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Canadaeast News Service

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MONCTON - The 2009 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft takes place Saturday at the Moncton Coliseum and one head scout believes the talent pool isn't as deep as in past years.

Nobody stands out among the pack to be the obvious first overall pick when the 12-round lottery begins at 10 a.m., says Moncton Wildcats chief scout Peter Nevin. The Val d'Or Foreurs own the top two picks.

"I think the top half dozen players are equal to the past couple of years, but after that the depth drops off in terms of quantity and quality,'' Nevin said.

"There's no Steve Bernier (available in this year's draft). There's certainly no Sidney Crosby. But there are still some quality players and only time will tell in regards to their development.''

The top five prospects in the QMJHL Central Scouting rankings are from Quebec. They are: 1. forward Olivier Archambault; 2. forward Philippe Hudon; 3. forward Raphael Bussieres; 4. defenceman Jonathan Racine; 5. defenceman Xavier Ouellet.

Moncton selected defenceman Brandon Gormley first overall and the Drummondville Voltigeurs took centre Sean Couturier with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 QMJHL draft.

"There's a few guys in the draft this year that are very, very close to them,'' said Nevin. "We'll see how they progress in the next year. Maybe they're just a little later in developing."

QMJHL Central Scouting has seven goaltenders ranked to go in the top five rounds of this year's draft. That includes projected first rounders Jimmy Appleby and Robin Gusse.