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Rangers prospect Ryan Graves goes to Quebec Remparts; Memorial Cup hosts load up early

Neate Sager

Better to deal now than see the stakes go up later during a Memorial Cup year.

New York Rangers prospect Ryan Graves, who was an immovable force during Val-d'Or's run to the President's Cup and the Memorial Cup semifinal last spring, is probably the best 19-year-old defenceman available in the Quebec League. Late Sunday, the Memorial Cup host Quebec Remparts pulled off a bit of a blockbuster, acquiring the 6-foot-4 defenceman on the eve of the QMJHL's preseason trade deadline. Graves had shoulder surgery following his extended playoff run with Val-d'Or and will not suit up until a few weeks into the regular season.

Remparts GM Philippe Boucher, in all, added five seasoned players in roughly 18 hours in a bid to contend for the Cup at Le Colisée in May. Quebec's other notable pickups include anteing two draft choices to nab overage centre Taylor Burke from the Gatineau Olympiques and trading for 19-year-old defender Simon Boudreau.

For those scoring at home, the trade unites the Rangers' back-to-back 2013 picks out of the QMJHL, with Graves joining 50-goal scorer Anthony Duclair.

The Cup hosts' experience on the blueline and in goal will be a storyline all season. Graves and Boudreau give the Remparts three 19-year-old defenders along with puck-moving Nikolas Brouillard, who counted 61 points last winter for the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The only other D-men with 1995 birthdates are free-agent invitees who played Junior A. In net, of course, Quebec has promising 17-year-old Callum Booth and 19-year-old Eric Brassard, who had a respectable second half last season in Charlottetown, pencilled in as its goaltending duo.

Burke, an overage on a Gatineau club, is the type of two-way centre whose value can often become more self-evident as a playoff run rolls along. Overall, Quebec has done a lot to close the gap on East Division favourite Rimouski.

Val-d'Or, meanwhile, was wise to move Graves before the season. His value is at a peak after the impression he made in the post-season. Otherwise, it would be set on how Graves performs once he gets a belated start to the year on a younger Foreurs squad that will probably put more of a burden on its blueliners.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.