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UPDATED 5:29 a.m. QUEBEC CITY — The Halifax Mooseheads caught some people bysurprise with their first pick at the QMJHL draft on Saturday. The Mooseheads selected young American centre Jack Eichel 15thoverall, a tactic not often seen in the league. "He"s the No. 1 U.S. player that we"ve had rankedall year," said Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell."I think if he was (ranked) in the draft, he"d be thebest player in the draft. "We watched him play all season and we talked to him and thefamily and we feel confident we can convince him to come and playfor the Halifax Mooseheads. If we can get him here, he"d beanother very, very exciting player to watch." Eichel, 15, had 36 goals and 77 points in 32 games for the BostonJunior Bruins this year and was to join USA Hockey"s nationalteam development Program next year. He also made a commitment toBoston University in late April for his post-secondary hockey, butit looks like he may be interested in the major junior route. Although Eichel won"t turn 16 until late October, Russellfeels he will make an impact if he reports. "We had the same questions about (Nathan) MacKinnon and(Jonathan) Drouin last year but you see the success those playershad," Russell said. "This player, without making comparisons, he"s on thatlevel. He"s a premier 16-year-old player. Our feeling ishe"d have an immediate impact." Eichel was not present at the draft, so third-round pick AlexandreLacroix-Courville was the first player to make his way to theHalifax table. He is a hard-working forward who could be an idealfit on the Mooseheads" fourth line this season. "I"m an energy player," Lacroix-Courville said."I can hit and I can score goals. I would say I"m apower forward. "With my style, I think I"m going to have a good chanceto make it." Halifax"s next pick, sixth-rounder Liam Alcade, is also anenergetic winger who is a heavy hitter with a decent touch aroundthe net. "I"m a big, physical player," said thefive-foot-11, 200-pound forward from the Ontario Hockey Academy."I like to grind but I"m not afraid to score. I wasthird in my league in points this year. "(The Mooseheads) are going to be a good team this year, so Ihope to be a part of it." With most of the top three lines already set, gritty players likeLacroix-Courville and Alcade could be perfect fits onHalifax"s fourth unit. "We"ve got three or four spots at forward that areopen," Russell said. "They"re open for those guysto come in and make the team. We"ll see what happens in camp,but the opportunities are there." The Mooseheads rounded out their day with the following picks:Halifax Titans defenceman Nicholas Gibson, seventh round; DartmouthMajor Midgets defenceman Evan MacEachern, 10th round; Titansforward John Mullaly, 11th round; American forward John Hayden,12th round; Titans defenceman Brett McNeil, 13th round and Cornwall(P.E.I.) Thunder forward Benji Gaudet, 14th round. The Mooseheads also traded their 2012 CHL import pick (37thoverall) to Sherbrooke for the Phoenix"s 2013 import pick.The Phoenix are an expansion team, so there"s a chance nextyear"s pick will be a good one. "We just have to make sure we beat Sherbrooke every time weplay them," Russell joked. "We need two European picksnext season, so that trade made a lot of sense to us. Wedon"t have to give up anything we needed to do it. Wedidn"t need that draft pick." Czech forward Marty Frk will fill one of Halifax"s twoEuropean spots this year and there"s a strong possibilityGerman defenceman Konrad Abeltshauser will be sent back to juniorby the San Jose Sharks. He would fill the other import spot. "There"s a really good chance Konrad comes back, and ifyou look at what Moncton gave up to get the first pick this year,you can see the price you might have to pay," Russell said. "We"re not saying that pick will be as high next year,but it"s just nice to acquire another European pick and notgive up something valuable to get it." Russell seemed satisfied with the players he added but noted thatevery GM usually sees it that way on draft day. "I think every team always leaves thinking they got what theywanted," he said. "But we got a couple guys that wetargeted and it"s always nice to get the players that youwant. "We were really pleased Alcade was there in the sixth roundand the other guys as well. We"re really happy with what wegot." ( wpalov@herald.ca ) <ahref="mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=7eeb0da01a"_cke_saved_href="mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=7eeb0da01a">QMJHLdraft</a> The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Fuel Oil Booster Unit Manufacturer , Marine Diesel Generator Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Diesel Engine Generator Set today!
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