CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The Charlottetown Islanders roster is essentially set.
A trio of forwards, a pair of goalies and a blue-liner were released Sunday including returning winger Nathaniel Doyon, who Charlottetown selected in the second round (36th overall) of the 2016 draft at the Eastlink Centre.
In 50 games last season, Doyon had a goal and five assists for six points.
“It’s never fun to release a guy that's been with you for an entire season and a kid the quality of Nathaniel,” Hulton said, noting his strong work ethic and attitude. “One of the areas we wanted to address was footspeed and the trade for (Kevin) Gursoy probably pushed him out at his age and we have some younger guys pushing from underneath that are little bit quicker and that ultimately was the deciding factor.”
The team is working to see if they can trade Doyon. If that doesn't happen by Monday’s 11 a.m. Atlantic deadline, he could play junior A in the Maritimes (Miramichi owns his rights) or the equivalent in Quebec.
Also released Sunday were Island forwards Zach Thususka and Evan Gallant, Island goalie Chad Arsenault, New Brunswick defenceman Connor McCluskey and Nova Scotian goalie Nolan Boyd.
The team has committed to youngsters Xavier Fortin, Zachary Beauregard and Drew Johnston up front and defenceman Greg Kehoe.
It leaves the Islanders with 25 players on its roster, but the team has to safeguard itself incase captain Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Hunter Drew, both defencemen, are not here for the start of the regular season as both will attend NHL camps. It means the Isles have to keep eight of the blue-liners from camp in order to guarantee it has seven for opening night.
Charlottetown would like Zachary Arsenault and Noah Massie to start the season with them.
Massie, Thususka and Jack Desroches will all have to clear obligatory 19-year-old waivers in order to be retained by the Isles.
Teams submit their list Monday and there’s a conference call on Wednesday to see if anyone is claimed.
Charlottetown also has a decision to make down the road on its final overage spot. Drew, Keith Getson, Daniel Hardie and Sam King are all in camp, but with Drew potentially turning pro the Isles have delayed the decision until it knows his future.
While there’s still some slight moves with the skaters to be made, the goalie tandem is set with Dakota Lund-Cornish returning for his second season to backup Matthew Welsh.
“The goalie situation speaks to the character of Dakota because he didn't let anybody beat him out for the position,” Hulton said.
The team was pleased with the camp Boyd and Chad Arsenault had and they could be called upon late this year as Welsh looks to crack Team Canada for the world junior tournament.
“We certainly hope we need somebody for nine games at Christmas,” Hulton said.
The Islanders are off for the rest of the week with some players returning home to rest and get ready for the grind of a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.
Charlottetown has two pre-season game remaining: Sept. 8 in Saint John, N.B., and Sept. 9 against Cape Breton at the Evangeline Recreation Centre in Abrams Village. The Islanders open the regular season Sept. 21 by hosting Cape Breton
Roster
The Charlottetown Islanders currently have 25 players on its roster.
Goalies (2)
Matthew Welsh
Dakota Lund-Cornish
Defencemen (8)
Hunter Drew*
Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Brendon Clavelle
Alexander Dersch
Lukas Cormier
Colin Van Den Hurk
Greg Kehoe
Zachary Arsenault
Noah Massie
Forwards (14)
Keith Getson*
Daniel Hardie*
Sam King*
Nikita Alexandrov
Brett Budgell
Derek Gentile
Sullivan Sparkes
Kevin Gursoy
Thomas Casey
Liam Peyton
Cole Edwards
Drew Johnston
Zachary Beauregard
Xavier Fortin
* Denotes overager players
