SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

PINK IN THIS HERE RINK
The Sea Dogs host 'Pink in the Rink' Saturday evening at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station when they take on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

From the Sea Dogs’ website:

Fans are invited to wear pink to this contest, which will feature a game-worn jersey auction in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Silent bids will be accepted at Sea Dogs Central (Section S, arena concourse) up until the 17:00 mark of the second period. Successful bidders will receive their jerseys directly from the players themselves at the conclusion of the post-game Alpine Three Stars presentation.

READY TO ROLL
Jacob De Serres is officially a Sea Dog.

“The 20-year-old Calgarian officially signed with the Sea Dogs on Tuesday morning after joining the club on Sunday night,” reports the team’s website.

The former Brandon Wheat King is expected to play at some point this weekend.

Karel St. Laurent, who fell ill in his final game as a Dog, still remains on the clubs roster per the Sea Dogs webpage. It is not clear where the goaltender will end up.

NO TOP 10 FOR THE DOGS
For the first time in a long time, the Saint John Sea Dogs were left off the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings two weeks ago. After defeating the Moncton Wildcats and Montreal Juniors last weekend, the Sea Dogs were left off the prestigious yet meaningless list this week as well.

The rankings are made by a group of NHL scout.

The Everett Herald had a good column on how odd the rankings can be at the start of the year.

MILL RATS SKED RELEASED
Way back on September 28, Saint John’s newest basketball team unveiled their 2011 schedule. The Mill Rats open up the season on January 2, 2011 at 4:00 pm at Harbour Station which is the same day the Sea Dogs travel to Moncton for the second game of the annual New Year’s doubleheader.

The Mill Rats end their campaign at home on the final weekend of March – which would be the first round of the QMJHL playoffs. The Mill Rats play on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday so the window of opportunity to get Sea Dogs playoff games in is difficult if not impossible.

If the Sea Dogs did not have home ice in the first round, this will not matter at all. But if they do, this could be a bit of a problem. Traditionally, the first two games would be played on Friday and Saturday at Harbour Station while the third and fourth would take place on the road.

SCHUTZ IS GONE
The good people over at the Maine Hockey Journal provided an update on former Sea Dog Felix Schutz last week. The news: he’s peacing out.

Chris Roy reports that Schutz is no longer with the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates. The Pirates are the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, the team that drafted Shutz in the fourth round of the 2006 draft.

“The German native is likely heading for a club in the German Elite League, but (Pirates coach Kevin) Dineen wouldn’t confirm or deny only saying that he was ‘awaiting assignment,’” states the report.

The German spent a season-and-a-half with Saint John, recording 25 goals and 38 assists in 83 games.

HUBERDEAU FEATURE
Jonathan Huberdeau was featured in a video profile on the QMJHL website a couple of weeks ago. Among the things discussed are his play from last season, how he likes the Sea Dogs organization, etc. There is also some snazzy music.

SUPER SERIES ROSTERS
From the CHL Newsletter:

Beginning next week, rosters for the 2010 Subway Super Series featuring Team QMJHL, OHL, and WHL players will be announced.

Simon Despres is a lock to be on Team QMJHL. Nathan Beaulieu will likely get a look at as well where he was invited to Canada’s summer orientation camp. Stanislav Galiev is also a candidate to suit up for the Russian team.

Hockey Canada is in charge of selecting the Canadian teams (which means only players eligible for the Canadian world junior team can play for Team QMJHL), which Briggs had a solid article on in today’s Telegraph-Journal.

MY OH MY MR. MAYER
Robert Mayer let in the occasional bad goal when he played for Saint John. But none of them were magnified like this one.

In a Hamilton Bulldogs pre-season game on St. John’s, Newfoundland against the Binghamton Senators, Mayer was the victim of a Tomas Jurco like shootout goal by Kaspars Daugavins. The full story can be seen at the Yahoo! Sports blog Puck Daddy.



Sick.

HUBERDEAU VIDEO
We can’t remember if this was posted already or not – but here it is anyway.



Photo Credits: Sea Dogs website, Mill Rats Facebook page, Sports Illustrated