The World's Biggest Robert Mayer Fan

It appears we have found the world’s No. 1 Robert Mayer fan.

@robertmayer29 This is my AWESME Mayer Collection! Robert, I hope you enjoy checking this out! #1 ROBERT MAYER FAN! twitter.com/TylerMcDermo29…
— Tyler McDermott (@TylerMcDermo29) August 31, 2012

The former Sea Dogs goaltender retweeted this today.

And to answer your question: no, we don’t have anything better to post on here. Sea Dogs training camp can’t start up again soon enough.

2012-13 Sea Dogs Twitter Rankings

To nobody’s surprise, Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Saint John Sea Dogs Twitter rankings once again.

The Sea Dogs captain and Florida Panthers prospect has over 21,000 followers, giving him a big lead on Ryan Tesink who comes in second.

With the Sea Dogs having plenty of new players this season, there are many with very few followers. When we post this again when the season ends, it won't be surprising if most have over 1,000.

Only four players - Sebastien Auger, Jakub Izacky, Jurij Repe, and Michael Mastrangelo - that made the Sea Dogs roster don't have Twitter accounts (that we know of, anyway).

Here are the 2012-13 pre-season rankings.

Name	Handle	Followers
Jonathan Huberdeau	@JonnyHuby11	21,081
Ryan Tesink	@Sinker19	1,513
Stephen MacAulay	@smacaulay9	1,412
Pierre Durepos	@Durepos23	849
Jason Cameron	@jcameron_14	776
Aidan Kelly	@aidan22kelly	758
Oliver Cooper	@ocooper17	668
Devon Oliver-Dares	@DaresOd	497
Noah Zilbert	@nzilbs	386
MacKenzie Brown	@mackb09	378
Matthew Highmore	@MHighmore15	227
Spencer Smallman	@ssmallman96	225
Stephen Anderson	@Anddyy37	222
Ryan Kelly	@ryan_kelly4	162
Olivier LeBlanc	@3LeBlanc	145
Marcus Cuomo	@mcuomo10	126
David Weckworth	@wecks08	122
Andreas Tsogkas	@atsogkas19	111
Kevin Gagne	@KevinGagne21	102
Benjamin Hade	@Benhade	68
Alex Fournier	@furn31	47
Jakub Izacky	N/A	N/A
Michael Mastrangelo	N/A	N/A
Jurij Repe	N/A	N/A
Sebastien Auger	N/A	N/A

Thanks to Metro Q Files for the idea once again. The Mooseheads Twitter rankings can be found here.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Sea Dogs Notebook

ROOKIE SHOWCASE

The NHLPA’s Facebook page has some photos from their annual Rookie Showcase held in Toronto earlier this week. Former Sea Dogs Nathan Beaulieu, Charlie Coyle, and Tomas Jurco all took part in the event. They signed a bunch of hockey cards and stuff, had photos taken, and played some NHL 13.

CAPS

Stanislav Galiev is the third best prospect in the Washington Capitals organization, according to Hockey Prospectus.

“Galiev is a highly skilled player who has the ability to be an asset in the transition game and as a puck possessor,” writes Corey Pronman. “He's a high-end skater who can really jet through the neutral zone. Galiev also shows the ability to be a flashy player with the puck, showing impressive hands and the ability to be a quality passer, at times flashing plus ability in that area. Galiev has a very good shot and can score from a distance. He's become a more consistent player and tends to show desirable work ethic in his own end and in the physical game.”

Galiev will likely play for the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears this season. The Bears showed off their new logo and jerseys yesterday.

GAGNE

According to the Edmundston radio station CFAI FM, Sea Dogs defenseman Kevin Gagne has received an invitation to attend Montreal Canadiens rookie camp. The camp takes place next month, so obviously the NHL CBA junk could get in the way of the whole thing.

Gagne, 20, recorded a career high 35 points in 68 games last year. He added 15 points in 17 playoff games.

TOP 5

Rant Sports has named Jonathan Huberdeau one of the top five offensive Calder Trophy candidates.

“He makes the crisp passes, great stick handling abilities, has speed, and a solid shot,” writes Tony Moreno. “However at 6’1 he is only at 177 lbs and may be a little weak on the puck against players in the NHL.  If Huberdeau is able to prove his skills in training camp, his line mates can possibly be Kris Versteeg, Sean Bergenheim, Tomas Fleischmann, or Peter Mueller which could boost his numbers.”

HUBERDEAU

Not surprisingly, Jonathan Huberdeau was named the best prospect in the Florida Panthers system by Hockey Prospectus.

“Huberdeau is a special offensive talent who regularly finds ways to dazzle observers with his unique level of skill,” writes Corey Pronman. “He's got true plus-plus hands with the ability to make rapid moves with the puck effortlessly. Huberdeau is so creative and finds ways to freeze defenders in their place or have them make a mistake in their gap control.”

Kris Eberwein writes over at Yahoo! that the Panthers will have plenty of veterans to mix with their group of rookies.

We Are Looking For Writers

Do you watch Saint John Sea Dogs hockey? Do you know how to write? How would you like to write about Sea Dogs hockey? Well, this is your opportunity.

