LEWISTON — The Lewiston Maineiacs and Saint John Sea Dogs have been willing dance partners in recent years, having swapped several players and draft picks during different trade periods and training camps.

You can add another transaction to the list.

Lewiston acquired Mathieu Gingras on Wednesday from the Sea Dogs for a draft pick previously acquired in another deal. Gingras, an 18-year-old in his third year in the league, was originally a third-round selection of the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the 2007 QMJHL entry draft, and was part of a deal last season that sent sniper Chris DiDomenico from Saint John to the Voltigeurs.

A trade this summer sent Maineiacs’ prospect Zack Phillips to Saint John. In that deal, Lewiston acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2010 draft. That pick goes back to Saint John for Gingras.

“When we got discussing the trade and going through the lineup, they asked us if there was anyone we’d be interested in, and he was part of the discussion originally,” Lewiston GM Roger Shannon said. “It was up to us to make sure he was comfortable coming to Lewiston. He’s a smart kid and education is very important to him, and before we could make any sort of commitment to him, we had to make sure the education piece was good.”

Gingras played well for Drummondville in the early part of last season, posting seven goals and four assists for a stacked Volts team that eventually won the President’s Cup. Two of those goals came against Lewiston last November.

After the trade, Gingras played only a short time for the Sea Dogs before being sidelined by mono. He returned for the playoffs, but played in three games for the Sea Dogs.

“He essentially missed two months with mono,” Shannon said. “I happened to see him play against Moncton one game, and made some notes, like I always do. I thought he was the best player on the ice that night.”

Gingras joins a list of new Maineiacs acquired via trade this offseason. Alexis Piette (Halifax), Stefan Fournier (Acadie-Bathurst), Samuel Carrier (Quebec) and Sebastien Trudeau (Quebec) all plied their trade elsewhere in 2008-09.

Gingras will be new to the team, but has history with two other Lewiston skaters: He, Fournier and Michael Chaput all played in the Lac St. Louis Lions system, and have all played together.

“He was part of a team that won a provincial championship in Quebec, and I’ve known him for a long, long time,” Shannon said.

The players at this year’s training camp — tentatively set at 43 skaters and goalies — will meet Tuesday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, and will take the ice Wednesday for the first time as a unit.

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