Jakob Pelletier gets traded (in the QMJHL)

Folks, one of the Calgary Flames’ top prospects will have a new playing home whenever the 2020-21 junior season gets going. During the annual QMJHL Draft, 2019 first round NHL Draft pick Jakob Pelletier was traded by the Moncton Wildcats to the Val-d’Or Foreurs.

The swap was Pelletier and a 2002 fourth round selection in exchange for 2003-born Mathis Cloutier, a 2020 first rounder (8th), a 2020 fifth rounder (87th), a 2021 first rounder and a 2022 second rounder.

Pelletier was the third overall pick in the 2017 QMJHL Draft. In three Q seasons with Moncton he’s amassed 61 points, 89 points and 82 points respectively. He won the Q’s most sportsmanlike player award this past season. As a 2001-born birthday, it’s either the NHL or the QMJHL for him in 2020-21 – he’s not allowed to play in the AHL until the season he turns 20. While he’s not a huge kid, his smarts and on-ice skills will undoubtedly gain him a long look at training camp – he seems like he could benefit from a season on Mikael Backlund’s wing, but who couldn’t?

If Pelletier returns to the Q, it’ll be with Val-d’Or. The Foreurs made another big trade recently, adding defender Gabriel Villeneuve and forward Justin Ducharme from Chicoutimi (a pair of overagers). The Foreurs were a sub-.500 team in the Q this past season, but their additions appear to be them trying to load up for a drive towards relevancy.

(Fun with Google Translate: for those of you who are curious, “Foreurs” is french for “Drillers.”)