We are currently looking for writers for the upcoming season. Your primary job would be to write recaps of home and away games. You could write them in any format of your choosing. We are looking for unique content, so bring some uniqueness.

What do you get in return? Fun, obviously. This is also a great chance to improve your writing skills and all that good stuff. We’ll also give you a Telus QMJHL webcast package (valued at $200) allowing you to watch every single Q game this season.

Some requirements:

• Basic knowledge of the Saint John Sea Dogs hockey club and QMJHL
• Ability to write game stories and blog posts in an efficient manner
• Internet access
• Time management skills
• Creative, innovative, and quick thinking
• Legit typing skills
• Ability to attend most home games is not a requirement but is considered an asset

We've created a Kijiji ad which doesn't appear to be live yet. Send an email to stationnation@yahoo.ca if you are interested. Please include your name in the email.

2012-13 Roster Announced

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced their 25-man roster for the 2012-13 campaign this afternoon. Sea Dogs training camp has been on hiatus since last Wednesday and will begin again – this time with veteran players included – on September 4.

25 players – two goaltenders, eight defensemen, and 15 forwards – will be in attendance next week. Here’s the roster:

30 G Alex Fournier
33 G Sebastien Auger 

3 D Olivier LeBlanc
4 D Ryan Kelly
5 D Benjamin Hade
8 D David Weckworth
21 D Kevin Gagne
23 D Pierre Durepos
25 D Michael Mastrangelo
28 D Jurij Repe 

7 F Jakub Izacky
9 F Stephen MacAulay
10 F Marcus Cuomo
11 F Jonathan Huberdeau
12 F Devon Oliver-Dares
14 F Jason Cameron
15 F Matthew Highmore
16 F Andreas Tsogkas
18 F Spencer Smallman
19 F Ryan Tesink
22 F Aidan Kelly
24 F MacKenzie Brown
26 F Noah Zilbert
27 F Oliver Cooper
37 F Stephen Anderson

The roster includes returning regular players Sebastien Auger, Stephen MacAulay, Jonathan Huberdeau, Devon Oliver-Dares, Jason Cameron, Ryan Tesink, Kevin Gagne, Aidan Kelly, Pierre Durepos, and Oliver Cooper.

Chris DiDomenico Off To Italy

Former Saint John Sea Dogs star Chris DiDomenico will be playing in Italy this season.

HC Asiago officially announced the signing of DiDomenico today. The forward has been tweeting about Italy for the past few weeks.

The 23-year old has spent the last two seasons playing professionally in the Chicago Blackhawks organization with the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs and the East Coast Hockey League’s Toledo Walleye. He recorded 13 points in 49 games in the AHL last year and 17 in 17 games in the ECHL.

DiDomenico, a sixth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2007 National Hockey League Draft, was once a legit NHL prospect after a couple seasons in Saint John and a prominent role on the 2009 Canadian World Junior team. Things started to go downhill after severely injuring his leg in the 2009 President’s Cup Final while playing with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. He missed nearly a year of action and the Maple Leafs eventually sent him to Chicago in the Kris Versteeg trade.

The Woodbridge, Ont. native made the Sea Dogs in 2006-07 and recorded 25 goals and 50 assists in 70 games. He was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team that year.

DiDomenico had one of the best offensive seasons in Sea Dogs history the following year, recording 39 goals and 56 assists in 70 games. He added 19 points in 14 playoff games, helping the Dogs reach the QMJHL semi-finals for the first time.

He registered 34 points in 26 games with the Dogs during the first half of the disappointing 2008-09 season. He helped Canada win gold at the World Juniors that year and was then traded to Drummondville where he helped the Volts win the President’s Cup. He was unable to play in the Memorial Cup because of the leg injury he suffered when he was thrown awkwardly into the end boards.

By The Numbers: Sea Dogs Pre-Season

The first part of Saint John Sea Dogs training camp – which featured mostly rookies - came to an end on Wednesday. The Sea Dogs finished with a 1-2-0-0 record and had an even goal differential, scoring 13 times and allowing 13 goals.

Saint John opened their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season schedule with a 6-2 victory over the PEI Rocket. They then fell 6-5 to the Rocket and 5-2 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Saint John’s power play has been clicking this pre-season. Despite not scoring on the man advantage in Wednesday’s loss to the Titan, the Sea Dogs are 5/11 on the power play so far.

Some other pre-season numbers:

• Mathieu Newcomb leads the Sea Dogs in pre-season scoring with four points.
• Newcomb, Mackenzie Brown, Marcus Cuomo, and Oliver Cooper each have two goals.
• Both of Brown’s goals came on the power play.
• Spencer Smallman has a team high three assists.
• Newcomb and David Mosher both have two power play assists.
• Devon Oliver-Dares has a team most four penalty minutes.
• Cuomo has taken the most shots with six.
• The Sea Dogs have served just 24 minutes in penalties so far which ties them with the PEI Rocket for the fewest in the league.
• Former Sea Dog Scott Oke has five assists in three games with the Rimouski Oceanic.

The Sea Dogs return to pre-season action on Friday, September 7 when they travel to Amherst to take on the Moncton Wildcats. Their next home game is September 8 at Harbour Station against the ‘Cats.

