CHICOUTIMI – I like Alex Bourret. Like him quite a bit, actually, and when he makes it to the NHL, he, along with Alexandre Picard and Sidney Crosby, will be one of the players I will always point to and say, “I knew him when.”

There are few people in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League that can do what he does. He’s a magician. He weaves in and out of defenders – good defenders – and makes them look like bored traffic cops. He has a quick release and can fool a goaltender with a shimmy and a blazing snap shot from the off-wing.

He is exciting to watch on the ice, and off the ice, at least in an official capacity, he is always well-mannered and represents his team well.

He provided the fans in Lewiston and Sherbrooke (he was the league’s No. 1 overall pick in 2002) with some fond memories. He caused them to feel pain for an opposing player with his crushing blows. As soon as he stepped onto the ice he was a whirling dervish of activity, and chances were that someone on the ice was already lined up in the back of his mind.

But he needed to go. He wasn’t happy. The coaches knew it as the season wound down. People around him, close to him in the community knew it, and most importantly, his teammates knew it. The team’s chemistry was disrupted and unbalanced because Alex Bourret started to put himself and his feelings above the team.

Lewiston GM Clem Jodoin realized it and became proactive. Instead of allowing Bourret to dictate matters any further (although it was Bourret, through his agent, that continued to request a trade), Jodoin started shopping him. It took patience and guts to turn down offers from several different teams. It took guts to go into the draft without a deal in place, and it took guts to demand more when there was already enough on the table. Jodoin did it, and to the delight of Shawinigan GM Denis Francoeur, the asking price wasn’t too high.

The Maineiacs, in essence, got a 16-year-old defenseman (Patrick Cusack), an 18-year-old speedster forward (Stefano Giliati), and a second-round pick in next year’s draft.

Cusack was Lewiston’s second pick in the first round. The other pick, Kevin Marshall, is also a defenseman. Now, the Maineiacs’ defense looks deep. Still on the roster, so far, are Jonathan Paiement and Brandon Roach at 20-years-old, Chad Denny and Michal Korenko at 18, Sebastien Piche at 17 and Marshall and Cusack at 16. There is also Francis Gagnon, whom the Maineiacs acquired with another trade in the fourth round from Gatineau. For now, let’s list him on defense, although there are rumblings that Gagnon, an 18-year-old bruiser, may wind up on offense. And don’t forget Alex Sousa, a 19-year-old playing in Massachusetts who is rumored to finally be interested in coming to Maine.

That is one heck of a blue line.

Despite losing Bourret and, most likely, Alexandre Picard, along with Sheldon Wenzel, Ryan Murphy and Nick Cowan, the offense is stacked, loaded and ready to go, too. Marc-Andre Cliche and Mathieu Aubin will be a great tandem at the top. Adding the speed of a skater like Giliati may be just what they need.

Then there is Eric Castonguay, Stefan Chaput and Pierre-Luc Champagne – an 18-year-old and two 17-year-olds that have all seen significant playing time and will likely play a year ahead of their actual age.

One more line down there is Marc-Andre Daneau, Maxime Mathieu and Derek Bailey, who will likely return to camp as an over-age player.

And how about Olivier Legault? He’ll be in camp again, as will draft picks David Taylor (Round 3) Jonathan Paquet (Round 5) and Rob McCarthy (Round 5).

Goaltenders Jonathan Bernier, Travis Fullerton and Marc-Andre Perron are all expected in camp this summer, too, along with picks Marc-Andre Sauve (Round 8) and Simon Blais (Round 12).

Add in a few invites, as well as the rest of the draft picks, and this is one very deep – and very young – team.

And don’t rule out another trade. With depth comes leverage.

In all of this team activity – and there was plenty of itb in Chicoutimi over the weekend – there is one important things to remember. Different isn’t always worse. The Lewiston Maineiacs have a different team coming back to camp this season, but thanks to the efforts of the team’s scouts, GM and coaches, it will also be a better team.

Justin Pelletier is a staff writer. He can be reached at [email protected]