Monday, December 9, 2024

Notebook: Trade period nearing

Eriks Mateiko/Saint John Sea Dogs
It's that time of year.

The QMJHL's holiday trading period begins on Monday and stretches until Jan. 6, the day after the gold medal game of the IIHF World Junior Championship.
It's an intriguing year for a few reasons. The Memorial Cup is being hosted within the league which always adds some drama (and some higher prices). Then you have the new NCAA rules which creates some roster possibilities and question marks across the league. Lastly, there simply aren't a lot of star players on rebuilding teams that are obvious trade candidates, so that adds some mystery to the intrigue.

FACTS AND STATS
A few random stats as the first half of the QMJHL season comes to a close this weekend for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

  • The Sea Dogs find themselves two games below .500 after back-to-back losses. They've lost three straight games on two separate occasions this season.
  • Saint John is 8-7-0-0 at TD Station but have been outscored 44-39.
  • Saint John and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan are the only teams that haven't lost in extra time.
  • The Sea Dogs are tied for the fewest games in which they've scored first in with 11. They're 8-3-0-0 in those games.
  • Saint John has allowed just one shorthanded goal this season.
  • Saint John has struggled in third periods of late. They've been outscored 34-30 in third periods. 

MURPHY SIGNS
19-year-old forward Patrick Murphy, a first-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2022 QMJHL American Draft, officially signed with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last Thursday.

Murphy had been playing in the BCHL where he posted eight goals and eight assists in 21 games with the Cranbrook Bucks this season.

Murphy made his QMJHL debut over the weekend but was held pointless in both games he appeared in.

LABBE MAKES DEBUT
Kyan Labbé made his QMJHL debut – and earned his first QMJHL win – in surprising fashion on Saturday.

Labbé took over for Jacob Brochu in the Sherbrooke Phoenix net at 12:30 of the second period after Brochu allowed three goals on 15 shots. The Phoenix were trailing 3-2 at the time but stormed back to defeat the Victoriaville Tigres 4-3.

Labbé stopped all 13 shots he faced to earn his first win.

A fourth-round pick of Saint John in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft, the Sea Dogs traded Labbé to Sherbrooke on Nov. 22 in exchange for a third-round pick in 2026. Labbé, who had been playing in the BCHL to maintain his NCAA rights, requested a trade so he could get playing time.

TICKET DEAL
The Sea Dogs have announced a ticket deal for this weekend's home games, which will be the club's final games before the Christmas break.
The Saturday, Dec. 14 game will be a 3 p.m. start. Following that match, Saint John won't return to TD Station until Jan. 8 when they host the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

ST. JOHN'S TALK
Ticket prices to watch the QMJHL in St. John's are expected to be on the higher end – and understandably so.
OTHER THINGS
  • In le Soleil, Mikael Lalancette reports that the QMJHL is looking into holding its own top prospects game next season, which would feature the league's top draft eligible players. The OHL is holding its own event in January.
  • The Cape Breton Post caught up with Sea Dogs forward Darien Reynolds.
  • Inside the Rink included Sea Dogs forward Zachary Morin on their list of underrated NHL Draft prospects from the QMJHL.
  • Former Sea Dogs defenseman Eric Gelinas has signed with Lukko Rauma, the Finnish Liiga club announced last week. The 33-year-old hasn't played anywhere this season according to Elite Prospects.
  • Grand Bay-Westfield's Lynden Breen of the Maine Black Bears will miss an undetermined amount of time with a lower body injury. Breen, one of Maine's captains, was scheduled to have surgery on Friday. Despite getting injured, Breen was named Hockey East's co-player of the week last week.
  • Speaking of players of the week, former Sea Dogs forward Noah Reinhart has been named the QMJHL's player of the week. The overage forward recorded five goals and an assist during the Val-d'Or Foreurs' three-game road trip through the Maritimes.
  • The Halifax Thunderbirds kicked off the 2024-25 National Lacrosse League season with a tough 18-17 loss to the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday at Scotiabank Centre. Former Sea Dogs forward Dawson Theede registered four goals and two assists in the loss.
  • Former Sea Dogs goaltender Zachary Emond has been named the ECHL goaltender of the week. Emond went 2-0-0 with one shutout, a 1.00 goals against average and a save percentage of .969 in two appearances last week with the Trois-Rivieres Lions.
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