Where Sea Dogs Rank In THN's Yearbook

As always, The Hockey News Yearbook has listed the top 10 prospects for all 30 National Hockey League teams.

Not surprisingly, Jonathan Huberdeau is the top ranked former/current Saint John Sea Dog. Huberdeau was ranked first in the Florida Panthers organization, an organization that was ranked second in the NHL by THN.

THN lists Huberdeau as a candidate for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year award. Another candidates were Nail Yakupov, Mikael Granlund, Dougie Hamilton, Sven Baertschi, Chris Kreider, and Valdimir Tarasenko. In a fan poll, 9% of voters thought Huberdeau would win the Calder.

Here’s where the other former/current Sea Dogs were ranked in their organizations:

Tomas Jurco – No. 6 Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Huberdeau – No. 1 Florida Panthers
Charlie Coyle – No. 4 Minnesota Wild
Zack Phillips – No. 8 Minnesota Wild
Nathan Beaulieu – No. 2 Montreal Canadiens
Eric Gelinas – No. 4 New Jersey Devils
Simon Despres – No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins
Yann Sauve – No. 7 Vancouver Canucks
Stanislav Galiev – No. 4 Washington Capitals

Huberdeau and Despres are both projected to be in the NHL this season by the magazine. Coyle and Sauve are projected to be in The Show in 2013-14, Jurco, Beaulieu, and Gelinas in 2014-15, and Phillips and Galiev in 2015-16. 

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Sea Dogs Notebook

TRACADIE

Wednesday’s game in Tracadie-Sheila was an interesting experience. The rink was quite small and was probably close to 3/4 full. For whatever reason most of the fans stood during the game and sat during intermission. Wild times in Tracadie.

UP NEXT

Well, the Sea Dogs next pre-season game isn’t until Friday, September 7 when they travel to Amherst to take on the Moncton Wildcats. Saint John has four pre-season games remaining – two against Moncton and two against Halifax.

Main training camp – which will include veteran players - begins on September 4.

HURRY UP

The Chronicle Herald’s Will Palov argues that the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s training camps/pre-season are too long this year with the start of the regular season being pushed back.

“The start of the season was pushed back two weeks so that everyone could start the year with a complete lineup,” writes Palov.

“All that achieves is an excruciatingly long and pointless pre-season and a more compressed regular season. Chopping two weeks out of the regular season calendar meant scheduling more weekday games and cramming in more games around the weekends.”

Plenty of pros to cons to starting the season later.

NHLPA

A few former Sea Dogs have been invited to the NHLPA’s 2012 Rookie Showcase. The event takes place this coming Tuesday in Toronto.

From the NHLPA website:

Panini America and Upper Deck – the official trading card partners of the NHLPA and the NHL - will be photographing the rookies for the first time ever in their new official NHL team uniforms. The photos will be used for upcoming trading cards and memorabilia items. EA Sports will also be taking head scans of the rookies to be used in their upcoming NHL 13 video game.

Nathan Beaulieu, Charlie Coyle, and Tomas Jurco will be featured at this year’s event.

Your Chance To Become Fleaburn

Some huge news released by the Sea Dogs today. From the Dog Bytes Newsletter:

Have you always enjoyed seeing Fleaburn at the Saint John Sea Dogs games?!

The Sea Dogs are in search of 2 new staff members to be Fleaburn at Sea Dog home games and at community events. The ideal person will like to dance, have a lot of energy, and be a positive ambassador for the Sea Dogs with fans of all ages. 

The Sea Dogs want you to be creative to prove that you have what it takes to be Fleaburn, so send us your video's or pictures or write us an email to store@saintjohnseadogs.com and tell us what makes you our new mascot! A valid drivers license is an asset for this position. 

Good Luck!!

Unreal opportunity here. This is the type of job opening that comes along rarely. 

Catching Up

Catching up on some stuff that has gone down over the past 24 hours…

NEW NAME
The PEI Rocket announced yesterday that they are finally renaming their team. Fans have been asking for this for years and as the team said in its release, “a name change was desired due to the lack of connection or identity with the name ‘Rocket.’” Fans are being asked to name the club. Submissions can be made here until September 5. Fans will then be asked to vote on one of the three most submitted names.

The new name of the team will be announced at the Rocket’s home opener on September 21. The name change will be made for the 2013-14 season.

We’re hoping they incorporate the PEI dirt colour into the logo/jersey. Also wouldn’t mind if the name was potato related because potatoes are awesome.

FIRING BACK
The CHL and the QMJHL released statements on the Canadian Hockey League Players Association saga yesterday. Check them out here and here.

The Q’s release featured the statement “the QMJHL is a SCHOOL OF LIFE.” Not sure why they are yelling that school of life part.

CHLPA STUFF
Some stuff on the CHLPA to read:

• Buzzing The Net: CHLPA’s promise of windfall for junior players overlooks some obvious facts
• Sportsnet: CHLPA Taking a Beating
• The Hockey News: CHLPA a long time coming for junior players

If you missed Wednesday’s Telegraph-Journal, Sea Dogs majority owner and CEO Scott McCain had this to say about the CHLPA.

