The Halifax Mooseheads are hoping to build their defence corps around new acquisition Pascal Amyot.
The Mooseheads traded for the 18-year-old blue-liner yesterday, swapping first-round picks in the Canadian Hockey League import draft with the Saint John Sea Dogs. They also surrendered a fourth-round pick in the 2010 QMJHL draft.
Halifax’s traded import pick could be in the top five, while the pick they’re getting back will be much lower.
Amyot, who didn’t get much ice time on a deep Sea Dogs defence corps, will immediately log top minutes in Halifax. He has five goals and seven assists in 38 games.
“He’s been caught in the numbers in Saint John, but we’ve always liked him,” said
Mooseheads general manager Marcel Patenaude. “He can move the puck, he’s got a great shot, he’s got offensive ability, and he could blossom in Halifax.”
The 6-foot-4, 212-pounder was a second-round pick (20th overall) of the Sea Dogs in 2006. He was rated ninth overall by Central Scouting, but slipped because of NCAA threats.
Amyot joins fellow 18-year-old Gabriel O’Connor and 17-year-old Alex MacDonald as the future of Halifax’s defence corps as the organization rebuilds for the next two seasons.
“We’re all excited about gaining Pascal Amyot,” Patenaude said. “We feel he can be a top defenceman this year and next year and maybe as a 20-year-old.
“He’s got offensive qualities that he hasn’t shown because of his (lack of) ice time.”
The Mooseheads now have a 28-man roster. They’ll continue to explore trade possibilities until the deadline on Thursday and will likely trim their roster to 24 by Saturday.
Halifax’s trade was one of many yesterday, as the Sea Dogs dealt captain and top blue-liner Alex Grant of Antigonish to the Shawinigan Cataractes. Elsewhere, the Memorial Cup-host Rimouski Oceanic picked up all-star defenceman Marc-Andre Bourdon from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
In other news, the Sea Dogs cut three Nova Scotian forwards: Matthew Stoddard of Porters Lake; Stephen Walker of Mount Uniacke; and Kyle Dilosa of Cheticamp.
