Notebook: Eagles talk swap

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a huge splash on Monday, acquiring 19-year-old Calgary Flames prospect Ryan Francis from the Cape Breton Eagles.

The Sea Dogs traded forward Dawson Stairs along with a first- and second-round pick in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft in exchange for the forward. The teams also swapped sixth-round draft choices.

"There was an opportunity to move Ryan Francis to get a player that's a year younger and get some picks that are going to allow us to load the bank with regards to young players at the draft and we thought it was the right thing for us to do," Eagles general manager Jacques Carrier told the Cape Breton Post.

The Eagles like what they see in Stairs, who should see an increase in playing time on his new team.

"He plays 200-feet, he's a decent skater, he goes in the dirty areas and he has some skills, so we liked the overall package that he brought forward," Carrier said.

Stairs played in 87 games with Saint John over parts of three seasons, recording 20 goals and 18 assists. His most recent QMJHL game was in Sydney on Nov. 18 where he recorded a goal and an assist.

TRADE PERIOD CLOSING SOON

The Sea Dogs have made just two moves during the "holiday" trading period - but both were fairly significant.

Along with the Francis/Stairs deal, the Sea Dogs traded Alex Drover - a former Eagle - to the Rimouski Oceanic in exchange for a second-, fourth-, and 10th-round draft pick. Rogers TV analyst Craig Eagles had a nice writeup on the Drover trade a few weeks ago.

The QMJHL's trading period comes to a close on Monday, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. Atlantic. The deadline was originally set to be Jan. 6 but was pushed because COVID.

RETURN TO PLAY

The Sea Dogs are officially scheduled to return to game action on Jan. 29 in Halifax. While it's certainly possible that restrictions could be lifted or exemptions could be made for that game to take place, it seems unlikely.

The Sea Dogs remain hopeful that the season will resume in the Maritimes at some point.

“I’m optimistic we’re going to finish the season and have a fun second half of hockey, but I do expect there could be interruptions," Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie told CHSJ News prior to Saint John being flipped into the red. "I think it’d be foolish to expect any different given what we’ve seen.”

The 12 Quebec teams are scheduled to resume play this weekend in "protect environments." Again, it's possible bubbles could happen in the Maritimes, but it seems unlikely due to current travel restrictions and the financial resources needed to make it happen.

"I don't foresee a situation in New Brunswick where we'd actually host a bubble environment... I don't actually foresee that being something that's feasible," Georgie told CBC New Brunswick a few weeks ago.

AHL PRE-SEASON BEGINS

The American Hockey League's pre-season began on Tuesday night with Vladimir Kotkov and the San Jose Barracuda taking on the San Diego Gulls.

Kotkov, 20, was penciled in on the Barracuda's fourth line with Steenn Pasichnuk, who spent last season playing at Arizona State, and Kyle Topping, who played with the Kelowna Rockets last year.

The Gulls earned a 5-1 victory. The two play again on Thursday. The AHL's regular season is scheduled to begin on Feb. 5.

Kotkov, who was acquired by Saint John during the off-season, is eligible to play in the QMJHL as an overager if he's released by the Barracuda (and is presumably able to make his away across the border).

CAMPBELL TRADED AGAIN

Former Sea Dogs forward Isiah Campbell has been traded once again.

The Drummondville Voltigeurs traded the overage forward to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Tuesday in exchange for a couple of draft picks. Shawinigan will be the fourth team Campbell has played for in his QMJHL career.

Campbell, a third-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft, appeared in 36 games with Saint John over two seasons, recording two goals and six assists. 

ANDERSON NOMINATED

Former Sea Dogs forward Stephen Anderson has been nominated for PEI's intercollegiate male athlete of the year award. He's up against former QMJHLer Kameron Kielly and wrestler Ligrit Sadiku.

Anderson spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs from 2011 to 2014. He's coming off an impressive five-year U Sports career with the UNB Reds that saw him win three University Cup national championships. He had a strong chance of winning a fourth national title last March but the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The Morell, PEI native is currently playing in Slovakia.

Former Wildcats defenseman Jordan Spence has been nominated for PEI junior male athlete of the year.

Winners will be announced on Feb. 24.

OTHERS UPDATES

A couple updates on stories we've been following for a while.

The new arena in Gatineau, the Slush Puppie Centre, is really coming along.

Ça s’en vient, voici quelques photos de l’extérieur. @OlympiquesGAT pic.twitter.com/YfsDUzBg4a

— Dan Brunet (@danbrunet13) January 15, 2021

In Trois-Rivieres, the long rumoured ECHL team will become a reality beginning this fall. The league officially announced approval of the expansion franchise last week and, as expected, has affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens. The team should feature plenty of former QMJHL talent.