Stephen MacAulay is heading back to Saint John.
The St. Louis Blues have released the Saint John Sea Dogs forward from their training camp roster. MacAulay will rejoin his junior team in Saint John shortly.
Also sent to their junior clubs were defensemen Brett Ponich (Portland) and David Shields (Erie) as well as forwards Cody Beach (Calgary) and Chris DeSousa (London).
Of note, former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League star goaltender Jake Allen was sent to the Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.
The Sea Dogs forward was selected by St. Louis in the sixth round, 164th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Last season, the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native played mostly on Saint John’s third and fourth line and recorded eight goals and 13 assists 56 regular season matches. In the post-season, MacAulay added another two goals and eight assists.
MacAulay joined Beach as the only players at main camp who were selected in this past summer’s NHL draft. The gritty forward stayed longer at camp than expected, lasting longer then fellow Sea Dogs forwards Steven Anthony and Stanislav Galiev.
He was scheduled to play in a pre-season game with the club last week but did not appear in the lineup.
STILL AWAY
Simon Despres is now the only Sea Dog still away at an NHL camp. The ‘Big Horse’ was a plus two last night for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Simon Despres is going to be an absolute force in this league,” writes Daniel Fabrizi of Examiner.com. “Although he may not make the team this year, expect him to be a shoe-in for the squad in 2011-2012. It would be pointless to bring him in as a 7th or 8th defensemen and not have him play. One more dominating year in juniors will give this kid all the confidence he needs to make the next step to the NHL. He's incredibly quick, smart with the puck, gritty as well. At 19 years old, Simon Despres knows and has what it takes to play at a high level in the NHL.”
TO THE FARM
Former Sea Dog Chris DiDomenico was issued to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs after being cut by the Chicago Blackhawks today. The former scoring standout is looking to play his first full season of hockey since 2008-09.
Also sent to the AHL was defenseman Shawn Lalonde.
According to a Blackhawks press release, Chicago’s training camp roster now stands at 35 active players, which includes 21 forwards, 10 defensemen and four goaltenders.
READY TO ROLL
One other Sea Dog is currently away at camp - AHL that is. Mike Thomas is currently in Oklahoma City getting set to partake in Barons training camp after he was cut by the Edmonton Oilers.
Camp begins on September 27 at the Cox Convention Center at 10 am, reports a Barons press release. The camp will be a mix of players already assigned to the Barons by Edmonton along with players who have been invited to training camp as free agents. On ice training camp sessions are open to the public, are free of charge and will begin at 10 a.m. each morning for the first three days of camp.
The Barons will take the ice in the first ever Blue/White Intersquad game September 30 at 7:05 p.m. at the Cox Center.
Thomas is eligible to return to Saint John as a 20-year old if he is not signed by the club.
MR. MAYER GETS THE WIN
Robert Mayer played for the Montreal Canadiens in a pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators on Friday night at the Bell Centre. The Hubs were victorious over the Sens, taking the exhibition match 4-2.
Mayer turned away 18-of-19 shots to get the win after Alex Auld started in net and stopped 11-of-12 shots. Unlike a certain other Canadiens goaltender, he was not booed off the ice.
Photo Credit: Sea Dogs Newsletter
No comments:
Post a Comment