EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – The Edmundston Blizzard made forward Darien Thomson their first pick and 6th overall in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League (MJAHL) draft held online on Thursday, June 15.
Thomson played last year with the Fredericton Capitals, this spring’s NBPEI Midget Hockey League playoff champions.
According to Blizzard general manager Steve MacPherson, he will be an important addition to the Edmundston team. He’s grown a lot recently. The 17-year-old stands 6’1″ tall and weighs 170 lbs. Last season with the Capitals, he boosted his stats from a 5-point season to 29 points. He collected 13 goals and 16 assists in 35 games.
Darien is the brother of Cam Thomson, who played with the Fredericton Red Wings as well as the Rimouski Oceanic and the Memorial Cup champions Quebec Remparts.
The Blizzard also had another first-round pick, and MacPherson called out the name of Will Carroll, a forward with the Champions Hockey Academy, a team based in New Maryland (near Fredericton). Carroll is a native of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland. Last year, he had a fine season, scoring 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 points in 51 games.
“Generally speaking, we are very satisfied with our picks. We’ve got great variety, players with good size and a good mix of defensemen and forwards as well as our goalie sel. These are talented youngsters with very promising futures,” explained Steve MacPherson.
“Our first two picks are very skilled with the puck. Thomson is a point-per-game player, as is Carroll. We look forward to seeing their progress,” added the general manager.
Other players selected include defenseman Benjamin Damphousse, a 7th-round pick of the Blizzard (83rd overall). He is the son of Jean-François Damphousse, former New Jersey Devils goaltender and owner of the Dieppe Commandos before their transfer to Edmundston.
The Blizzard management team will be in Prince Edward Island this weekend for the MHL annual meeting.
Here is the complete list of players selected by the Edmundston Blizzard in the 2023 draft:
1st pick, 1st round, 6th overall: Darien Thomson, Fredericton Caps U18 (forward)
2nd pick, 1st round, 11th overall: Will Carroll, Champions Hockey Acadiemy (forward)
3rd pick, 2nd round, 22nd overall: Aiden McCullough, Fredericton Caps (defenseman)
4th pick, 3rd round, territorial pick #1: Alex Thibault (forward)
5th pick, 4th round, 47th overall: Samuel Allaby, Rothesay Netherwood Varsity (forward)
6th pick, 5th round, territorial pick #2: Olivier St-Onge (goaltender)
7th pick, 6th round, 71st overall: Connor Foston, Cole Harbour Pro Hockey Life Wolpack U18 (defenseman)
8th pick, 7th round, 83rd overall: Benjamin Damphousse, Rothesay Netherwood Varsity U18 (defenseman)
9th pick, 9th round, 107th overall: Luke Sinclair, Sydney Mitsubishi Rush U18 (forward)
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Photo
Darien Thomson. Photo courtesy
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone