Former Maroon selected in NHL draft

Jacob Cloutier

Former Chatham Maroon forward Jacob Cloutier was drafted in last weekend’s NHL entry draft in the seventh round by the Winnipeg Jets, 220th overall.

A native of the Ottawa area, Cloutier played the 2023-2024 season with the Maroons, putting up 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) in 29 regular season games.

Drafted by Saginaw in the 2023 OHL draft, Cloutier played four games in Saginaw, before moving to Chatham. Saginaw was hosting the Memorial Cup and was loaded with older players. Cloutier was able to develop and get ice time with the Maroons.

This year with Saginaw, Cloutier had 23 goals with 24 assists in 67 games. He earned a spot on the OHL Rookie Second Team and was the league’s Rookie of the Week for the week of Feb. 3.

NHL Central Scouting was high on Cloutier as the OHL season moved on. In their early rankings, Central Scouting placed Cloutier 193rd amongst North American Skaters. He eventually jumped up nearly 90 places to sit 108th.

The last player with Chatham Maroons ties to get selected in the NHL draft was defenceman Warren Clark, who was picked by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round in the 2023 draft. After playing the past two season at St. Cloud State, Clark is transferring to play at Northern Michigan this upcoming season.