AAA Draft Recap

The 2026 LHSAAAQ Draft is in the books. Trading continued throughout the event, and heavily impacted the early rounds, including the first overall pick. Once again, fans were given indications about individual teams as well as the league as a whole. 

Early shakeups: Following a woeful 4-18-4 season, Valleyfield was primed to draft its way out of the cellar, holding three first round picks including the number one overall. Instead, the National opted to acquire veteran talent, trading the number 1 and 6 picks for six players, while still holding on to the #9 pick. The move provided veteran presence, solid defense and a bit of sandpaper to help guide its later round picks. 

Trades allowed Granby, as well as Beaupre, to move into the opening round where they were previously shut out. Moving up from #20 to #6 shows that Granby isn’t resting on the laurels of back-to-back league titles. 

Arguably the biggest move was Bedford-Cowansville who moved into the #1 spot without giving up any of their mind-boggling four first round picks. Following a busy month of trades, Southbec Express’ roster will hardly resemble the group that finished last season in the middle of the pack in Nicolet.

Consistency: Some teams seem to always be in contention and will continue to do so. Plessisville, coming into the draft as the only team with picks in every round, was able to trade for the future. The Metal Pless acquired a pair of 2027 picks while not missing out on the current year. Donnaconna, who was slated to pick in 8 of the 10 rounds also looked ahead acquiring two 2027 picks without compromising the current year. 

Brand Building: The league continued to forge its own path rather than pillage other leagues. West Kent (MJHL) defenseman Pierre-Marc Mineville was the first overall selection and set the tone on CJHL (Jr A) selections. The 33 Jr A players selected would make up the largest group in the draft, followed by those coming from university programs at 18. Those two groups would account for over half of the 100 total selections.

Other notable groups came from lower level Senior and Junior circuits, followed by a handful of players from the LNAH, European leagues, and the QMJHL. Interestingly, no selections were made from the US based minor leagues. 

Grit not Gone: Finally, the league has been balancing the growth of higher end talent while still maintaining a physical style. Seeing early round draft picks exchanged for Billy Bischof, paired with the early signing of Sebastien Laferriere, shows that the league isn't throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Now, we wait for the season. The addition of another large facility in Laval, and an expansion of the league footprint in the Eastern Townships will be stories to watch. These stories will take place with a group of new players fresh of a successful 2026 Draft.