LEWISTON – The Lewiston Maineiacs are apparently content with the two European players already on the roster, and Wednesday traded their first round selection in this year’s import draft to get a better pick in next year’s proceedings.
The Maineiacs, scheduled to pick 31st overall in the 59-team draft that includes all three leagues within the Canadian Hockey League, traded their pick to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. In return, the Maineiacs will get Chicoutimi’s No. 1 selection in next year’s import draft.
“They called me up and were looking for my pick,” said Maineiacs’ coach and general manager Clem Jodoin. “That’s a second first-round pick we will have next year.”
There was speculation as late as last week that the Maineiacs might take a player in the draft and let go of either defenseman Michal Korenko or forward Jakub Bundil.
“We wanted to maintain consistency,” said Jodoin. “That’s what we have now.”
Still, Jodoin admitted that the team was looking at a player, just in case he fell to the 31st pick Wednesday. He didn’t, and Jodoin would not comment further on the identity of the player. Also hampering the Maineiacs’ efforts to find another quality European player this year was a changeover in agents the team deals with, prompted by two consecutive years of failed attempts to sign the team’s first choice players.
Chicoutimi, meanwhile, turned the Maineiacs’ pick over to the St. John’s Fog Devils, in return for the Fog Devils’ pick in this year’s draft, and with that pick the Sags selected Russian defenseman Kirill Tulupov. The Fog Devils, meanwhile, snagged Mario Kempe of Sweden at No. 31.
Halifax, which held the No. 1 overall pick in the import draft after a trade with Rimouski at this year’s midget draft, selected Jakub Voracek of the Czech Republic. Voracek, born in 1989, finished second in the Czech Under-20 league in scoring this past season with 21 goals, and 38 assists in 46 games.
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