Yesterday, the 2025 QMJHL draft officially completed, with 219 players officially gaining ties to the league.

It was no surprise when centerman Alexis Joseph was drawn as the first overall pick in the draft, joining the Saint John Sea Dogs. 

Joseph, 15, was considered broadly as the consensus pick with 56 points (23+33) through 42 games with College Esther-Blondin of the Quebec U-18 AAA league.

His position as the top prospect at the draft was further solidifed when his closest competitor, James Scantlebury, was confirmed to join the USHL's Chicago Steel for next season. Scantlebury would end up falling to ninth overall, landing with the Quebec Remparts who traded up for the pick from Chicoutimi. GM Simon Gagne then went onto speak about the possibility of bringing Scantlebury in.

Mikaël Lalancette reported that Gagné has seen him dominate at each level since atom, and that Scantlebury has already visited the Remparts facilities and that he's talked with Scantlebury's dad and agent and that he feels confident that they'll be able to convince the youngster to come play.

After Joseph, the Rimouski Océanic selected forward Zack Arsenault with the second overall pick. The son and nephew of former Baie-Comeau Drakkar forwards Ken and Jimmy Arsenault, Zack scored 24 goals across 23 games this season at the Quebec U-18 AAA level, missing a bunch of time with a severed tendon in his wrist.

At third overall, the Halifax Mooseheads selected the first defenseman off the board, in Malik L'Italien.  Son of former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Quebec Remparts and Rimouski Océanic winger Eric, Malik potted 34 points (8+26) across 41 games at Stanstead College Varsity in the Canadian elite high school hockey circuit. There he was teammates with recent QMJHL additions Michel Myloserdnyy (Gatineau), Kamil Chemrouk (Victoriaville), Ryan Dwyer (Baie-Comeau) and eventually Jacob Leblanc (Drummondville).

Additionally, the newfound QMJHL team, the Newfoundland Regiment, made their first selections in franchise history selecting two Newfoundland natives with their first two picks -- taking centerman Benjamin Veitch at 5th overall and defenseman Quinn Norman at 6th overall. They would also select Nova Scotian Phenwick MacLean at 8th overall.

As for the first goaltender off the board, it took until Pick 25 when the Cape Breton Eagles selected 6-foot-4 netminder Samuel Berthiaume. 

First round

1. F Alexis Joseph (Saint John)

2. F Zack Arsenault (Rimouski)

3. D Malik L'Italien (Halifax)

4. D Thomas Charbboneau (Quebec)

5. F Benjamin Veitch (Newfoundland)

6. D Quinn Norman (Newfoundland)

7. F Antoine Provencher (Charlottetown)

8, F Phenwick MacLean (Newfoundland)

9. F James Scantlebury (Quebec)

10. F Nolann Heroux (Saint John)

11. F Deryk Lemaire (Victoriaville)

12. F Louis-Etienne Halley (Gatineau)

13. D Clement Landry (Gatineau)

14. F Olivier Charron (Cape Breton)

15. F Frederic Bergeron (Shawinigan)

16. F. Emerick Nolette-Robidoux (Sherbrooke)

17. F Carter Meyer (Quebec)

18. F Jayden Pominville (Rouyn-Noranda)

Second round

19. F Loic Gariepy (Victoriaville)

20. F Maxwell Branton (Rimouski)

21. D Cameron Minella (Halifax)

22. F Zakary Horvat-Edouard (Gatineau)

23. D Julien Nadeau (Cape Breton)

24. F Marc MacPhee (Moncton)

25. G Sam Berthiaume (Cape Breton)

26. F Alex Desruisseaux (Quebec)

27. F Matys St-Gelais (Newfoundland)

28. D Justin Beaulieu (Rimouski)

29. G Jase MacPherson (Saint John)

30. F Drew Murphy (Cape Breton)

31. F Nolan Duskocy (Charlottetown)

32, F Raphael Dupre (Sherbrooke)

33. F Jeremy Duclos-Claude (Baie-Comeau)

34. D Maxime Dodier (Victoriaville)

35. F Malik Desrouchers (Shawinigan)

36. D Bastien Michaud (Quebec)

37. F Leo-Gabriel Gosselin (Chicoutimi)

38. D Everett Baldwin (Saint John)

American Influence

With the new NCAA/CHL agreement coming into effect allowing major junior players to continue their career in the NCAA, the QMJHL draft saw a massive influx in US-born players drafted in the entry draft.

Centerman Carter Meyer was the first American off the board, getting selected by the Quebec Remparts at 17th overall. Son of former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Freddy Meyer, Carter notched 70 points (41+29) over 28 games with Rivers Prep School and was named to the United States National Team's U-17 Development Program for next season.

He marks the league's first American first round selection since Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel was taken at 15th overall by the Halifax Mooseheads in 2012 -- who would never step foot in the QMJHL.

All-in-all, 36 American players were taken in the draft -- the most since 2017.

Bloodlines

Each year, the draft features names who are just a little bit too familiar. The 2025 class had some notable confirmed legacy players. Alongside the aforementioned Carter Meyer, here's a small lsit of the confirmed NHL bloodlines.

• C Phenwick MacLean, son of Don MacLean, taken 8th by Newfoundland
• C Frederic Bergeron, son of Marc-Andre Bergeron, taken 15th by Shawinigan
• C Jayden Pominville, son of Jason Pominville, taken 18th by Rouyn-Noranda
• C Alex Desruisseaux, brother of Thomas Desruisseaux (Chicoutimi), taken 26th by Quebec
• C Sam Pandolfo, son of Jay Pandolfo, taken 72nd by Quebec
• D Adrien Rosa, son of Pavel Rosa, taken 78th by Gatineau
• D Benjamin Corso, son of Daniel Corso, taken 82nd by Shawinigan
• D Brody Berard, nephew of Bryan Berard, taken 95th by Halifax
• C Mason St-Louis, son of Martin St-Louis, taken 122nd by Sherbrooke
• D Jake Boguniecki, son of Eric Boguniecki, taken 150th by Gatineau
• D Colin Yandle, nephew of Keith Yandle, taken 164th by Moncton

Projected Top 10 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Caleb Desnoyers Wins QMJHL's Top Prospect Award Caleb Desnoyers' draft season is about as good as we've seen from a prospect from the QMJHL in many years. Tallying 84 points (35+49) through 56 games and scoring 30 points (9+21) over 19 playoff games to lead the Wildcats to a QMJHL championship, posting an impressive 63.7 per cent in the faceoff dot and was one of the Q's best defensive forwards, <a href="https://nhlentrydraft.com/news/caleb-desnoyers-2025-nhl-draft-two-injured-wrists/">all the while dealing with two seperate wrist injuries since November</a>.

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