Notebook: Where will Svechkov land?

Where will Fyodor - or is it Fedor? - Svechkov land in this year's NHL Draft?

"Plays with his head up and on a swivel," writes Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino, who ranked the Russian forward 16th in his latest rankings. "Can process the play at speed and presents both shooting and playmaking options."

Selected by the Saint John Sea Dogs with 23rd overall pick in the 2020 CHL Import Draft, Svechkov has been ranked as a mid-first round pick by a number of publications and outside the opening round by others.

"Svechkov is known as one of the best defensive forwards in the entire 2021 class," writes Kyle Pereira of Last Word on Sports. "If it wasn’t for Matt Beniers, he would be arguably the best. However, the knock on Svechkov’s overall game is his explosiveness, as well as a fast pace. His offensive production hasn’t been bad, necessarily, but his offensive game isn’t what many scouts would consider high-end."

Svechkov had four goals and 11 assists in 15 games with MHL Ladia Togliatti this season. He had another five goals and 10 assists in 38 games at the VHL level.

"He is a well-rounded player who isn’t spectacular at any one thing," writes Corey Pronman of The Athletic, who has him ranked 20th overall, an improvement of five spots from his previous ranking. "He’s very skilled, showing a lot of confidence and creativity as a puck handler. He skates well and can make highly skilled plays on the move."

It seems like a long shot that he'll report to the Sea Dogs... but you never know - and the team that drafts him this summer may have some say in that.

COMING UP

Only four games remain on Saint John's previously announced New Brunswick only schedule.

The Sea Dogs travel to Moncton on Sunday to face the Wildcats at 4 p.m. and then head up to Bathurst on Tuesday to take on the Titan at 7 p.m.

Saint John has two home games remaining: Friday, April 16 against the Titan and Saturday, April 17 against the Wildcats.

After that... we'll see what happens. If the Atlantic Bubble does indeed open on April 19, there will likely be a couple weeks of non-New Brunswick games ahead for the Sea Dogs.

The Maritimes Division regular season schedule ends on May 1.

BLIZZARD SEASON OVER

The Edmundston Blizzard's season is over.

The Maritime Junior Hockey League club announced this week that it will not finish its season with the Edmundston area still in the province's red zone and no end in sight. The Blizzard haven't played since Mach 21. The MHL's regular season ends on Wednesday.

The Blizzard feature former Sea Dogs defenseman Brendan Sibley who appeared in just eight games this season, recording two assists.

SPADAFORE COMMITS
Former Sea Dogs defenseman Jordan Spadafore has committed to the North Bay-based Nipissing University Lakers for the 2021-22 season.

Spadafore is playing with the MHL's Miramichi Timberwolves this season where he has 10 assists in 21 games as an overager.

Spadafore played his midget hockey in northern Ontario. He appeared in 56 games with the Sea Dogs last season where he registered three goals and eight assists.

BENT MAKES PRO DEBUT

Kelly Bent is still playing Kelly Bent style hockey in the pro ranks.

The former Sea Dogs forward recently made his ECHL debut with the Kansas Mavericks. He's already compiled 16 penalty minutes - including two fights - in just three games.

Gloves = dropped 🥊 pic.twitter.com/iyeUEkh1NM

— Kansas City Mavericks (@kc_mavericks) April 10, 2021

OTHER THINGS

• Former Sea Dogs enforcer Brett Gallant recently appeared in his 400th AHL game. He hasn't earned a single penalty minute in seven games with the Cleveland Monsters this season.
• What a tilt between Dylan Chisholm and Ben Boyd Friday night.
• More problems in the WHL: the Calgary Hitmen and Medicine Hat Tigers have suspended team activities while new COVID-19 cases were discovered amongst the Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants.
• Some good news from the WHL: exceptional player Connor Bedard seems like the real deal. The 15-year-old Regina Pats forward is leaving the Regina-based bubble as the WHL's leading scorer with 12 goals and 28 points in just 15 games.
• OHL news: there is no news. Given the current state of Ontario, it's feeling more and more unlikely that a season will happen.
• Rumoured news became true on Friday: the BCHL, Canada's premier junior A league and a major pipeline for Canadian talent in the NCAA, is leaving the CJHL. What this will mean for the BCHL moving forward isn't clear.