“It’s the first I’ve heard of it but I’m dead set against it,” he said. “It would not be good for the league.”

The players seem to be, for the most, still in the dark about this players association. Will be interesting to see how this moves forward.

RECAP: Tough Times In Tracadie. Dogs Lose 5-2.

FINAL: Saint John 2, Bathurst 5

TRACADIE-SHEILA, NB – The Acadie-Bathurst Titan scored three goals in the third period en route to a 5-2 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Wednesday night at the Aréna Révérend S.A. Dionne in Tracadie-Sheila.

Patrik Zdrahal, Sean Girard, Olivier Houle, Alexandre Gosselin, and Robert Davis scored for the Titan. Andrew Meredith added two assists. Jacob Brennan played the entire game in net, making 16 saves for the win.

The Sea Dogs, who fired just 18 shots on goal in the loss, had goals from Marcus Cuomo and Connor Donaghey. Sebastien Auger was solid in his first appearance this pre-season, making 24 saves in the first half of the game. Alex Fournier allowed three goals on 11 shots in the second portion of the match.

Although Bathurst outshot Saint John 40-18 overall and 30-11 through 40 minutes, the Dogs fought hard and managed to keep the match close until the third period. Saint John dressed mostly rookies and players with little QMJHL experience while the Titan had the likes of Zach O’Brien, Matthew Bissonnette, and Houle dressed on Wednesday.

PRE-SEASON GAMEDAY: at Titan

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Tonight at 7:00pm

Radio: None | Webcast: None | TV: None | Live Blog: @station_nation

Aréna Rév. S.A. Dionne – Tracadie-Sheila, NB

PREVIEW

The first part of Saint John Sea Dogs training camp comes to an end tonight in Tracadie-Sheila. The Sea Dogs take on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at 7pm this evening in the third game of their pre-season.

Saint John is 1-1-0 so far and have outscored opponents 11-8. The Sea Dogs defeated the PEI Rocket 6-2 last Friday before falling 6-5 to the Rocket on Saturday.

Mathieu Newcomb leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with four points (two goals and two assists) in two games. Newcomb, Mackenzie Brown, and Oliver Cooper are all tied for the team lead in goal scoring with two each.

The Titan are 2-0-0 in pre-season play thanks to back-to-back wins over the Moncton Wildcats on the weekend. Bathurst beat Moncton 5-3 on Saturday and 7-4 on Sunday.

Adam Zboril leads the Titan in scoring so far with three points (two goals and an assist) while Patrick Zdrahal also has three points (one goal and two assists). Zboril is the only player on the team with more than one goal.

After tonight’s game, the Sea Dogs don’t return to exhibition action until September 7 against the Moncton Wildcats. Main camp begins on September 4.

Sea Dogs Notebook

TOMORROW

Saint John’s pre-season continues tomorrow night with a game against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Tracadie-Sheila. Game time is 7pm.

The Sea Dogs are 1-1-0 in pre-season play and are coming off a 6-5 loss to the PEI Rocket on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Titan are 2-0-0 thanks to back-to-back wins over the Moncton Wildcats over the weekend.

After tomorrow’s game, the Sea Dogs will take a break. Main camp begins on September 4.

ROOKIE TOURNEY

News broke yesterday that the Florida Panthers had cancelled their annual rookie tournament due to the CBA garbage. It was to take place from September 15 – 19 and would have featured the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and Boston Bruins.

The Red Wings cancelled their Traverse City rookie tournament last week for the same reason.

The CBA expires on September 15. Depressing times are ahead. Luckily the QMJHL’s regular season begins on September 20 in Saint John.

SIR CHARLES

The Minnesota Wild website had a Q & A with Charlie Coyle on Monday. He spoke about his “Sir Charles” nickname.

“I don’t know if it was during the playoffs or regular season or what,” said Coyle. “I don’t even know who came up with it, but someone brought it up and it kind of stuck. So, I guess that’s my first nickname. Guys had some fun with that, calling me it.”

WILD

The State of Hockey News, a Wild blog, ranked the best prospects in the Minnesota system. Coyle was ranked third.

“I think Coyle is another year away from playing in the NHL, and I think he'd be better served by playing top line minutes on the Aeros then receiving 4th line minutes on the Aeros,” writes Derek Felska. “I think he'll get a call up or two if he's playing well in Houston, but he has tremendous Top 6 potential.  This is why the Brent Burns' trade was worth it!”

Zack Phillips came in at No. 11.

“He has terrific hands, can handle the puck as well as just about any other Wild prospect and has a knack for finding the open areas of the ice,” writes Felska. “Yet the skating issue will severely limit his versatility at the next level and until he gets it resolved it’s tough for me to call him a sure-fire NHL prospect.”

Huberdeau Featured In Goodwin Champions

There are sure to be many Jonathan Huberdeau hockey cards manufactured this year – but this has to be one of the strangest.

Huberdeau is featured in the prestigious 2012 Goodwin Champions, a multi-sport collection that has just 150 base cards. As seen above, Huberdeau is shown without a jersey on.

