Sorel – It’s been a busy week for River Kings general manager Mitch Gagne.
The River Kings new GM made his fourth trade of the week on Saturday afternoon at the LNAH draft in Sorel, re-acquiring sparkplug Anthony Pittarelli from Laval for a sixth-round pick.
“Pittarelli is already a fan favourite,” said Gagne. “He’ll be looking for a fresh start in Cornwall and he’ll have a better understanding of his role here.”
And then there was the draft itself, as Cornwall added nine more players to its fold. The River Kings first pick didn’t come until the fourth round, 31st overall. They selected a 23-year-old defencemen from Valleyfield, Mathieu Leduc.
“Leduc is the key guy for us,” said Gagne, who added that speedster Julien Corriveau had a hand in Leduc being drafted by Cornwall. “We have a solid defencemen here who was highly recommended to us.”
Of the nine players selected by the River Kings on Saturday, six were from Ontario. “Yes, the focus was on Ontario players today but we still have another 5-6 guys from Quebec on our radar for training camp,” said Gagne.
Local defenceman Jason Lepine was selected by the River Kings in the fifth round. “We have been in contact with Lepine and he has not made a decision yet for 2014-15,” said Gagne.
Cornwall also selected Billy Ulrick, who recently finished his Jr. A career with the Colts. “Billy showed interest in us and we’re looking forward to seeing him at training camp,” said Gagne.
Earlier this week, the River Kings also re-acquired popular defenceman Mario Joly from Laval for Jean-Francois Laplante, Nicolas Sigouin and 5th round pick. Cornwall also acquired Guillaume Desbiens and James Desmarais from Jonquiere for future considerations and Anthony Mezzagno from Riviere-du-Loup in exchange for a 5th round draft pick.
Here’s a complete list of River Kings draft picks from Saturday with round, player’s name, position, age, hometown and height/weight:
2014 Draft Picks
Round 4: Mathieu Leduc, D, 23, Valleyfield, QC, 6’1″ 200 lbs.
Round 5: Jason Lepine, D, 29, Cornwall, ON, 6′ 185 lbs.
Round 5: Will Colbert, D, 29, Arnprior, ON, 6’2″ 220 lbs.
Round 7: Julien Houle, LW, 22, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, 5’9″ 180 lbs.
Round 7: Anthony Courcelles, RW, 22, Laval, QC, 6’1″ 186 lbs.
Round 8: Scott Wray, LW, 34, Ottawa, ON, 5’11” 190 lbs.
Round 9: Vince Perreault, C, 24, Braeside, ON, 5’11” 192 lbs.
Round 10: Billy Ulrick, C, 24, Belleville, ON, 5’7″ 177 lbs.
Round 10: Nick Fillion, G, 25, Cornwall, ON, 5’11” 178 lbs