Sea Dogs make two deals ahead of deadline

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a couple deals before the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's pre-season trade period came to a close on Sunday.

The Sea Dogs dealt 17-year-old forward Eliott Simard to the Victoriaville Tigres in exchange for 18-year-old forward Alpha Barry and a fourth-round pick in 2023.

Simard, a fifth-round pick of Saint John in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft, had 22 goals and 55 points in 40 games with the Lévis Chevaliers of the Quebec under-18 circuit last season. In two pre-season games with Saint John this year, the Chicoutimi native had a goal and two assists.

Barry, a Bronx, NY native, spent last season with the Tigres where he registered a goal and 10 assists in 49 games. Despite technically being a New Yorker, Barry is listed as a Canadian and came up through the Quebec hockey system.

Barry was a sixth-round pick of the Tigres in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Sunday's other Sea Dogs deal saw the team acquire 17-year-old forward Sam-Luca Thifault from the Sherbrooke Phoenix in exchange for a seventh-round pick (Val-d'Or) in 2024 and a fourth-round pick in 2025.

Thifault, a third-round pick of the Phoenix in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft, had one assist in 21 games with Sherbrooke last season.