The strange thing about this set is that Huberdeau isn’t just one of the few rookies featured, he’s one of the few hockey players featured.

According to the check list over at SportsCardRadio.com, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash, Wendel Clark, and Doug Flutie are also in the 150 card base set. Also included: Kate Middleton and John F. Kennedy. So yeah, it’s a unique set. 

The Upper Deck Facebook page has pictures of some of the other cards.

Thanks to @SeaDogsnCaps for the tip

Sea Dogs Announce First Cuts

The Saint John Sea Dogs have announced their first round of cuts from 2012 training camp.

According to the team, goaltenders Drew Michals, Jamaes Edwardson, and Shawn Jeffrey along with defenseman Thomas Leonard were all released on Friday in order to keep their NCAA eligibility.

Michals, a Newton, Mass. native, was a ninth round pick of the Sea Dogs in June’s QMJHL Entry Draft. Jeffrey was a ninth round pick of the Dogs in 2011 while Edwardson was a free agent invite from Ontario. Leonard, a Rothsay native, was also an free agent invitee.

The Sea Dogs now have three netminders remaining at camp: Sebastien Auger, Alex Fournier, and Richard Tingley.

Forwards Mark Creaser, Jeremy Brown and Jacob McNutt were all cut yesterday. Creaser and McNutt were both invites while Brown was a 14^th round pick of Saint John in June.

The Sea Dogs travel to Tracadie-Sheila on Wednesday to play the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in pre-season play. The team will then take a break and resume action with main camp on September 4.

What If You Put The Alternate Logo On The Regular Jersey...

This was tweeted to us last night. Here’s what the regular Sea Dogs jersey would look like if you placed the new alternate jersey logo on it.

@station_nation probably did my best photo shop on this ! Put the new logo on the old jerseyRT and show the fans !:) twitter.com/Williston28/st…

— Bradey Williston (@Williston28) August 20, 2012

Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos has an article on the new jersey.

This And That

Some random stuff from this weekend’s pre-season action…

• The qplex proved to be a great place to watch a pre-season hockey game again. Terrific facility and perfect for an exhibition game.
• It seemed like most people in attendance on Friday liked the Sea Dogs new third jersey but the reaction online has been mixed. I like the idea of creating a different logo for the jersey. Seems like a lot of hockey teams these days just stick the team name or city name on the front in a fancy font and call it a third jersey.
• It’ll be interesting to see how much the new logo is used at games, in promotions, etc. The team basically has three logos now with the original, the front logo on the third jersey, and the shoulder patch on the third jersey.
• Speaking of jerseys, it’s great to have names on the back of them for the pre-season. Makes the games a lot easier to follow. If other teams could do the same that would be great.
• Mathieu Newcomb has had a solid pre-season offensively so far. He had two goals and an assist on Friday and added another assist yesterday. His four points are the most on the team.
• Newcomb, Mackenzie Brown, and Oliver Cooper all have two goals so far.
• If Saturday’s game is any indication, Alexis Pepin is going to be a real good player for the PEI Rocket. The second overall pick in the QMJHL Entry Draft scored two great goals on Saturday in his debut.
• He didn’t have any points, but Stephen Anderson played well on Saturday while wearing the C. He had 16 points in 26 games with Saint John last year. He was also named the MHL’s rookie of the year. The potential is definitely there for him to be an impact player with the Dogs this season.
• The Sea Dogs are 5/10 on the power play in the pre-season.
• Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was at the game on Saturday to watch his brother, Dane Phaneuf, play defense for the Rocket. He signed at least one fan’s Sea Dogs jersey. That will be a weird addition to an autograph collection.
• It may be small, but there are not many fan bases in the league that deserve a contending team more than the PEI Rocket’s. This team has done basically nothing since moving to the island in 2003. They’ve made it past the first round of the playoffs just once and that was in their first season in Charlottetown. It probably won’t come this year, but a long playoff run could do wonders for this franchise.
• The Windsor Spitfires bus was parked at the Charlottetown Mall. Hopefully the team can still afford to use that bus following the $400,000 fine.
• The QMJHL’s summer trade deadline is tomorrow.  

The Sea Dogs take on the Acadie-Bathurst on Wednesday at 7pm in Tracadie-Sheila. Saint John won’t play again until September 7 when they face the Moncton Wildcats in Amherst. The second part of Sea Dogs training camp, which will include veteran players, begins on September 4.

RECAP: Pepin's Snipe Show. Dogs Lose 6-5.

FINAL: Saint John 5, PEI 6

POWNAL, PEI – The Saint John Sea Dogs fell behind and could never complete a comeback in a 6-5 loss to the Prince Edward Island Rocket at the Pownal Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon.

Second overall pick in June’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft, Alexis Pepin, sniped two goals for the Rocket. Louick Marcotte, Deverick Ottereyes, Alexandre Chenier-Allard, and Daniel Perigo added singles for the home team.

Goaltender Antoine Bibeau made 11 saves through 40 minutes while Charles-Olivier Lajoie made five stops in 20 minutes of action.

The Sea Dogs, who dressed an even less experienced lineup than they did on Friday night in Quispamsis, had markers from Justin McDonald, Mackenzie Brown, Justin Dickenson, Marcus Cuomo, and Brock Morrison.

