Sea Dogs poised to hit first round stage

MONCTON – The Saint John Sea Dogs are poised to do something on Friday they haven't done since 2021 – make a pick in the first round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Entry Draft.

The Sea Dogs haven't selected in the opening round in the past two drafts. They did, however, pick three times in the second round last year (Egan Beveridge, Olivier Duhamel and Benjamin Amyot) but had to wait until the third round (Jeremie Richard) in 2022.

Saint John is currently scheduled to select fifth and eighth overall, respectively, in Friday night's first round, which begins at 8 p.m. Atlantic at Moncton's Avenir Centre.

Saint John's last first round pick came in 2021 when they chose defenseman Natan Grenier 19th overall. Grenier never played a game for Saint John, getting dealt to the Moncton Wildcats in the Philippe Daoust blockbuster.

It hasn't been the greatest run of success/luck for the Sea Dogs in first rounds of late. In 2020 the team picked Leighton Carruthers and Nathan Drapeau and in 2019 the team selected Joshua Roy first overall. All were traded – some for very good returns – before they got too far into their careers in Saint John.

The Sea Dogs, like every team, have had some great drafts and some bad ones. Even though they've had some misses in first rounds, they've often made up for it with strong selections in the second, third or even fourth rounds.

Here's a look at Saint John's first round picks over the years.

2023: None

2022: None

2021: D Natan Grenier (19)

2020: F Leighton Carruthers (3) and D Nathan Drapeau (15)

2019: F Joshua Roy (1)

2018: D William Villeneuve (2), D Jeremie Poirier (8) and F Josh Lawrence (15)

2017: None

2016: F Olivier Mathieu (11)

2015: F Joe Veleno (1), G Alex D'Orio (9) and F Cedric Pare (10)

2014: D Luke Green (1) and F Julien Tessier (15)

2013: F Nathan Noel (3) and D Will Thompson (17)
2012: F Matthew Highmore (8) and D Olivier Leblanc (11)

2011: None

2010: F Ryan Tesink (18)

2009: D Pierre Durepos (10) and F Jonathan Huberdeau (18)

2008: None

2007: D Simon Despres (1) and F Steven Anthony (10)

2006: D Yann Sauve (1)

2005: D Alex Grant (1)

If the Sea Dogs don't move up or down on Friday, it'll be the first time they've picked fifth overall. Saint John has selected eighth overall twice previously and those picks ended up being pretty decent: Memorial Cup champion Jeremie Poirier and President Cup champion Matthew Highmore.

As of now, the Sea Dogs will also pick in the second and third rounds. They aren't scheduled to pick again until the sixth round. Saint John's full list of picks can be found on the QMJHL website.