Tuesday, March 2, 2010

2009 OFF-SEASON


During the summer of 2009, the Montreal Juniors' roster underwent some major changes. Some players moved on to new leagues, while others were sent packing in trades.

In terms of players moving on, both Angelo Esposito and T.J. Brennan advanced their respective careers to the professional hockey level (both are currently playing in the AHL).

Meanwhile leading scorer Nick Layton, team Captain Matt Fillier and veteran defenseman Pat O'Keefe all became too old for Junior hockey and decided to play in the Canadian University Hockey League.

The team made two significant off-season trades. Luke Adam, who is currently top 10 in league scoring, was traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in exchange for the Juniors' current captain, RW Nicolas Choinard (seen in photo) and a 1st round pick in the 2009 QMJHL entry draft (defenseman Xavier Ouellet).

Then, Montreal traded their skilled Russian defenseman, Dimitri Kostromitin, to the Rouyn Noranda Huskies in exchange for a 6th round pick at the 2009 draft. The move was made in an effort to free up a EURO roster spot which ended up backfiring.

After these significant changes were made, the Juniors looked much younger and their strengths remained between the pipes with their two drafted players (Jake Allen - STL & Jean-Francois Berube - LAK).

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