DE SERRES NOW A SEA DOG

Just like any other game, Karel St. Laurent and Frederic Piche hit the ice at Harbour Station for warm-up. Piche would get the call on net for Saint John on Sunday afternoon against the Montreal Juniors, so St. Laurent was the last of the two net minders to leave the ice.

As the players were introduced, Piche was the first player out. St. Laurent one of the last.

All indications are that St. Laurent will not be hitting the ice for the Sea Dogs again.

It was reported just prior to puck drop that the Sea Dogs had acquired free agent and former Brandon Wheat Kings goaltender Jacob De Serres. De Serres’ arrival means that the Karel St. Laurent era is all but over in Saint John.

As the Sea Dogs headed to the bench to start the second period, St. Laurent was nowhere to be seen. Rumors are flying about where he went, but we aren’t sure if any of them are true.

Caught in a numbers game, everyone knew that St. Laurent’s time in Saint John was numbered. A 20-year old himself, the third year Sea Dog never showed that he could carry the team as a number one net minder.

But now, that problem seems to have been solved in Saint John.

De Serres appeared in 127 career WHL games with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Seattle Thunderbirds, amassing a 66-47-1-4 record to go along with a 2.85 goals against average and .902 save percentage.

Originally from Calgary, Alberta, De Serres was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in Round Three (84th Overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft after winning 20 games for the Thunderbirds in 2007-08 while registering a G.A.A. of 2.28 and a SV% of .922 – which tied him with Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Dustin Tokarski for best in the league.

De Serres was traded to the Memorial Cup hosting Wheat Kings last season where he went 25-5-2, a 2.70 GAA and a 0.905 save percentage.

In the Memorial Cup, De Serres helped Brandon reach the Memorial Cup Final. In the tournament, the goalie went 2-2-0-0 with a 4.66 GAA and a 0.864 save percentage.

The Wheaties dropped their opener 9-3 to the Windsor Spitfires but would come back to shutout ,who else, the Moncton Wildcats 4-0. They would fall 5-2 to Calgary before beating the Hitmen a couple days later 5-4 in overtime to head to the national final. Brandon would get blown out 9-1 by Taylor Hall and the Windsor Spitfires.

Wheat Kings play-by-play man Bruce Luebke was one of the first to break the news on his blog and said a Saint John connection likely helped with the transaction.

“Former Wheat Kings' head coach Mike Kelly is the Director of Hockey Operations and Associate Coach of the Sea Dogs, which likely helped the process of getting De Serres to Saint John,” he wrote.

"I think Saint John had a handle on a number of 20-year old goaltenders and Mike Kelly's relationship with our organization, the fact Mike was able to see Jake play last year on a couple of occasions likely helped," said Brandon GM/Coach Kelly McCrimmon, "I think their reports on Jake on that he's a good person and a good goaltender."

It isn’t clear when the goaltender will make his Saint John debut. The Sea Dogs host the Rimouski Oceanic on Tuesday night at Harbour Station.

“He displays very good lateral mobility as well as excellent rebound control and positioning when facing shooters,” reports a Hockey’s Future scouting report. “DeSerres also utilizes his big frame to take away the majority of the net and challenges attacking players aggressively when the situation calls for it.”

- With files from SaintJohnSeaDogs.com