Nathan MacKinnon, the highly-touted forward selected first overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has officially been traded.
In an announcement made this afternoon MacKinnon was dealt to the Halifax Mooseheads. In exchange, the Drakkar receive 19-year-old Carl Gelinas, 18-year-old Francis Turbide, along with three first-round picks (2012, 2013, and the Quebec Remparts pick in 2013).
The QMJHL currently has a trade freeze in place until Aug. 1, but league commissioner Gilles Courteau called this "extenuating curcumstances" in allowing the deal to be made.
"The fact that Nathan MacKinnon will play for a team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League next year is fantastic news for our league," Courteau said in a statement. "I would like to salute the excellent work of both organizations."
MacKinnon skipped the QMJHL Draft indicating that he had no intention of suiting up for the Drakkar. He instead spent the weekend skating with the USHL's Omaha Lancers.
MacKinnon spent last season at Shattuck St. Mary's prep school in Minnesota.
