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Bowers bucks Screaming Eagles in favour of the USHL

Shane Bowers, centre, poses after being selected fourth overall by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the QMJHL draft in Sherbrooke, Que., on Saturday, June 6, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Perry Beaton
Shane Bowers, centre, poses after being selected fourth overall by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the QMJHL draft in Sherbrooke, Que., on Saturday, June 6, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Perry Beaton

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles thought they were getting a steal by picking potential superstar Shane Bowers fourth overall in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft.

So far, all they’ve picked is a headache.

Bowers has made his intentions on his future clear, deciding to report to the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL, and it was announced officially Monday, as Bowers no-showed in Sydney.

It was a change of tune for the youngster, after saying originally on draft day he was excited to join the Screaming Eagles.

The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy reported Bowers was never going to report to them, opting for the U.S. college route.

He says Bowers said what he said on draft day to stay polite and not rock the boat. Allegedly, he told the Screaming Eagles he wouldn’t report from the start.

Bowers would be a key piece to the Cape Breton puzzle. The 15-year-old had 52 points in 34 games for the Halifax McDonald’s in the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League last season, and scouts praise his game-breaking ability.

He had a point a game for Team Nova Scotia at the Canada Winter Games this past winter, and had 11 points in five games at the QMJHL’s Gatorade Excellence Challenge. He also had four points in three games for Team Blue at Team Canada’s under-17 summer camp recently.

While it’s believed Bowers is reporting to the USHL with the ultimate intention of going to an NCAA school, there has been no confirmation or denial from the Bowers camp. Some have speculated on that front, and even reported that Bowers has been reaching out to a few schools already.

Screaming Eagles coach Marc-André Dumont is very disappointed his prized pick will not report, and doesn’t quite understand why, telling the Halifax Chronicle-Herald: “He was looking for a good fit to pursue playing in the NHL. We believe we are that. In the last three years, we’ve had five forwards from our team drafted to the NHL.”

He’s right on his team’s track record. His team also has quality players to play with, and with five forwards not returning, Bowers would be a favourite to make the team’s opening night roster. He could slot right in between first rounder Evgeny Svechnikov and potential first rounder Pierre-Luc Dubois.

It seems Dumont was caught reading the papers, as he said he believed Bowers would report after hearing media reports that he would.

But the Bowers situation brings to mind another similar case.

Two years ago, the Nicolas Roy saga handcuffed the team for the summer. Roy wanted to be drafted by a Quebec-based team for educational reasons. Ultimately the team shipped him off to Chicoutimi in a favourable deal with several first round picks.

It’s worth saying, no matter the result of the Roy trade, that another thing is clear: Be it coincidence, bad luck or conspiracy theory, Cape Breton first-round picks in the last three drafts have chosen not to report to the team.

Last year, first rounder Michael O’Leary, an American, didn’t report and was released, giving the Screaming Eagles a compensatory pick. O’Leary was picked by the Moncton Wildcats in the third round in June’s draft, and, for what it’s worth, he didn’t report to the Wildcats for camp this week, either. He’s committed to Cornell University.

Dumont also says that his first round track record criticism is without merit. The coach and GM said that every case is different, and it’s a case-by-case thing, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

It was thought, though, that since Bowers is a Nova Scotian, he might be a shoo-in to report to a team in his home province. Other teams believed to be on his radar are Saint John, the team rumoured to pick him before Joe Veleno became available, or Halifax, his home-town team. Some are saying his reporting to Waterloo is a smokescreen to be traded to a more-favourable team, though Cape Breton isn’t in the worst shape.

If Bowers is 100 per cent positive about not reporting, Dumont should do the right thing for his team and trade the talented prospect. If he is as good as scouts are saying, and there is interest, he can seriously help his team with one trade.

Even if he reports to the new team, Dumont and the Screaming Eagles will come out winners, trading a player who would never suit up.

That will remain to be seen, but he won’t report to Sydney for now, and Dumont has said he will not trade him, proving that you can dig your heels in on someone who isn’t even on the battlefield.