SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

CALDER CUP UPDATE
Former Sea Dog Mike Hoffman and the Binghamton Senators are one win away from capturing the American Hockey League championship.

The Senators won Game Five of the Calder Cup Final 4-2 over the Houston Aeros to take a 3-2 series lead. Game Six of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday in Houston.

In 18 playoff games, Hoffman has one goal and eight assists.

In 56 games with Saint John in 2009-10, the Kitchener, Ont. native recorded 46 goals and 39. In 21 post-season games he added 11 markers and 13 helpers.

COOPER SPEAKS
Saint John’s top pick in Saturday’s QMJHL Entry Draft, Oliver Cooper, spoke to the Telegraph-Journal about being selected by the reigning Memorial Cup champions. The Dogs made a trade with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to acquire the 19th overall pick, a pick they used to select the Fredericton Canadiens forward.

"This is the team that I wanted to go to and I think it was worth the wait,'' Cooper said to the T-J. "It's pretty flattering. It's a great organization and they're the Memorial Cup champions.''

"It's pretty special,'' Cooper said about being selected by a New Brunswick team. "We don't always get as much recognition as the Quebec guys and it feels pretty good to finally get some credit.''

The last time the Sea Dogs didn’t have a first round pick they also selected a New Brunswicker in Kevin Gagne.

PARADE VIDEO
Another unreal video from KV Films.


DAY 2: Sea Dogs Homecoming Parade, After Winning Memorial cup from KV Films on Vimeo.

ON THE MEMORIAL CUP
Last week in his Journal Pioneer column, Joe MacIntyre had some interesting comments about the 2012 Memorial Cup being awarded to Shawinigan over Saint John.

It is borderline hilarious that the Sea Dogs are not hosting next year's Memorial Cup.

My sources tell me that the QMJHL is being laughed at for awarding this prestigious tournament to an 11th-place team in Shawinigan. In fact, the league has drawn a lot of heat from teams within the league, and who can blame them?

With Shawinigan already in and the Sea Dogs as heavy favourites, what chance does the rest of the league have of being there?

BUTTON’S TOP 10
Craig Button, who has been doing some pre-draft coverage with TSN and NHL Network, released his top 10 for the upcoming draft.

Saint John defenseman Nathan Beaulieu is at No. 9. Button’s comments from NHL.com, via Fox News:

"He's great at being able to jump into the rush. (Saint John coach) Gerard Gallant encouraged him to do those things, to not to be afraid to make a great play but to just understand when to do it and when not to do it. Over the course of the season, Nathan really developed that skill. When you look at his dynamic skating ability and that ability to create advantages on the rush by jumping into the play, he'll certainly bring that element to any team that gets him."

Jonathan Huberdeau was placed at No. 2.

"There have been some comparisons to Michel Goulet, the Hall of Famer. Huberdeau is deserved of that because he's a complete player. He's quick and fast and he's got so much potential in front of him. He's got a good chance to be a real, real top player in the NHL."

Red Deer’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is Button’s top ranked prospect for the upcoming draft.

COMBINE STUFF
Scott Cullen of TSN with a few thoughts on the Sea Dogs’ performance at the NHL Draft Combine:

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Saint John Sea Dogs fared well in aerobic conditioning, as Jonathan Huberdeau and Zack Phillips ranked among the very best, yet they didn't perform particularly well on the strength exercises. Huberdeau, for example, recorded just two bench presses, but not having time to train in the gym because he was busy winning a Memorial Cup championship can hardly be seen as a problem.

The exception, perhaps would be their Saint John teammate Tomas Jurco, who tied for the lead with 13 reps (of 150 pounds) on the bench press.

The Sea Dogs got quite a bit of exposure at the combine which should make draft weekend even more interesting.

HORN HONKING
The reaction outside Harbour Station following the Sea Dogs’ Memorial Cup win.