CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Charlottetown Islanders will be looking for a pair of import players next week.
Swiss right-winger Gaetan Jobin has told the Isles he will not be returning for the 2020-21 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season and has signed a one-year contract with his hometown squad, Fribourg-Gotteron. Jobin, who turned 19 on Sunday, was eligible to report for his second season in Charlottetown but decided to remain at home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic.
“No COVID, I’m back for sure,” Isles’ general manager Jim Hulton said he was told. “Better to find out now than after the draft.”
There’s always a lot of work to be done in preparation for the import draft, but there’s more this year due to the pandemic.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty around it,” said Hulton, who doubles as the franchise’s head coach.
The Islanders are working to determine which players don't have contractual obligations for next year. It is also doing teleconferences with players and agents to ensure players would come to P.E.I. this fall, if drafted.
Hulton said the team is letting prospective players know of the situation on the Island during their communication.
“Our COVID record has been exceptional.”
Jobin, who was taken 39th overall in the 2019 Canadian Hockey League import draft, had 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points in 52 games in 2019-20.
The Islanders were already looking for one player from this year’s import draft with Nikita Alexandrov expected to turn pro. Now they will take two.
Teams are only allowed to dress two import players per game.
The import draft, which is held online annually, takes place June 30. The Islanders have picks 35 and 95 and will be looking to boost their forwards ranks.
“When we look at our depth chart, our biggest need is that offence,” Hulton said. “The import draft, traditionally, is a way you can instantly put a top-six guy in (your lineup).”
The last time the Islanders drafted two players in the same import draft was in 2014 when they scored centres Filip Chlapik and Filip Rydstrom at 11th and 56th, respectively.
While the Islanders are open to all options, separating the players’ birth years could be a consideration so they are not looking for two more players in a year’s time.
“In the perfect world, we would have both guys back next year, like an ’02 and an ’03,” Hulton said.
