The Maineiacs make a few moves to enlist goaltender Mathieu Wathier.
With all of the fanfare surrounding this past weekend’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft, it may have gone unnoticed that one of the Lewiston Maineiacs’ best moves wasn’t even a draft choice, but a pre-draft trade.
The Maineiacs sent Mathieu Wathier, their second-round pick in 2004 and their first-round pick in the 2003 European player draft to the Moncton Wildcats in exchange for starting goaltender Mathieu Davis and the Wildcats’ fourth-round pick in next year’s entry draft. Davis, a 19-year-old player, was drafted in 2002 by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League and is expected to contribute immediately.
“He is in his third season in the league and he is the kind of player we are looking for,” said Maineiacs General Manager Norm Gosselin. “With a schedule like we will have next year, we will play three games in three nights and three in four nights, and we will need more than one good starting goalie to play in all of those games.”
Davis joins Brandon Verge of last year’s Sherbrooke Castors on the team, as well as draftees Maxime Joyal (sixth round, No. 96 overall) Michael Chiasson (11th round, No. 168) and Laurier Laforce (15th round, No. 232) in competition for next year’s starting job. According to Gosselin, former St. Dom’s standout Jamie Gilbert has also been invited to training camp.
“With the league set up the way it is, the goalie is really your most important position,” said Gosselin. “It’s like a pitcher in baseball, and it helps to be deep at that position.”
With their first pick in Saturday’s draft, the MAINEiacs selected Marc-Andre Cliché of the Amos Forrestiers.
“On our pre-draft list, we figured him to be a top-three pick,” said Gosselin. “He’s a hard worker, a fast skater, and he plays well both offensively and defensively. We were a bit surprised that he was there still in the eighth spot.”
The MAINEiacs also selected two American-born players in the draft. Alex Berry, who plays out of Governor Dummer Academy in Massachusetts (12th round, No. 184) and Alex Sousa of Austin Prep of Massachusetts (14th round, No. 216) made the selection list, despite the fact that American-born players are usually more difficult to sign.
“We have to be able to sell to them the advantage of playing in our league and for our team,” said Gosselin. “I think they may consider this a bit more now that the team is based in the United States, and much closer to their home in Massachusetts.”
One Maine player, Matt Duffy of Cheverus High School, was chosen in the draft. Val D’Or selected the rugged defenseman with the 203rd overall pick in the 13th round.
The MAINEiacs open training camp in mid-August at the Central Maine Civic Center, and the regular season begins in early September.
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