Alumdate: Former Sea Dogs playing in AHL, ECHL playoffs

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The American Hockey League's Calder Cup Playoffs kicked off with a triple overtime game on Wednesday night.

The Coachella Valley Firebirds scored at 2:00 of the third overtime period to defeat the Calgary Wranglers 4-3 in Game 1 of their first round series. Former Saint John Sea Dogs defensemen Jeremie Poirier and Yan Kuznetsov were both in the Calgary lineup.

Poirier and Kuznetsov are two of a few former Sea Dogs who's teams have qualified for the AHL playoffs. Other ex-Dogs who could see playoff action are William Dufour (Colorado Eagles), Riley Bezeau (Charlotte Checkers), Spencer Smallman (Hershey Bears), Cedric Pare (Toronto Marlies), William Villeneuve (Toronto Marlies), Joshua Roy (Laval Rocket) and Raivis Ansons (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins).

Based on the regular season standings, there's a strong chance of a former Sea Dog lifting the Calder Cup this year. Roy's Rocket finished first overall followed by Smallman's Bears, Dufour's Eagles and Bezeau's Checkers. 

Smallman recently signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals organization. According to a Capitals news release, "Smallman’s contract will carry an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level and $380,000 in AHL."

Dufour, meanwhile, has appeared in 12 games with Colorado since being traded to the Avalanche organization, posting a goal and two assists.

Bezeau is more of a role player/fighter with the Checkers, appearing in just 24 games. It's hard to say how much playoff action he'll see. The same goes for Ansons, who is listed on Wilkes-Barre's playoff roster but hasn't played since December.

Here's what the AHL's extremely chaotic playoff bracket looks like.

brb, framing this #CalderCup Playoffs picture.

🖼️: https://t.co/OH5Bp0wpDB… pic.twitter.com/gP5g94l7re

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 20, 2025

Here's a full breakdown of how former Sea Dogs performed in the AHL this season.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Jeremie Poirier	CGY	71	5	37	42
William Villeneuve	TOR	55	4	36	40
Joshua Roy	LAV	47	20	15	35
Spencer Smallman	HER	62	10	24	34
Cedric Pare	TOR	59	12	14	26
William Dufour	BRI COL	57	9	13	22
Philippe Daoust	BEL	52	6	16	22
Yan Kuznetsov	CGY	72	6	15	21
Matthew Highmore	BEL	23	2	8	10
Julien Gauthier	BRI	9	3	5	8
Boko Imama	WBS	24	3	2	5
Riley Bezeau	CHA	24	2	3	5
Raivis Ansons	WBS	9	1	0	1
Drew Elliott	SD	1	0	0	0
Nico Blachman	IA	3	0	0	0
Vincent Sevigny	LAV	5	0	0	0

It was great to see Philippe Daoust have a healthy and productive season with the Belleville Senators.

Jeremie Poirier finished 11th in AHL defensemen scoring while William Villeneuve was 14th.

Matthew Highmore, who appeared in 23 games with the B-Sens, spent much of the year in the NHL. The same goes for Boko Imama, who was sticking with the Pittsburgh Penguins before an injury ended his season early.

Nico Blachman and Vincent Sevigny spent most of their seasons in the ECHL.

Here's a quick look at how former Sea Dogs performed in the ECHL this season.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Nicolas Guay	TR	59	13	24	37
Matt Murphy	CIN TAH FW	67	3	22	25
Nick Deakin-Poot	FW	64	5	16	21
Ryan Francis	ADK ATL	36	13	6	19
Vincent Sevigny	TR	49	4	15	19
Nico Blachman	IA	45	5	5	10
Kelly Bent	ORL	66	3	7	10
Nathan Noel	IND IA	32	2	6	8
Riley Bezeau	SAV	5	3	2	5
Drew Elliott	TUL	3	0	3	3
James White	WHL	5	0	2	2

Only two former Sea Dogs goaltenders appeared in ECHL games this year: Zachary Emond with the Trois-Rivieres Lions (10-3-0, 2.21 GAA and a .927 SV%) and Jonathan Lemieux with the Kalamazoo Wings (14-19-4, 3.08 GAA and a .905 SV%). Emond signed with a team Slovakia earlier this season.

Nicolas Guay (Trois-Rivieres Lions), Matt Murphy (Fort Wayne Komets), Vincent Sevigny (Trois-Rivieres Lions), Kelly Bent (Orlando Solar Bears) and Drew Elliott (Tulsa Oilers) are all on playoff rosters. Nick Deakin-Poot is believed to be out injured while Nathan Noel is on Iowa's reserve list.

Blachman led all ECHL players in penalty minutes (221 in 45 games) while Bent finished second (217 in 66 games).