Trade rumours centre on Mooseheads sniper
Published Tuesday November 4th, 2008
QMJHL Notebook
Speculation is building in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League about what the Halifax Mooseheads will do with 19-year-old forward Logan MacMillan.
The Anaheim Ducks prospect has eight points in nine games for the rebuilding Mooseheads, and could be a prize for a contending team willing to pay the price at the Christmas trading period.
Potential contenders rumoured to be interested include the Saint John Sea Dogs, Quebec Remparts and Rimouski Oceanic, who are hosting the Memorial Cup.
The 19th overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft, MacMillan is an impact player who was named to Team QMJHL for this month's ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.
A knee injury will keep him out of action for two to four weeks, but he could be a major trading chip if he returns healthy before the trade window opens from Dec. 20 to Jan. 8.
Mooseheads owner Bobby Smith said the last-place team has not yet decided what to do with MacMillan.
"There's lots of speculation for sure," Smith said. "There's a few teams that think they can win so for sure it will be interesting."
It's no secret that the Sea Dogs are in the market for forwards.
Head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu has already made two free-agent moves in an effort to add scoring early in the season.
Alexei Dostoniov, 19, has one assist through six games, while Kyle Paige, 20, has a goal in nine games.
Is there a chance MacMillan could end up in Sea Dogs blue?
"He's expressed that he wants to come to us or Rimouski (if he's traded)," Beaulieu said.
"He's a premier player, but we've got to be smart that we don't wreck our future," he said, adding MacMillan's injury could be a concern.
After scratching him from Sunday's 4-3 overtime win against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Beaulieu offered this assessment of Paige's play so far: "Not good enough."
He's actively shopping for 20-year-olds, who can be traded at any time. Beaulieu made a pitch for Murdock MacLellan, who's on Cape Breton's protected list but playing for the Dieppe Commandos of the Maritime Junior A League. But Beaulieu said Screaming Eagles coach/GM Mario Durocher refused to trade the gritty two-way player to a team in the same division.
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INSTIGATING DISCUSSION: QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau will have a conference call with coaches and GMs this week to discuss the new rules aimed at reducing violence.
"I'm satisfied but we still have some adjustments to make. When you're adapting to new rules, there's always an adjustment period," Courteau said. "We're going to see what everyone has seen since the start of the season."
He said the instigator rule is one area that needs to be clarified. He will have a similar call with referees next week.
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SCHUTZ SCORES: Over the weekend, former Saint John forward Felix Schutz became the first ex-Dog to score in hockey's top minor professional league. Schutz tallied against Karri Ramo as his Portland Pirates topped the Norfolk Admirals 4-0 Friday in American League action. Schutz added a goal and an assist the next night in a 5-3 win over Norfolk. He has four points in his first eight games with Portland, the top affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. Schutz tallied 63 points in 83 games over parts of two seasons with the Sea Dogs. He was the first Dog ever drafted when the Sabres picked him 117th overall in 2006.
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COACHING MILESTONE: Chicoutimi Sagueneens coach Richard Martel reached the 1,000-game mark Sunday in a 4-1 home win against Victoriaville. Real Paiement and P.E.I. Rocket coach Guy Chouinard are the only other QMJHL coaches to reach the milestone. Pascal Vincent of the Montreal Junior is the closest active coach at 636 contests. Martel has a career record of 525-410-65.
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BOTTLE THROWN AT REF: The league has suspended Baie-Comeau Drakkar assistant coach Stephane Hains indefinitely for throwing a water bottle in the direction of an official in Saturday's game against Rimouski. The Drakkar also received an automatic $1,000 fine for the incident. Goaltending coach Steve Ahern was also ejected, earning the team a second automatic $1,000 fine.
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WEEKLY HONOURS: Shawinigan Cataractes forward Philippe Paradis and Rocket netminder Bobby Nadeau are the TELUS players of the week.
Paradis, whose Cataractes have won 10 straight, had seven assists in four games, and dished out 14 hits to earn the offensive award. Nadeau captured the defensive award, backstopping P.E.I. to two wins and a shootout loss. He allowed only six goals despite facing 112 shots.
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