Columbus Blue Jackets pick Peter Quenneville joins brother with Brandon Wheat Kings

Brandon Wheat Kings sophomore forward John Quenneville will have some brotherly help in his bid to raise his NHL draft stock, as his older brother has decided being a freshman with a Frozen Four contender is not for him.

On Tuesday, 19-year-old Peter Quenneville, whom the Columbus Blue Jackets nabbed late in the NHL draft in June, left the No. 5-ranked Quinnipiac Bobcats to join Brandon. The Wheat Kings sent a 2015 third-round bantam draft pick to the Prince George Cougars to gain a forward who scored 70 points in 63 games for the United States league champion Dubuque Fighting Saints last season.

It reads like a case of worrying about withering on the vine in Division I. The belief that teenagers develop best by playing more games often doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but it does hold sway with players. Quenneville, due in part to an lower-body injury, had dressed for only five of Quinnipiac's nine games. Brandon's already played 17.

The Brandon/Columbus connection should be evident, since a late draft pick used on a perhaps later blooming forward who was coming off his 18-year-old season has panned out for the Blue Jackets. Columbus took Matt Calvert with the No. 127 overall pick in 2008 out of Brandon; he became a top-end forward in the Dub and has played exactly 100 games for the Blue Jackets. Roughly half the players taken ahead of him that year have yet to play 50 games in The Show.

For Brandon, which is tied with rival Regina for seventh in the Dub's Western Conference with a .500 record at the 18-game quarter-pole, the pickup of Peter Quenneville addresses a paucity of veteran scoring. A quick scan over the Wheaties roster points out the obvious: none of their top six point getters are both 19, a forward and from North America. A team usually needs scoring from players who fall under that criteria. Quenneville, who could potentially play as an overage before Columbus has to make a decision on signing him, can address that need. What this does to buoy John Quenneville's confidence as he attempts to join his brother as a NHL draft pick should also be interesting.

Peter Quenneville's Wheat Kings debut could come on Thursday.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.