REVIEW: The 2024 QMJHL Draft, Two Months Later

jacob titus

Sun, Aug 25, 2024, 11:45 a.m.·3 min read

Benjamin Cosette-Ayotte (left), Maddox Dagenais (center) and Chad Lygitsakos (right) at the 2024 QMJHL Draft

The QMJHL has, by far, the coolest draft set-up of the three major junior leagues.

With the league struggling to retain players, such as eventual NHL first rounders Sacha Boisvert and Bradly Nadeau, having the draft in-person makes the experience feel like more of a privilege to be taken highly.

Given the talent drain of players from the league's territory to the NCAA and the beginning of the pre-season, it feels right to review the draft only a few months later to see if the league has improved in this regard.

Last year, two first rounders chose not to commit to the 'Q'.

The first being Shawinigan's 17th overall pick Jeremy Loranger, who will be playing in the BCHL next season with the Sherwood Park Crusaders and is committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for the 2026-27 season. He was once again selected by Shawinigan, this time in the fourth round as the team hopes he changes his mind.

The latter is Blainville-Boisbriand's 19th overall pick, Zachary Morin. Morin played for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL last season and put up 19 points (8+11) in 54 games and is committed to Boston University for both hockey and lacrosse. The Saint John Sea Dogs selected him in the eighth round on the off-chance he chooses to play in the QMJHL.

At least in last year's draft, there were no NCAA committals within the Top-10. The same can't be said for the 2024 draft, which saw two.

Seventh overall pick Enzo Lottin chose not to report to the Victoriaville Tigres, opting to sign in the BCHL with the Chilliwack Chiefs as he looks to field NCAA offers.

Meanwhile, the Chicoutimi Saguenéens swung and missed on Tynan Lawrence, brother of QMJHL legend Josh Lawrence, as he chose to sign with the Chicago Steel of the USHL. He's already secured a commitment to Boston University for the 2027-28 season.

On top of the two defections in the Top-10, Cameron Chartrand also is dodging the QMJHL as the 19th overall pick skipped the Saint John Sea Dogs camp entirely and is already committed to Boston College.

Here's the breakdown of the statuses of the players selected in the first two rounds of the QMJHL draft.

First Round

C Maddox Dagenais (Quebec)
D Benjamin Cossette-D'Ayotte (Val-d'Or)
C Chad Lygitsakos (Shawinigan)
C Romain L'Italien (Cape Breton)
C William Yared (Saint John)
LW Jayden Plouffe (Chicoutimi)
C Enzo Lottin (Victoriaville)
LW Dylan Rozzi (Saint John)
D Biagio Jr. Daniele (Acadie-Bathurst)
C Tynan Lawrence (Chicoutimi)
C Daniel Walters (Halifax)
C Maxim Dube (Gatineau)
RW Thomas Rousseau (Sherbrooke)
C Simon-Xavier Cyr (Gatineau)
D Louis-Felix Gagnon (Shawinigan)
D Jacob Gouchie (Val-d'Or)
C Benjamin Olivier (Val-d'Or)
LW Liam Arsenault (Acadie-Bathurst)
D Cameron Chartrand (Saint John)
C Noah Florent (Gatineau)

Round Two

21. D Michel Myloserdnyy (Gatineau)
1. Attended Olympiques camp
2. Left within 48 hours to preserve NCAA eligibility
22. LW Ryan Howard (Quebec)
23. G Antoine Proulx (Acadie-Bathurst)
24. C Jayden Rousseau (Quebec)
25. LW Samuel Rheault (Blainville-Boisbriand)
26. D Cruz Scanzano (Saint John)
27. RW Xavier Sabourin (Cape Breton)
28. D Charlie Morrison (Quebec)
29. LW Samuel Rochon (Sherbrooke)
30. RW Louis-Felix Bourque (Drummondville)
31. D Brandon Delasrobil (Sherbrooke)
32. RW Leo Gauthier (Acadie-Bathurst)
33. G Patrick Deniger (Quebec)
34. LW Caylen Blake (Halifax)
35. D Jean-Samuel Daigneault (Shawinigan)
36. C Liam Dube (Quebec)
1. Signed in Switzerland Jrs.
37. D Jackson Batchilder (Moncton)
38. C Zakary Savoie (Baie-Comeau)
1. Signed in the BCHL