Monday, May 3, 2021

Notebook: More from Courteau's interview

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
A few other points of interest from QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau's interview on Sportsnet's 31 Thoughts podcast last week.
  • On the six Maritimes Division teams not receiving government financial support like the 12 Quebec-based clubs: "the (Maritime) governments have not been as responsive as the Quebec (government). The six owners, they knew at that time that the Maritime provinces were not that high to contribute financially. The consequences for the Maritimes Division this year, that's going to be a big hit financially and it's going to be a big loss."
  • "We'll see what's going to happen for years to come with our league and what's going to be the real financial impact on our situation," said Courteau, adding that there is still uncertainty over attendance limits and sponsorships next season.
  • Courteau said that the league is currently planning to begin it's 2021-22 regular season the first week of October. That aligns with what the WHL has said.
  • Why didn't the QMJHL allow players to join Team Canada for the IIHF World Under-18 Championship? Courteau said he wanted to maintain the league's usual policy of only allowing players to attend if their team has been eliminated from the playoffs. He brought up a few reasons for this, including the fact that it didn't seem right/fair that the teams/owners put in all this work to get the league going only to lose their best players down the stretch and into the playoffs - which is a fair point.
  • Courteau himself brought up the idea of interleague games between the three CHL leagues: "from a marketing point of view, the CHL is going to have to be able to bring the three leagues closer together. Market the CHL better. Not only for CHL events or Memorial Cup but market the CHL. Last year we were talking a lot about interlocking games between the three leagues. We have to bring something new to our fans. We have to bring something new to our sponsors. We have to be creative."
  • As mentioned previously, Courteau said that the QMJHL will host the 2022 Memorial Cup.

FINAL PLAYOFF NUMBERS
Ryan Francis finished the post-season as Saint John's leading scorer, recording four goals and six assists for 10 points. His six assists were also a team high.

Brady Burns led the team in playoff goals with five.

Cam MacDonald's four goals leads all rookies in playoff markers at this time. He currently sits second in rookie scoring (five points) while Riley Bezeau is third (five points as well).

Jeremie Poirier currently leads all QMJHL defensemen in playoff points with nine and goals with four.

IRONMEN
The Sea Dogs played a total of 39 games this season: 33 in the regular season and six in the post-season.

Only five players dressed for all 39 Sea Dogs games: defensemen Jeremie Poirier and William Villeneuve along with forwards Peter Reynolds, Josh Lawrence and Riley Bezeau.

GALLANT/KELLY BACK AT IT
The iconic duo of Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly is back together.

Gallant was named head coach of Canada's IIHF World Championship team last week. Kelly will join him on the bench as an assistant. The two have coached together in Saint John, Florida and Vegas. The two will be joined by another familiar face: former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies head coach Andre Tourigny.

“Hopefully, we will put a good team together and, as Turk said, have a lot of fun, and hopefully we can win,” Kelly told the Summerside Journal Pioneer.

The event takes place May 26 - June 6 in Latvia.

GALLANT ON HUBERDEAU
Gerard Gallant was on Hockey Central last week where he was asked about coaching Jonathan Huberdeau in junior. Gallant said Huberdeau's compete level stuck out in his rookie season with the Sea Dogs.

"He wanted to win those puck (battles)," Gallant said. "He wouldn't win many battles his first year but his skill level got him to that next level. Then he comes in the next year as a 17-year-old and he's a dominant player. He was a dominant player in the league. I just saw the drive in the kid. Every day at practice he wanted to win, he wanted to finish first, and he wanted to score on the goalies. We had some great players on that Sea Dogs team. There's probably five or six good NHLers and they competed with each other every day and they really pushed each other.

"I'm really happy to see Jonathan be one of the best, probably, top 15 NHL players today."

Gallant also praised Andre Tourigny for some assistance during his first year with the Sea Dogs.

"I met Andre my first year in Saint John. It was the first time I met him," Gallant said. "He called us up and told Mike (Kelly) and myself that, 'you guys are big shots coming from the pros. Us guys in the Quebec league we work real hard. I know all the players in this league and you guys can trust me. If you need to know something about the players in the Quebec league, call me and I'll let you know.'

"He was a loyal guy and an honest guy. We really appreciated that phone call we got from him."

MELANSON SUSPENDED
Acadie-Bathurst Titan forward Jacob Melanson was suspended three games by the QMJHL for his boarding major on Charles Savoie during Friday's game against Saint John.
It's the second time this post-season Melanson was suspended. Melanson was also handed a one-game suspension for a check-to-the-head on Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Drapeau on April 25.

Melanson has two goals and an assist in four playoff games this year. He served the first game of the suspension on Saturday.

ICE SEASON DONE
With no playoffs in the WHL this season, the Winnipeg Ice played their final game of the year last Tuesday. The Ice leave the Regina-based hub with an 18-5-1-0 record.

Former Sea Dogs forward Anderson MacDonald recorded two goals in 16 games as an overager.
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