Gormley Watch.
That was the distinct theme of this year's QMJHL trade deadline.
19-year-old defensemen Brandon Gormley, from Murray River, P.E.I. is in his fourth and likely final season in the Q. He’s expected to play on the Phoenix Coyotes farm team in Portland next season.
That’s one reason it was widely speculated that Gormley, who has played four seasons for the Moncton Wildcats, would be dealt to a contender.
Gormley was dealt to Memorial Cup host Shawinigan Cataractes in a monster deal.
But this was far from the only noteworthy deal on Saturday.
Who were the big winners and losers of the 2012 trade deadline? Here are my picks.
WINNERS
Shawinigan- Not only did they secure Gormley, but they also secured another P.E.I. defensemen in Morgan Ellis. Ellis, from Ellerslie, P.E.I. has two goals and three assists in two games since coming over from Cape Breton.
What makes these acquisitions so great for Shawinigan is not just the pure skill they have, but their leadership qualities as well. Both Gormley and Ellis were captains of their former clubs.
Oh, did I mention that just prior to Christmas, they also acquired stud defensemen Jonathan Narbonne? Regardless of the sheer amount of draft picks Shawinigan had to give up for these three, they are going all out to win the Memorial Cup in their arena, and that, on top of these three impact players makes them winners.
Chicoutimi- I talked to a few people around the league, and they were shocked that the Sags were buyers this year. However, the moves General Manager Marc Fortier have a loud “next season” tone to them. Fortier went out and acquired Christian Ouellet and Mathieu Gagnon from Gatineau, the Olympiques two leading scorers at the time. Fortier then acquired Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the player most talked about aside from Gormley.
While Ouellet is a 20-year-old and won’t be of any use next season, acquiring Gagnon, a great powerplay quarter-back, and Pageau, is huge for the team going into next season.
LOSERS
Quebec- Quebec did virtually nothing to push them over the top. With a plethora of young players, I expected much more from Patrick Roy et al. They are in a tough battle for tops in the Q, and considering the moves some of the other teams made, they may slip a bit in the second half.
P.E.I.- Ah, good ol’ P.E.I. They made a couple of moves leading up to Saturday, but nothing on the actual deadline day. For a rebuilding team, I really expected at least one of the overagers (Levesque, Bernard) to go for a draft pick or two. P.E.I. was on their annual late season surge when the trade deadline came, so it’s no wonder they stayed status quo. I for one, would like to have seen some players go, so the Rocket could finally get a top two draft pick (expansion team Sherbrooke automatically gets the first overall selection). Hopefully they continue to compete, but hopefully they don’t fall just short of the post season, thus eliminating them from a chance at securing an impact player yet again.
A Bit of Both
Moncton- The Wildcats held on to Brandon Gormley almost up until the 1 p.m. deadline. He ended up going to Shawinigan for 17-year-old Michael Matheson & two 2012 fifth-round picks, a 2013 first-round Euro draft pick, a 2013 third and fifth-round pick, and a 2014 second-round pick.
In part, this is highway robbery for Shawinigan, but in part this is pure genius for Danny Flynn. Gormley is worth at least an A++ 16-year-old, plus a couple first-round picks. Especially given his top defensemen honors at this years WJC tourney, Moncton should have gotten much more.
The genius in this is the sheer quantity of picks Flynn received, that he won’t have to protect at the upcoming expansion draft.
So, what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Tweet me @jonathan_dunphy and let me know!
