Nathan Kelly came very close to making the Charlottetown Islanders, but was traded away Monday as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team worked at making final trims to its roster. However, any disappointment the 17-year-old from Paradise felt must have been softened by the knowledge he was going find a familiar face on his new team.
Kelly was dealt to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in exchange for a 10th-round draft pick, but while he’s going to the far edge of the QMJHL map, he’s being reunited with his major midget coach, Brad Yetman, who almost certainly lobbied for the trade.
Yetman, who is from Mount Pearl, was hired as a Huskies assistant coach this off-season after guiding the provincial major midget East Coast Blizzard in 2018-19. Kelly was the East Coast captain and finished tied for second in league scoring with 14 goals and 24 assists for 38 points in 32 games for the Blizzard. The 5-10, 170-pound centre also won the NLMMHL’s most sportsmanlike and effective player award.
Charlottetown head coach Jim Hulton says Kelly, who was a 2018 ninth-round draft pick by the Islanders, made a strong bid for a job in the preseason, but was beaten out in a position battle by fellow 17-year-old and P.E.I. native Keiran Gallant, who remains in the main camp after the latest round of cuts.
“Same age, same position, same style of play and we just decided Keiran was a little bit further ahead,” Hulton said.
“It allows Nathan an opportunity. (He) wasn’t far off making it, so hopefully, it works out for him.”
While Kelly is gone, the Islanders still have representation from Paradise on the roster in the form of returning forward Brett Budgell, who is set for a second full season in the QMJHL.
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Another Newfoundlander has left a Maritime-based QMJHL team as it works to finalize its roster in preparation for a new season.
However, Kyle Petten made the decision on his own. Perhaps he had some expectation he would be in tough in trying to keep a spot on the Halifax rosters. Whatever the case, according to the Mooseheads’ website, the 18-year-old from Coley’s Point has opted to return to the Campbellton Tigers of the junior A Maritime Hockey League.
Petten had spent the entire 2017-18 season with the Mooseheads and started the ‘18-19 campaign in Halifax before being assigned to the Tigers, where he had 10 goals in 14 games then helped the team reach the MHL final, where it lost to the Yarmouth Mariners.
Petten, along with Tigers goaltender and Bonavista native Tristan Gray, were invited to the selection camp earlier this month for the Canada East entry in the World Junior A Challenge, to be held in British Columbia in December.
With Petten gone, overage forward Joel Bishop of St. John’s and rookie defenceman Lucas Robinson of Rocky Harbour were the Newfoundlanders remaining in the Mooseheads’ camp.
With files from The Charlottetown Guardian
