QMJHL draft taking place in Charlottetown

The Halifax Mooseheads have made a splash at the beginning of Saturday's QMJHL draft in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

The Mooseheads held the first overall pick in the draft and used it to select Benoit-Olivier Groulx, a forward regarded as the top prospect in the draft. Viewed as a strong two-way player, he had 21 goals and 51 points in 41 games in Quebec midget triple-A play this season.

The Mooseheads also held the seventh and 16th picks in the first round, but used those picks and others to trade up for the second overall pick, which was used to select Cole Harbour's Jared McIsaac.

The six-foot-one, 203-pound defenceman had 14 goals and 36 points in 31 games in Nova Scotia's top midget league and was considered to be the second best player in the draft.

The Mooseheads summed up the move with this tweet:

Maritime teams

New Brunswick's three teams in the QMJHL each had a first-round pick to start the day, but not necessarily by the end of the first round.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan originally held the fifth overall pick, but traded with the​ Blainville-Boisbriand Armada to get the sixth overall pick, which the team used to pick six-foot defenceman Noah Dobson, who hails from Summerside, P.E.I. The Titan also get a third-round pick in 2017 because of the trade.

The Saint John Sea Dogs nabbed left winger Olivier Mathieu of Drummondville, Que. with the 11th pick.

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles grabbed goalie Kevin Mandolese with the 13th pick and will pick first in the second round with the 20th pick.

The Moncton Wildcats called a timeout when it came time to select the 15th overall pick. The team traded with Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for a second-round pick in 2017, plus the 50th, 79th and 82nd overall picks this year.

The Charlottetown Islanders picked up defenceman Mac-Olivier Alain with the 18th overall pick.