Saturday, June 4, 2022

Notebook: President Cup final begins

The 2022 President Cup final begins tonight in Charlottetown.

The Islanders and Shawinigan Cataractes will battle in Game 1 of the best-of-seven championship series at 7 p.m. The Islanders will be without Xavier Simoneau due to a suspension.

This is the first time the Islanders have played in a President Cup final. Neither team has even won a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship.

Only one former Sea Dog remains in the hunt for the President Cup: Islanders forward Dawson Stairs.

Game 2 takes place Sunday night at Eastlink Centre before the series shifts to Shawinigan for Games 3 and 4.

The Cataractes, who entered the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, will be hoping to continue the Game 1 upset trend seen across the country. The underdog Windsor Spitfires defeated the previously undefeated Hamilton Bulldogs 4-3 in overtime in the first game of the Ontario Hockey League final Friday night. In the Western Hockey League final, the underdog Seattle Thunderbirds beat the favoured Edmonton Oil Kings 2-1 in the opening game.

FRANCIS GOES UNSIGNED
Why didn't the Calgary Flames sign Sea Dogs forward Ryan Francis by Wednesday's deadline?


It seems a bit bizarre that Francis wasn’t re-signed this year after the numbers he has put up in his time in the Q. While nobody is speaking publicly, the most likely answer is that the Flames did not believe that his game would transition effectively to the next level. After keeping him in the AHL for a couple of months this previous fall and only getting him into four games, it looked like the Flames were not convinced of his ability to translate his production to the professional ranks.

Francis had 25 goals and 65 points in 54 regular season games with the Sea Dogs this year. He had a goal and an assist in four playoff games.

Francis was a fifth-round pick of the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, the same year Calgary selected Yan Kuznetsov (second round) and Jeremie Poirier (third round).

CITY FUNDING
Country 94 reports that Saint John's Common Council recently approved funding for the 2022 Memorial Cup.


Saint John’s Common Council has approved funding worth $250,000 for the 2022 Memorial Cup.

An operating grant of $150,000, as well as $100,000 for unplanned air quality improvements required at TD Station for the event, were both approved at Monday’s meeting.

The contribution comes from the Municipal Economic and Community Recovery (ENCORE) program.

GALLANT FINISHES THIRD
Former Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant finished third in NHL coach of the year voting.
Gallant finished behind Calgary's Darryl Sutter and Florida's Andrew Brunette. Gallant received 12 first-place votes.

Gallant currently has the New York Rangers up 2-0 over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference final. This is Gallant's first season behind the Rangers bench - a bench he shares with former Sea Dogs coaches Mike Kelly and Jim Midgley.

PRIDE MONTH
ECHL LISTS
The ECHL released its protected lists earlier this week. A few former Sea Dogs were included.

Allen Americans - Kelly Bent

Fort Wayne Komets - Matt Murphy and Oliver Cooper

Greenville Swamp Rabbits - Cedric Pare

Idaho Steelheads - Jack Van Boekel and Chase Stewart

Newfoundland Growlers - Nathan Noel

OTHER THINGS
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