Alex Fournier got the start in net for the Sea Dogs and allowed three goals on 24 shots. He made some nice saves but also didn’t look completely comfortable at times. Richard Tingley took over halfway through the contest and allowed three goals on 15 shots.

The Rocket were the much better team in the first period, outshooting the Sea Dogs 14-5. Marcotte and Ottereyes each had goals for PEI in the period.

Brown got the Sea Dogs on the board at 2:31 of the second period while on the power play. Shane MacDonald fired a shot from the point that was nicely tipped by the Woodstock Slammer.

The back-and-forth action began at 12:12 of the frame as Chenier-Allard put the Rocket back up by two. Then at 14:34 on a 5-on-3 power play, Justin McDonald fired a point shot through traffic that went in to make it a 3-2 game. But at 17:58, Pepin sniped his first of the pre-season top shelf to give PEI a 4-2 lead after 40.

Shots in the second stanza were 13-8 PEI.

LIVE BLOG: Sea Dogs vs Rocket

POWNAL, PEI – The Sea Dogs’ pre-season schedule takes them to beautiful Pownal, PEI today for a 2pm contest against the PEI Rocket. I’ve never been there but I assume it is a nice place with lots of potatoes. We’ll have live coverage of today’s game on the rectangular box below.

Please note that Cover It Live sucks now (for those like us who are unwilling to pay the fees, anyways). Once 100 clicks are made, this baby shuts down. So if this thing doesn’t work, follow along on our Twitter feed.

PRE-SEASON GAMEDAY: at PEI

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs PEI Rocket

Today at 2:00pm

Radio: None | Webcast: None | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

Pownal Sports Centre – Pownal, PEI

PREVIEW

SOMEWHERE – The Saint John Sea Dogs and PEI Rocket meet again today in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season play.

The Sea Dogs and Rocket met last night at the qplex in Quispamsis. Oliver Cooper and Mathieu Newcomb each had two goals for Saint John while Eric Theriault and Mackenzie Brown added singles. Richard Tingley and Alex Fournier split the goaltending duties.

Daniel Perigo and Alexandre Chenier-Allard had PEI goals. Charles-Olivier Lajoie and Antoine Bibeau or Jeremy Brown (Q site and lineup sheet say different things) split goaltending duties.

The Rocket had a good start but fell behind and could never get back. They’ll have reinforcements today as the second overall pick in June’s QMJHL Entry Draft is expected to play. From the Rocket newsletter:

All week at the PEI Rocket training camp, Alexis Pepin has shown the reasons he was touted by many as being the best player available in June’s QMJHL Entry Draft.  People will get their first chance to see Pepin in pre-season action tomorrow afternoon as the Rocket host the Saint John Seadogs, at 2 o’clock, at the Pownal Sport Centre. 

PEI head coach Gordie Dwyer said “we have some young guys that have certainly shown tremendous upside and our veterans came to camp ready to go. Our intra-squad games were good but these two games are great opportunities for guys to show us what they can do in real game situations.”

The Sea Dogs hit the ice at the Pownal Sports Centre today at 2pm. We’ll be live blogging/Tweeting the game as usual.

After today’s game, the Dogs have a few days to prepare for Wednesday’s road game against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

RECAP: Welcome Back. Dogs Win 6-2.

FINAL: PEI 2, Saint John 6

QUISPAMSIS, NB – There were plenty of new faces in the Saint John Sea Dogs lineup on Friday night but the final result looked oh so familiar.

Oliver Cooper and Mathieu Newcomb each scored twice as the Sea Dogs defeated the Prince Edward Island Rocket 6-2 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season action at the qplex in Quispamsis.

Saint John led 2-1 after one and 5-1 after two. The Sea Dogs outshot the Rocket 30-23 on the night.

All things considered, it was a pretty good showing by the Sea Dogs. It’s a rebuilding year and there will be plenty of ups and downs. But to start exhibition play off with a 6-2 victory is a good confidence booster for both the players and the fan base. These kids got some game.

PEI had the better chances early on in the first period but goaltender Richard Tingley held the fort. The Sea Dogs slowly started to pick up some momentum and Jeremy Brown nearly opened the scoring when he hit iron.

The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 6:42. At 8:20, Cooper opened the scoring with assists going Benjamin Hade and Jeffrey Krichew.

The Sea Dogs made it 2-0 at 12:16. Newcomb broke through the Rocket defense and fired a shot past PEI starter Charles-Olivier Lajoie. The beautiful goal got a loud ovation from the sellout crowd of 1,427.

PEI made it a 2-1 affair at 17:46 as Daniel Perigo beat Tingley upstairs. That’s the way it would end heading into intermission.

Eric Theriault gave Saint John a 3-1 lead just 33 seconds into the second period.

At 10:32, Cooper struck again. Marcus Cuomo sent the puck to Cooper on a two-on-one and the second year Sea Dog forward made no mistake, giving Saint John a 4-1 advantage.

Newcomb netted his second of the match at 15:46, firing a hard shot top corner to give the Dogs a commanding 5-1 lead.

