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Weak draft class may pay dividends for Mooseheads – Metro US

Weak draft class may pay dividends for Mooseheads

The fact that it’s widely considered a weak QMJHL draft might actually benefit the Halifax Mooseheads.

Talk among scouts is that rankings for Saturday’s draft vary wildly from team to team. That means the Mooseheads, who traded the second overall pick to acquire Brad Marchand, could get a player they have ranked in the first round, even in the top 10, with their second-round picks at Nos. 19 and 33.

One scout took a glance at Central Scouting’s top 36 and rattled off a dozen names he wouldn’t include in his.

“I’ve never seen a draft like this year before, where there’s not a consensus of the top two rounds, the top 36,” said one veteran scout. “Every scout has a different list. You could end up getting a guy you have eighth at the No. 25 spot.

“It’s just the kind of year it is. It’s going to be interesting.”

This year, it might actually be believable when a GM triumphantly walks away from his draft table saying “we had our second- and third-round picks ranked in the first round.”

Halifax would like to duplicate last year’s coup of grabbing first-round talent Gabriel Desjardins at the No. 24 spot. The sparkplug forward was the team’s top rookie last season.

The Mooseheads aren’t daunted by the dour projections.

“They deem it a weak draft, but I don’t know,” said Mooseheads GM Cam Russell. “From what I’ve seen, it’s a character draft, and those are the types of kids we’re looking for.”