SHAWINIGAN, QUE. – Jim Hulton got his man Saturday at the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft in Shawinigan, Que.
The Charlottetown Islanders head coach and general manager wasted little time calling Lukas Cormier's name with the fourth overall pick. He is a dynamic defender from the Moncton Flyers midget AAA team who was a huge riser on draft day.
"He'll be in our top six for sure and then he'll dictate where he plays there," Hulton said. "We have a spot pencilled in for him. We came with a mandate of finding a guy that could fit in our top six and we're very, very confident he's the man.
"He's a guy we had earmarked for an awful long time. He is your prototypical modern defenceman, a mobile guy who should be able to carry the torch when P.O. Joseph moves on. We're thrilled. He's the exact type of player we want in our organization."
Cormier is listed at five-foot-eight, 155-pound and scouts rave about his skating and puck skills.
"I think I'm a good offensive defenceman and I can also play good defensively," Cormier said. "I think I have good vision and skating and I work hard.
"I'm going to train hard this summer because I really want to play there this year. Training camp's going to be hard. The boys are bigger and the hockey will be an adjustment but I think I can do it."
With a vote of confidence from Hulton and openings on the Islanders blueline, Cormier is going into an ideal situation for 2018-19. Being a short drive from his hometown is something else that made him feel like Charlottetown is a perfect fit.
"I think it's a great organization and it's only two hours from home so my family is really happy with how close it is," Cormier said. "They have a lot of great players there so I think we're going to have a great team."
Likewise, Hulton said the proximity allowed his staff to keep a close eye on Cormier all season.
"It was a bonus that we got to see him quite a bit," he said. "He played in P.E.I. a few times and we saw him a bunch of other times. We're really, really excited with the skill set he brings, the compete level and all the intangibles are what we want on our team."
The Islanders traded back from the second round and picked centre Xavier Fortin and forward Patrick LeBlanc in the third round. LeBlanc was Cormier's teammate in Moncton last season.
"We came in here with a bit of a mandate to cover all areas of our future and the big thing for us was skating," Hulton said. "The skating marks were high on all the guys we took."
The rest of Charlottetown's picks were: defenceman Anthony Hamel (fourth round), defenceman Nathan Martel (sixth round), centre Alex Power (eighth round), forward Nathan Kelly (ninth round), defenceman Dell Welton (11th round), goalie Chad Arsenault (12th round), Keiran Gallant (13th round) and defenceman Nicolas Bourque (14th round).
"We were excited to get Lukas at four and he'll help us right away and the rest of the guys will have a chance to play now or to help us in the future," Hulton said. "That's what the draft's all about.
"We're finally in a position where we could send a lot of kids back to midget last year and we think three or four of them are ready to come in and play. Hopefully this crop can continue that cycle for us."
