MOUNT PEARL, N.L. — They own three of the first four picks in the 2020 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft early next month, so needless to say the Gatineau Olympiques hope the June 5-6 draft will go a long way into changing their fortunes following a last-place finish in the league’s Western Conference (22-37-5-0) this season.
A lottery determined the order of the first five selections for the draft which will take place on YouTube Friday, June 5, and Gatineau landed the top two picks, and the No. 4 selection.
One building block that’s already in place in Gatineau is talented 17-year-old Zach Dean of Mount Pearl.
Dean, a 5-11 centre who was the fourth overall pick in the QMJHL draft last summer, was named to the league’s all-rookie team this week.
Here are the first year #QMJHL players that stood out the most during the 2019-2020 season and solidified a spot on the League’s Rookie All-Star Team! 🤩 #GoldenPuck
— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 22, 2020
He was a finalist for the Michel Bergeron Award as the QMJHL’s top offensive rookie, losing out to Zachary Bolduc of the Rimouski Oceanic in voting earlier this month. Bolduc was third in QMJHL rookie scoring with 30 goals and 52 points in 55 games.
Dean finished sixth amongst QMJHL rookies in scoring this past year, with 18 goals and 46 points in 57 games for the rebuilding Olympiques.
“I think the first half (of the season) was more of an adjustment period,” said the Mount Pearl minor hockey product. “There’s a lot that goes through your head — guys are three and four years older than you, and certainly there’s a difference in the size of the players and the speed of the game.
“But I think I became much more comfortable in the second half, and my play picked up. I was better in the second half.”
Dean and the returning Olympiques’ players are optimistic about the future of the squad, especially given the bounty of top picks in June. Tristan Luneau, a 6-1, 182-pound defenceman from Trois Rivieres, Que., is the top-ranked draft prospect by QMJHL Central Scouting.
“We’re in a rebuild, but we’re getting stronger,” Dean said. “We’ve got some good players who will be coming in.”
Joining Dean and Bolduc on the all-rookie team forward line is Zachary L’Heureux of the Moncton Wildcats.
L’Heureux led all first-year QMJHL players in scoring with 20 goals and 33 assists.
Named to the all-rookie team defence pairing are Isaac Belliveau of Rimouski (62GP-11G-42A-53PTS) and Jacob Dion of the Drummondville Voltigeurs (63-17-34-51).
The goalie is Samuel Hlava of the Sherbrooke Phœnix. Hlava was 33-5-0-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.
The top-ranked player for the QMJHL Draft from Newfoundland and Labrador, according to Central Scouting, is 16-year-old goaltender Riley Mercer, ranked in the third round, 43rd overall by CSB.
Three of the top four players from this province ranked by CSB are goalies. Cruz Loughlin is ranked in the fourth round, 67th overall, and Dekon Randall-Snow in the fifth round, 85th overall.
The only non-goalie is forward Christian Reardon of Tri-Pen, in the fifth round and 73rd overall. Reardon was sixth in major midget scoring, with 13 goals and 31 points in 31 games.
Mercer, 6-1 and 185 pounds, was 10-5-2 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .930 save percentage for the Tri-Pen Osprey in the Newfoundland and Labrador Major Midget Hockey League this season. Loughlin played major midget for the East Coast Blizzard where was 10-3-2 (2.77 GAA and .919 save percentage) and Randall-Snow played at the Ontario Hockey Academy in Cornwall, Ont.
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