The Bearcat staff was busy before Thursday’s MHL draft even began as they swung 2 trades in order to acquire a trio of sophomores for the upcoming season.
Firstly, Truro traded the MHL rights for QMJHL forward Felix Bedard to Edmundston in exchange for defensemen JP Boudreau and Tommy Hendrickson.
The Bearcats then proceeded to make a big deal flipping Hendrickson as well as defensive prospect Justin Smith and Truros 2023 first round pick, a conditional 2024 8th round pick and future considerations to West Kent for forward Brandon Abbass, defenseman and 2022 5th overall pick Jake Beardsmore and a 2024 6th round pick.
Boudreau, a defenseman from Lewisville, New Brunswick was originally a 2nd round pick of Campbellton in 2021 as well as an 11th round selection of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. He played his U18 hockey with the coveted Moncton Flyers program where in the 2021-2022, he and the Flyers won the Telus Cup national U18 championship. Last season in his rookie year with Edmundston after his rights were traded from the Tigers, JP tallied 7 points in 48 regular season games and 3 points in 12 playoff games as the Blizzard advanced to the league final before falling to Yarmouth.
Beardsmore, a defenseman from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia was the 5th overall pick to South Shore in the 2022 MHL draft and stepped right into the Lumberjacks lineup. At 6’2 and 201lbs, Beardsmore brought defensive stability to the young Lumberjacks team and gradually worked his way up the lineup as the year went on. Jake finished his rookie season as the 2nd highest scoring defenseman on South Shore, totaling 15 points in 50 regular season games. Beardsmore is currently on the initial list to attend Halifax Mooseheads camp in August as a free agent invite.
Abbass, a forward from Halifax, Nova Scotia was another first round pick of the Lumberjacks, 12th overall in the 2020 MHL draft. He stayed in U18 for the next 2 seasons notching 66 points in 60 regular season games with the Halifax MacDonalds program. He stepped into South Shores lineup last season as an imposing power forward always willing to finish his checks. He had 12 points in 28 games with the Lumberjacks.
These 3 players can step right into the lineup to fill roles of some of our graduated players as we look to continue our success that last season brought.
Welcome Jake, Brandon and Jean-Phillip to the Truro Bearcat organization!