Alumdate: Stanley Cup Playoffs underway for ex-Sea Dogs

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway and a few former Saint John Sea Dogs are in contention this year.

Mathieu Joseph (St. Louis Blues), Charlie Coyle (Colorado Avalanche), Matthew Highmore (Ottawa Senators) and Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators) have all qualified for this year's post-season. Coyle and Joseph were both in action on Saturday while the Senators will play Sunday.

Joseph will be looking to win his third Stanley Cup – but the Blues will be in tough against the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets. Coyle, meanwhile, played in his 120th NHL playoff game on Saturday. He has made the playoffs every season of his NHL career.

There will be plenty of eyes on Chabot, Highmore and the Senators as this group has finally made the post-season after some trying years. They'll face the Toronto Maple Leafs in what should be a fun series on and off the ice.

These four are just a few of the former Sea Dogs who appeared in NHL games this season.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Jonathan Huberdeau	CGY	81	28	34	62
Thomas Chabot	OTT	80	9	36	45
Charlie Coyle	BOS COL	83	17	18	35
Joe Veleno	DET CHI	74	8	9	17
Mathieu Joseph	STL	60	4	10	14
Matthew Highmore	OTT	41	2	4	6
Joshua Roy	MTL	12	2	0	2
Boko Imama	PIT	16	1	0	1
Julien Gauthier	NYI	1	0	0	0

Likely the biggest story for Sea Dogs alumni in the NHL this season was "the return" of Jonathan Huberdeau. It's no secret that Huberdeau has struggled to find his offensive form since being traded to Calgary, but he was able to find his groove this season. His 62 points were the most he's recorded since his 115-point campaign with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22.

Huberdeau was one of the nominees for this year's King Clancy Memorial Trophy, an "annual award given to NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice."

Boko Imama spent most of the first half in the AHL before securing a roster spot in Pittsburgh for the second half. Imama's season ended early after he had surgery to repair a bicep injury on March 29.

Despite appearing in just 16 NHL games this year, Imama was Pittsburgh's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, "awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey."

Joshua Roy (Montreal) and Julien Gauthier (New York Islanders) spent most of their seasons in the AHL. A few notable ex-Dogs never got called up this year, like Jeremie Poirier (Calgary), Yan Kuznetsov (Calgary) and William Dufour (New York Islanders/Colorado).