The Sea Dogs went to the power play at 17:03 and had some good pressure on but could not add to their lead.

In the third, Mackeznie Brown connected on the power play at 2:54 to give the home side a 6-1 lead.

After some rough stuff in front of the Saint John goal, Devon Oliver-Dares, who wore the C on his sweater for this game, got the extra penalty to send PEI to the power play. Alexandre Chenier-Allard scored on the man advantage at 12:45 to make it a 6-2 game. That is the way this one would end up.

Tingley made 11 saves in the Saint John net while Alex Fournier, who took over halfway through the second period, made 10 stops.

PASS/FAIL: The Sea Dogs Third Jeresy

QUISPAMSIS, NB – In a pre-game ceremony before tonight’s pre-season game at the qplex, Aidan Kelly and Ryan Tesink unveiled the Saint John Sea Dogs’ first ever third jersey.

The jersey seems to have gotten mostly positive reviews so far from fans. The jerseys, along with shirts featuring the new logo, were available for purchase at the game and plenty of folks were walking around with them throughout the evening.

The new logo is based on the old Saint John Flames logo that featured a dragon holding the Saint John font.

The jersey will make its debut on Saturday, September 29 at Harbour Station when the Sea Dogs battle the Gatineau Olympiques.

So let’s hear it: do you give this jersey a PASS or a FAIL?

LIVE BLOG: Rocket vs Sea Dogs

QUISPAMSIS - The time has come. The Sea Dogs play an actual, real exhibition game tonight against the PEI Rocket at the qplex. Game time is 7:30pm. Join us for some live coverage, won't you?

PRE-SEASON GAMEDAY: vs PEI

GAMEDAY

PEI Rocket vs Saint John Sea Dogs

Tonight at 7:30pm

Radio: None | Webcast: None | TV: None | Live Blog: SN

qplex – Quispamsis, NB

PREVIEW

QUISPAMSIS, NB – The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season begins tonight for the Saint John Sea Dogs and the PEI Rocket. The two teams battle this evening at 7:30pm at the qplex in Quispamsis.

Both teams have been practicing and scrimmaging this week. Both teams will likely be icing young lineups tonight.

The Sea Dogs have just three returning regular players participating in training camp right now. The returnees include forwards Oliver Cooper and Devon Oliver-Dares and goaltender Sebastien Auger. So, there are sure to be plenty of new faces wearing Sea Dogs jerseys tonight.

The Rocket have been rebuilding their team for, like, eternity so they should have plenty of new faces playing tonight as well. Alexis Pepin, the second over pick in June’s QMJHL Entry Draft, should see action at some point this weekend.

“Alex Pepin has looked really strong,” Rocket head coach Gordie Dwyer said to The Guardian. “He seems to be the real deal so far.”

According to the Rocket’s Twitter, Charles-Olivier Lajoie will get the start in goal tonight for PEI.

Saint John and PEI play again tomorrow afternoon at 2pm in Pownal. The Sea Dogs also play the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Wednesday in Tracdie-Sheila.

Sea Dogs Notebook

STORE

Sea Dogs Styles in the lobby of Harbour Station got bigger over the summer. The glass trophy case has been removed and the store has been expanded, providing some much needed space for merchandise. They have a lot of new stuff which can be found on the store’s website.

PRE-SEASON

The Sea Dogs announced yesterday that seats for tonight’s pre-season game at the Quispamsis qplex are sold out. A limited number of standing room tickets have been made available.

Saint John will play their first match of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season against the PEI Rocket. Game time is 7:30pm.

It is the first part of a home-and-home series between the Sea Dogs and Rocket. The two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon in Pownal, PEI.

SN will be live blogging/tweeting both games this weekend.

NEVIN

According to the Telegraph-Journal, former Moncton Wildcats head scout Peter Nevin has joined the Sea Dogs scouting staff. He will be Saint John’s new US scout with Trevor Hanson leaving the team to join the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes.

Nevin and the Wildcats parted ways over the summer.

JURCO

Over at NHL.com, Dan Rosen calls Tomas Jurco the Detroit Red Wings’ fifth best prospect.

"He was a very big part of Saint John's championship runs," Red Wings vice president and assistant general manager Jim Nill said. "He has a very high skill level. This will be his first year pro, so he'll be making that jump from junior to the American League and go from there."

Brendan Smith was named Detroit’s best prospect.

CANCELED

The big news in hockey yesterday saw the Red Wings cancel their annual Traverse City rookie tournament because of the looming NHL lockout. According to the Wings website, “the tournament was to begin on Sept. 15, the same day that the current collective bargaining agreement expires.”

Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus, Minnesota, Dallas, New York Rangers, and St. Louis were expected to join Detroit at this year’s tournament so there would have been plenty of Sea Dogs content.

In other lockout news, at Buzzing The Net yesterday, Neate Sager examined what will happen with the CHL-NHL agreement being expired.

Not A Lot Of Spots Available

By Andrew McGilligan

SN Staff

With training camp underway, the Saint John Sea Dogs appear to be wide open when it comes to the roster. With several key players gone from the squad’s historic three-year run, several spots, it would seem, are up for grabs.

