CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Charlottetown Islanders bought and sold on the first day of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League trade period as they retool for the second half of the season.
The Islanders added overage forward Ethan Crossman, 19-year-old defenceman Chris McQuaid, 16-year-old left-winger Drew Elliott and three picks in four separate deals. Leaving town are 19-year-old blue-liner Xavier Bernard, 17-year-old centre Xavier Fortin and three picks.
The Islanders brass wanted to get bigger and add experience with a handful of teams adding some the league's elite talent for a playoff run.
“If we’re going to beat them, we’re probably not going to out skill them, so we have to out grit them,” head coach and general manager Jim Hulton said Sunday.
The Islanders (20-12-4-0) are fourth in the Eastern Conference behind three teams loading up in Chicoutimi, Moncton and Rimouski and ahead of Cape Breton, which completed a big trade on Monday.
Charlottetown was 10-3-3-0 on Oct. 27, but injuries struck in November. The team managed to stay afloat without key cogs Nikita Alexandrov and Lukas Cormier. They went 10-9-1-0 in November and December.
Here’s a look at the four deals the Islanders have completed.
Charlottetown trades Bernard to the Sherbrooke Phoenix for third- and seventh-round picks in 2020 and a second in 2021.
Hulton said it was a win-win-win for all the parties involved as Bernard goes to the CHL’s top team and the Islanders acquire assets.
“Sherbrooke is a team that’s been calling on Xavier since pre-season,” Hulton said. “We were looking . . . to recoup some picks on our draft board for now and the future and also maybe be able to use some of those in additional deals.”
Bernard had a no-trade provision in his contract and had to approve the deal on Thursday.
“He played the last two games, knowing he was being traded,” Hulton said. “I admire Xavier Bernard’s professionalism.”
Bernard was one of the key pieces acquired in last year’s trade that saw captain Pierre-Olivier (P.O.) Joseph go to the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
The second in 2021 is Quebec's pick.
Gatineau trades McQuaid to Charlottetown for a sixth-round pick in 2021.
The Bernard trade left the Islanders young on the back end with a 16-year-old, three 17s, an 18 and an overager on the Isles blue-line.
“In order to be able to safeguard ourselves we were fortunate enough to be able to go out and get Chris McQuaid,” Hulton said. “We remember him in his draft year when he was a mobile, active defenceman.”
McQuaid was a second-round pick of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 2016. He was traded to the Gatineau Olympiques in December 2017.
“We’ve heard great things about his character,” Hulton said and “he adds a physical dimension to our team.”
The Charlottetown native and Islanders prospect Matt McQuaid, who is playing this season with the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild, are first cousins.
He also grew up with Islanders winger Thomas Casey.
“He lit right up,” Hulton said when he shared the news with Casey.
Charlottetown trades Fortin to Baie-Comeau for Elliott.
Hulton said the deal came out of nowhere late last week.
Fortin was the Islanders second pick, a third-round selection (37th overall), in the 2018 draft.
Elliott was taken in the second round (26th overall) in the 2019 draft after scoring 29 points and recording 42 penalty minutes in 31 games with the Saint John Vitos major midgets.
“Drew is a guy that kind of plays a little more to our identity,” Hulton said. “He’s a north-south guy who can really skate. If you read his reports, his projection is more like a Keith Getson-type of guy.”
While Hulton believes Fortin can be a really good player in the league, there were similar players on the Islanders roster and the emergence of rookie Justin Gill helped make the deal possible. It also strengthening the team’s 2003 age group that also includes Oscar Plandowski, Jacob Goobie, Gill, plus prospects playing midget.
Charlottetown trades its own fourth- and seventh-round picks in 2021 to Chicoutimi for Crossman.
The Islanders used two picks to acquire the overage forward, who helped the Acadie-Bathurst Titan win the 2018 Memorial Cup.
Hulton said they discussed trading for him before.
“Brad MacKenzie and Paul Drew knew him quite well from Andrews hockey and they were pounding the table two years ago for him,” Hulton said.
A year ago, the Titan traded him to Baie-Comeau for first-, second- and third-round picks. He went to Chicoutimi in the off-season for a second and a third.
“We just remember him being hard guy to play against. He’s a north-south kid who can really skate and plays with a bit of an edge,” Hulton said.
The move does mean the Islanders have four overage players with right-winger Kevin Gursoy being the odd man out. The Islanders will try to find him a spot in the league or outside, if a deal doesn’t come together before the Jan. 6 deadline.
Grand Falls owns his junior A rights in the Maritimes.
The Islanders top picks in this year’s draft are Halifax’s second, Sherbrooke's third plus Sherbrooke's and their own fourth-round picks. They have their own picks in each of the first three rounds in 2021, plus Drummondville’s first and Quebec’s second. They have their first and third picks in 2022.
Trade recap
A look at the trades announced by the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday, the first day of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League trade period.
• Charlottetown trades defenceman Xavier Bernard to Sherbrooke for three draft picks. Bernard, who turns 20 on Jan. 6, is a six-foot-three, 203-pound Mercier, Que., native.
2019-20 Statistics
GP G A Pts.
33 4 8 12
• Charlottetown trades a pick to Gatineau for defenceman Chris McQuaid. The six-foot-two, 180-pound Charlottetown native turns 20 on New Year’s Day.
2019-20 Statistics
GP G A Pts.
28 0 5 5
• Charlottetown trades two picks to Chicoutimi for forward Ethan Crossman. The Sackville, N.B., native is a five-foot-11, 188-pound left-winger who turns 21 on March 13. He played on the Acadie-Bathurst Memorial Cup-winning team in 2018.
2019-20 Statistics
GP G A Pts.
32 6 10 16
• Charlottetown trades centre Xavier Fortin to Baie-Comeau for left-winger Drew Elliott. Fortin, 17, is a five-foot-10, 157-pound Mirabel, Que., native. Elliott, 16, is a five-10, 174-pound left-winger from Musquash, N.B., who was a second-round pick in June after playing with the Saint John Vitos.
2019-20 Statistics
Fortin
GP G A Pts.
35 6 6 12
Elliott
GP G A Pts.
30 0 6 6
Deadline deals by the season
A look at how many moves Jim Hulton has made during the trade period as the Charlottetown Islanders general manager.
2019 4
2018 4
2017 4
2016 8