A lot has changed since the calendar turned to 2018 for the Charlottetown Islanders.
The emergence of centre Nikita Alexandrov and the arrival of his running mate Brett Budgell, plus the chemistry the dynamic duo has formed, provides the squad with the next building blocks for the future up front.
“It’s made the future ... much brighter because there’s a lot fewer holes to fill,” head coach and general manager Jim Hulton said. “But, that being said, they have to continue to progress.”
Alexandrov is 17 and Budgell 16. Both will be eligible for the 2019 NHL draft.
Alexandrov was the team’s selection in last year’s import draft. While he was creating chances in the first half of the season, he wasn’t burying many. Budgell was the team’s top selection a year ago. He was considered a first-round talent who slipped to the Isles in the second round because he was considering the U.S. college route.
He signed with the Isles after Christmas and played his first game Jan. 4, scoring his first goal in that first game against Rimouski.
“At Christmas, we would have been hard pressed to say who are bona fide No. 1 type guys, with the exception of maybe of a (Keith) Getson, that’s coming back,” Hulton said.
The brass also added Derek Gentile who has two years of eligibility remaining while Daniel Hardie could return as one of three overage players in 2018-19.
“At the trade period, it was a lot murkier than it is here four or five months later,” Hulton said.
“Without those two guys, you’re stuck right now going ‘which way do we go?,'” he added, noting the possibility the team would have had to entertain trading a Pierre-Olivier Joseph or Getson. “It’s a completely different outlook and it’s hard to believe it hinges on two people.”
Now the team can look at the possibility of having Alexandrov, Getson, Thomas Casey and Zachary Beauregard down the middle. The potential of having Matthew Welsh back as the goalie for two more years, Joseph, if he doesn’t make the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes, as well as Brendon Clavelle and Hunter Drew as the core to its blue-line.
“Budgell looks like he’s a special player up front,” Hulton said.
“We knew Budgell probably had it. Nikita was the great unknown,” he added. “His playoff in particular is reason to believe that the upside is huge.”
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Brett Budgell
Regular season
GP G A Pts.
32 10 12 22
Playoffs
GP G A Pts.
18 6 6 12
Nikita Alexandrov
Regular season
GP G A Pts.
66 13 18 31
Playoffs
GP G A Pts.
18 7 10 17
HOW THEY'RE RANKED
A look at Central Scouting’s rankings for Saturday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft in Shawinigan.
Pos., name Size 2017-18 team
1. F Hendrix Lapierre 5’11”, 161 Gatineau
2. D William Villeneuve 6’, 154 Magog
3. F Patrick Guay 5’8”, 155 Magog
4. D Jeremy Poirier 6’, 177 Châteauguay
5. F Mavrick Bourque 5’9”, 154 Trois-Rivières
6. F Josh Lawrence 5’9”, 163 Selects Academy
7. F Thomas Bordeleau 5’8”, 163 Collège Esther-Blondin
8. F Charles Beaudoin 6’, 168 Magog
9. F William Dufour 6’1”, 174 Séminaire St-François
10. D Lukas Cormier 5’8”, 155 Moncton
11. F Pier-Olivier Roy 5’8”, 156 Lévis
12. F Marshall Lessard 5’9”, 180 Magog
13. D Jérémie Biakabutuka 6’3”, 185 Collège Charles-Lemoyne
14. F Lucas Mercuri 6’2”, 189 Châteauguay
15. F William Provost 5’10”, 182 Amos
16. F Elliot Desnoyers 5’10”, 176 St-Hyacinthe
17. F Nicolas Kingsbury-Fournier 6’, 173 Collège Esther-Blondin
18. F Zachary Roy 5’11”, 179 Châteauguay
CURRENT DRAFT ORDER
This is the current draft order and shows trades already officially announced and who the pick originally belonged to. The trade period will open Friday
1. Chicoutimi
2. Saint John
3. Shawinigan
4. Charlottetown (from Val-d'Or)
5. Sherbrooke (from Moncton)
6. Rouyn-Noranda (from Baie-Comeau)
7. Cape Breton
8. Saint John (from Gatineau)
9. Cape Breton (from Sherbrooke)
10. Chicoutimi (from Charlottetown)
11. Shawinigan (from Québec)
12. Halifax (from Rouyn-Noranda)
13. Val-d'Or (from Victoriaville)
14. Drummondville
15. Rimouski
16. Halifax
17. Val-d'Or (from Acadie-Bathurst)
18. Moncton (from Blainville-Boisbriand)
