QMJHL: Cape Breton Eagles acquire Atlantic Canadian forward from Victoriaville Tigres

The Cape Breton Eagles acquired 18-year-old forward Zakary Savoie from the Victoriaville Tigres for 17-year-old forward Benjamin Lefebvre on Wednesday. CONTRIBUTED/ALEX GARNEAU Alex Garneau, Victoriaville Tigr The Cape Breton Eagles added some grit to their lineup on Wednesday morning. The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League team acquired 18-year-old forward Zakary Savoie from the Victoriaville Tigres for 17-year-old forward Benjamin Lefebvre. Savoie, a six-foot-two, 202-pound product of St. John’s, N.L., appeared in 30 games with the Tigres last season, posting three assists, 35 penalty minutes and a –7 rating. He was originally drafted in the second-round, No. 38 overall, by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in 2024, but was put back into the draft and selected by Victoriaville in the eighth-round, No. 135 overall, in 2025. Lefebvre, a six-foot-two, 183-pound product of St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que., was an 11th-round pick, No. 183 overall, by Cape Breton in 2025. He attended the Eagles camp last season and was reassigned from rookie camp last month. Lefebvre spent last season with the Saint-Hyacinthe Gaulois of the Quebec Under-18 AAA Hockey League, posting eight goals and 15 points in 40 games. He has yet to play a game in the QMJHL. Benjamin Lefebvre, left, separates himself from the crowd in front of the net during an intrasquad game at Cape Breton Eagles training camp at Centre 200 in Sydney on Thursday. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Jeremy Fraser In other QMJHL news on Wednesday, former Eagles draft pick Xavier Sabourin was traded from Victoriaville to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar for Zack Miller, a second-round pick in 2027, originally belonging to Moncton, and a fourth-round pick in 2027, originally belonging to Chicoutimi. Sabourin, who was picked in the second-round, No. 27 overall by the Eagles in 2024, had eight goals and 10 points in 59 games last season. The 18-year-old forward had no points in four playoff games last spring. Miller, 18, was a fifth-round pick, No. 92 overall, by the Drakkar at the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft. The forward had no points in 12 games with Baie-Comeau last season, while posting six penalty minutes and a –4 rating. Victoriaville also used the ninth-round pick in 2028, which they acquired from Cape Breton in a deal for forward Étienne Dupéré last month, to obtain forward Mathieu Perron from the Sherbrooke Phoenix. The QMJHL summer trade period will conclude on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Atlantic time. LATEST FROM…