonathan Bourcier from Gatineau.

Matthew Boucher went from Drummondville to Quebec, and Emmanuel Aucoin was sent from Shawinigan to Drummondville. The Cataractes received a fifth rounder to complete the three-team trade.

Quebec and Rimouski must have settled their differences quickly, as the two teams swapped a player for a pick. Cédric Charbonneau will move to the Oceanic.

Another interesting pick from the draft, the Moncton Wildcats picked former Cape Breton first rounder Michael O’Leary 52nd overall. O’Leary was the Screaming Eagles pick at 14th last season, but is committed to Cornell University. The Wildcats will now have the challenge of recruiting him to the Great White North. The Screaming Eagles were awarded a 19th pick, the last of the first round, for O’Leary’s no-show. They traded it to Chicoutimi.