However, a scan of the roster shows otherwise. In reality, it appears only five spots are in play at camp – two forwards, two defencemen and one goalie.

Let’s start up front where Stephen MacAulay, Ryan Tesink, Aidan Kelly, Oliver Cooper, Devon Oliver-Dares and Jason Cameron should all be in the lineup as regulars for Saint John. Add to those six the names of Stephen Anderson, Mackenzie Brown and first-round pick Matt Highmore (recovering from shoulder surgery) and the available slots narrow. Anderson and Brown played well for the Sea Dogs last season in a combined 39 games. Anderson notched six goals and 10 assists in 26 games while Brown recorded a goal and an assist in 13. Highmore, by virtue of his first-round selection, should be in the lineup once he’s cleared by doctors.

The Sea Dogs selected Czech forward Jakub Izacky 52nd overall in the 2012 CHL import draft, so throw his name on the list and you’ve got 10 forward sports spoken for and maybe 11 if the NHL lockout happens and Jonathan Huberdeau returns to the Port City.

As for who might have the inside track on those remaining two spots, here’s three players to keep an eye on. Brock Morrison had a strong camp last year and solid junior A season in 2011-12, but the team is skewing younger and he may not make the cut by virtue of being in his 19 year-old season. The other two who could end up as mainstays are Noah Zilbert of Fredericton and Spencer Smallman of New Maryland. Both players were selected by the Sea Dogs in the 2012 QMJHL Entry Draft. As for a dark horse to make the squad, keep an eye on Kraig Pasher.

On defence, Kevin Gagne, Pierre Durepos and 2012 first-rounder Olivier LeBlanc look like locks on the blue line. Add the name of 17-year-old defenceman Jurij Repe of Slovenia - 34th overall in the import draft - to the list and only two spots remain. It would appear Benjamin Hade who suited up for five games last season should have the inside position for one of the two remaining spots, but after that it’s anyone’s guess.

In goal, last season’s back up Sebastien Auger is back and should be the no. 1 netminder coming out of camp. After Auger its wide open, but the best bet to secure the second goalie position should be between Alex Fournier and Richard Tingley.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Drew Michals Leaves Training Camp

Drew Michals, the Newton, Mass. goaltender who the Saint John Sea Dogs selected in the ninth round of the 2012 QMJHL Entry Draft, has left training camp to keep his NCAA eligibility.

“Going to try to give colleges a chance this year but maybe in the future,” Michals tweeted to a fan. “Loved it up there. Great organization.”

“Yeah decided to respect the 48 hour rule for college,” Michals tweeted to another fan. “Loved it up there. Maybe next year will be the year!”

“Want to thank @SeaDogsDK for everything he does. From what I saw, he is the best in the CHL at what he does.”

A positive to take from these tweets is that, at the moment anyways, he hasn’t completely shut the door on playing junior hockey. The Sea Dogs haven’t had much luck with American players so this is good to see.

The 17-year old played with the Boston Junior Bruins of the Empire Junior Hockey League last season. Michals went 11-1-1-0 with a 2.82 goals against average and a .903 save percentage in 28 regular season games, according to the league’s website.

Michals was on the ice at Harbour Station today along with the five other goaltenders at Sea Dogs camp – Sebastien Auger, Richard Tingley, Alex Fournier, Shawn Jeffery, and James Edwardson.

Saint John hosts the PEI Rocket in pre-season play at the qplex tomorrow night at 7:30pm.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Photos From Today's Scrimmage

SAINT JOHN – Another day of Saint John Sea Dogs training camp is in the books.

Team Blue won an entertaining scrimmage 2-0 over Team White this morning at Harbour Station. There was a decent crowd on hand considering it was a Thursday morning.

SN photographer Marc Henwood has photos from today’s action.

Tomorrow night at the qplex in Quispamsis the Sea Dogs will host the PEI Rocket in the first exhibition game for both teams. A number of former and veteran Sea Dogs will be in attendance and the team will also be unveiling their new third jerseys.

A limited number of tickets are left for the contest. Game time is 7:30pm. You can follow our live blog or Twitter if you are unable to attend.

Training Camp Continues Today

SAINT JOHN – As the pre-season nears, the Saint John Sea Dogs continue training camp this morning at Harbour Station.

The roster, which mostly features fresh faces, has been split in half. The rosters for each squad were released by the Sea Dogs on Tuesday.

Here is today’s schedule of events.

10:00 – 10:45                       Group A practice                  Group B off ice workout

11:00 – 11:45                       Group A vs Group B Scrimmage

12:00 – 12:45                       Group B practice                  Group A off ice workout

Tomorrow, the Sea Dogs will play their first of seven Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season games. Saint John will host the PEI Rocket at 7:30pm at Quispamsis’ qplex. There will be a special pre-game ceremony to unveil the Sea Dogs’ new third jersey.

Non-dressing players will practice at Harbour Station on Friday morning. The full schedule for the first week of training camp can be found here. All of it is open to the public.

The Sea Dogs and Rocket will meet again on Saturday afternoon in Pownal, PEI.

The QMJHL's pre-season officially begins tonight with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar visiting the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Photo: Sea Dogs Twitter