Notebook: Chabot to be inducted into Sea Dogs Hall of Fame

It was announced this past week that defenseman Thomas Chabot will be inducted into the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame in June.

“It’s an honour for me because Saint John is where it all started,” said the Ottawa Senators d-man. “I loved every minute that I spent playing and living there, I met great people along the way and created friendships that will last a lifetime.”

The Sea Dogs surprised Chabot with the news during a stop at the Bell Centre this week.

Today we got to be a part of something special as the @SJSeaDogs surprised @ThomasChabot1 with his induction into the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame! Thomas will be inducted during the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame weekend June 23-25.

Congrats, Chabby! 👏#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/TIQfewQbix

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 31, 2023

Brady Tkachuk came out for his media availability here in Montreal wearing a Thomas Chabot QMJHL Sea Dogs jersey. Just repping a buddy. pic.twitter.com/UlQoZddokb

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) January 31, 2023

Chabot, along with former Sea Dogs coaches Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame June 23-25.

Jonathan Huberdeau and Mike Thomas have previously been inducted. According to a news release, "the 2024 Sea Dogs Hall of Fame class will be announced at this year’s ceremony."

NEW POD EP

This week on The Hockey News on the Q, Will MacLaren and I discuss the league's hot and cold teams; the CHL's schedule; Q prospects in the Philadelphia Flyers system; and more.

.@willmacwriter and @station_nation discuss the elite streaks by @HFXMooseheads and @quebec_remparts, pausing CHL matches for the Top Prospects Game, #Flyers from the ‘Q’ and more: https://t.co/wHt5JNjn2L

— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) February 2, 2023

LAWRENCE INTERVIEW

Esatlink's Mavs Gillis sat down with former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence to talk about his season, the trade to Halifax and the Mooseheads' point streak.

NEW SCOREBOARD

Charlottetown's Eastlink Centre has a new video scoreboard. It was used for an Islanders home game for the first time this past week.

Check it out...first @IslandersHKY game with our new LED scoreclock! pic.twitter.com/FyJn7B7GUm

— Eastlink Centre Charlottetown (@EastlinkCtrPEI) February 2, 2023

The installation leaves the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, who both have end zone video boards, as the only teams in the QMJHL without centre hung video boards.

BULLDOGS TO BRANTFORD

The OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, who the Sea Dogs defeated in the Memorial Cup final last year, are expected to relocate to Brantford for at least the next three seasons, it was reported this past week.

The move is due to Hamilton's arena getting some significant renovations over the next few years. The team will be rebranded as the Brantford Bulldogs and will play out of the 56-year-old Brantford Civic Centre, which will also need some upgrades during the off-season.

There is some speculation/thinking though, as the Hamilton Spectator reports, that this may become a permanent move for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs are the third team the Sea Dogs have faced in a Memorial Cup to relocate or rebrand, joining the Kootenay Ice (now the Winnipeg Ice) and the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (now the Mississauga Steelheads).

MEMORIAL CUP BIDS

Four OHL teams have officially submitted bids to host the 2024 Memorial Cup: the Kingston Frontenacs, Niagara IceDogs, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Saginaw Spirit.

The Kingston Whig Standard has a good breakdown of each team's projected 2023-24 roster.

The winner will be announced in March.

Because of the pandemic, the OHL has not hosted the tournament since Windsor in 2017.

OTHER THINGS

• Le Droit has a story on Gatineau natives Nicolas Bilodeau and Olivier Brideau making their first QMJHL appearances at the Slush Puppie Centre on Saturday.
• The Rouyn-Noranda newspaper Le Citoyen has a feature on former Sea Dogs goaltender Thomas Couture. 
• The QMJHL website has a feature on former Sea Dogs goaltender Jonathan Lemieux, who is in his first season with the Concordia Stingers men's hockey team. Another former Sea Dogs goaltender, Nikolas Hurtubise, will join Concordia next season.
• Speaking of university hockey, the University of Ottawa will host the 2025 University Cup at TD Place, home of the OHL's 67's. This year's tournament will be hosted by the University of Prince Edward Island (held at the Eastlink Centre) while next year's will be hosted by the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson).
• In the Cape Breton Post, Patrick McNeil wonders if the QMJHL should look at ways to increase parity in the league.
• The Halifax Mooseheads have now earned at least a point in 23 straight games (20-0-2-1). The Moose host the Rimouski Oceanic on Sunday.
• The Quebec Remparts blew a 3-0 lead but still managed to beat the Sherbrooke Phoenix 5-4 in overtime on Thursday. The two powerhouses meet again on March 4 in Sherbrooke.