CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island – Few players in the brief history of the Lewiston Maineiacs have evoked adoration from the fan base quite like Sheldon Wenzel.
Now, the Maineiacs may have finally found a successor: first-round draft pick Danick Hudon-Paquette.
“He played for a team that didn’t have too much talent,” said Lewiston head coach and GM Clem Jodoin. “He still found a way to score 26 goals. He’s got character, he’s got grit, he competes, finishes his checks. He is on the verge of, shall we say, the return of Wenzy.”
Though Hudon-Paquette is only 15, he will turn 16 on July 17, and is already excited to be in a power-forward role.
“I’m a power forward,” said Hudon-Paquette. “I’m not afraid to play physical when I need to, but I can score some goals, too.”
Jodoin was excited to finally fill a role he and his staff agreed was missing from the team last year, a role for a player who, when he jumps off the bench, fans will immediately wonder what he’s going to do next.
“He’s got character, and we need that,” said Jodoin. “That’s going to bring a new dimension to our hockey team, which is what we are looking for, to get the dimension that we want.”
Hudon-Paquette displayed an air of confidence as he met with team brass for the first time.
“I am happy to come to Lewiston,” said Paquette. “I was surprised to get chosen in the first round, but I am very happy to be selected there.”
The blockbuster trade never came, but the Maineiacs had one of their better drafts, according to team officials.
“Now we have depth,” said Jodoin. “I’m very, very pleased.”
“We still have a good goalie for the next two years,” said Jodoin, who actually passed on one of the top-rated goaltenders to pick Hudon-Paquette. “We wanted to bring a new dimension to the hockey team. You’ll see it, you’ll see it this year.”
The Maineiacs went defensive with their next two picks. Lewiston traded up in the second round, sending its second-rounder (No. 29) and one of two third-round selections, to Rouyn-Noranda for the Huskies’ second round pick, No. 22.
There, the Maineiacs grabbed Michael Ward, a self-described offensive defenseman.
“I think it’s pretty special that they made a trade to get me,” said Ward, also in French. “I feeling pretty good right now.”
Ward was humble, unsure of his chances to make the team with the depth Lewiston already has on the blue line.
“I obviously still don’t know what my role will be,” said Ward. “That will come out, I guess, when I get to camp this summer and if I make the team, then we’ll see then.”
With their remaining third-round pick the Maineiacs tabbed Victor Heselton, who had been originally projected by Central Scouting to go in the first round.
“It was a gift,” said Jodoin. “He’s a big defenseman, solid one-on-one, good vision. It was a steal. He’s a good hockey player, but he didn’t want to go just anywhere. He wanted only to go to a few teams, and this was one of them. We were one of the teams he was interested in coming to, so that probably helped. He’s also friends with Stefan Chaput. Their dads are friends.”
Jodoin has already tabbed the team’s fourth pick, a fifth-rounder by the name of Alexander Beaton, as this year’s “training camp surprise,” and in two subsequent fifth-round selections, the team selected goaltender Peter Delmas and Nicolas Therrien, another defenseman.
“The goalie, I am trusting my scouts because I have never seen him play,” said Jodoin. “We’re looking for some goalies in our depth chart, but he will have to come to camp and compete.
“Therrien is a Patrick Coulombe-like player,” continued the Maineiacs’ skipper, invoking the name of the former league all-star who played for Chicoutimi. “He’s a quarterback, sees the play and goes. For sure, this is an investment. If he goes back to Triple-A next year, he’s going to be one of the best defensemen in the league.”
Peter Stevens highlights the later rounds for the Maineiacs. The 6-foot, 4-inch forward is a full-blooded Mic-Mac Native American from the Eskasoni Nation. If that sounds familiar, it should. Chad Denny, one of the cornerstones of the Maineiacs’ blue line, was the first ever Mic-Mac selected by a QMJHL team. This year, Stevens was one of three.
Lewiston closed out its draft by taking former Deering High School and current Portland Junior Pirates netminder Nick Broadwater.
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