SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

DRAFT TIME
It’s draft weekend in Victoriaville and the Desjardins Colisee is just about ready to roll.

COMBINE STUFF
Mike Morreale of NHL.com tweeted this morning that Zack Phillips “likely won't participate in the bench press portion of the fitness testing” because of his “upper body” injury.

Phillips injured his shoulder in Game Four of the President’s Cup final but returned to play in the Memorial Cup.

PARADE AFTERMATH
NHL.com spoke to the Sea Dogs taking in the draft combine in Toronto about Tuesday’s parade.

"It was unbelievable," forward Ryan Tesink said. "We felt like Gods. We had about six vehicles, including a fire truck, and three or four of us each were on one. We're not the biggest city and in the middle of the day on a Tuesday … I was impressed. I grew up (in Saint John) my whole life."

"One sign out there read, 'Tesink for Mayor'", said the 5-foot-11, 157 pound Tesink. "I thought that was funny and the boys loved that one. I was so proud to be a St. Johner during that parade. I couldn't believe the support. We had about 500 fans come to the final (in Mississauga) and everyone flew or some drove and spent a lot of money to watch us win that (Memorial Cup). That means the world to me."

Here is CBC New Brunswick’s coverage of the parade:



DRAFT TRACKER
Over at Buzzing The Net, Tomas Jurco is featured in the “Draft Tracker.”

HOFFMAN UPDATE
The Ottawa Senators website had a feature on prospect and former Sea Dogs sniper Mike Hoffman.

"I don’t even hardly recognize him," Binghamton Senators head coach Kurt Kleinendorst said when asked about the improvement he's seen in the rookie forward. "Seriously, from where he was to where he is now ... He was an early scratch. He was out of the lineup in the first round against Manchester."

Hoffman got off to a slow start in his first year of professional hockey but has gradually improved his play.

"The first couple of months, it takes time to get used to the league," said Hoffman. "Some players adjust different than others. I feel like I’ve adjusted now, but it took some time. I feel good out there now. Just the experience (makes a difference). You know you’ve got to work hard to keep up to the pace up here."

The Sens play Game Four of the Calder Cup Final on Friday in Binghamton. Their opponent, the Houston Aeros, currently lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

HUBERDEAU PROFILE
Another day, another draft profile on Jonathan Huberdeau. The Minnesota Wild blog “Hockey Wilderness” had a profile on the Memorial Cup MVP posted today.

HOCKEY’S FUTURE REPORT
Hockey’s Future has their recap up fot the Memorial Cup tournament.

In the article, all of Saint John’s draft eligible and already drafted players are analyzed.

AIRPORT VIDEO
From KV Films, an icredible video of the Sea Dogs arriving home on Monday with the Memorial Cup.



Photo Credit: La Nouvelle Union