Sea Dogs to name head coach Wednesday

KHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs will officially name their new head coach at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Mikael Lalancette reports that Dalhousie, NB native Gordie Dwyer is expected to fill the position.

#LHJMQ: Il faut s'attendre à ce que Gordie Dwyer soit nommé entraîneur-chef des Sea Dogs.

Une belle feuille de route dans le hockey : 108 matchs comme joueur dans la LNH, entraîneur chef du Rocket et des Islanders à l'ÎPÉ, des Cataractes, en Suisse, dans la KHL + Hockey Canada.

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) August 3, 2021

The Sea Dogs, oddly, have not formerly announced that Greg Gilbert, who coached the Sea Dogs last season, will not return to the club. He's not listed on the team's website and Lalancette reported last week that Gilbert will no longer be the team's head coach.

Dwyer, 43, began his coaching career with the MHL's Summerside Western Capitals - a team the Sea Dogs have certainly had good luck with when it comes to coaching alumni. Dwyer was head coach of the PEI Rocket/Charlottetown Islanders for four seasons and most recently worked with the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Dwyer has also served as a head coach in the KHL for a few seasons and has coached several Hockey Canada teams.

As a player, Dwyer spent four seasons in the QMJHL before turning pro. He appeared in 108 career NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens. He spent his last pro season in Sweden in 2008-09.

The move further solidifies Saint John's intentions for the upcoming season: they are all in. The Sea Dogs' playing style didn't change a ton under Gilbert, so it'll be interesting to see if this hire is the spark this group needs.