Sunday, April 27, 2025

Notebook: CM Punk in a Sea Dogs hat

What was with CM Punk wearing a Saint John Sea Dogs hat at WrestleMania last week?

Jeff Marek provided some answers in a recent blog at Daily Faceoff, explaining that the team sent him a card and a package of Sea Dogs merchandise when he was in the city for some filming recently.

Georgie wrote the note himself and said it was something along the lines of “Welcome to the city of champions. The organization are huge wrestling fans and CM Punk fans. We know that you love the Blackhawks, but hopefully we can be your Canadian Hockey League team. Thank you for visiting our city and please enjoy these as a small gift from the Sea Dogs.”

The wrestler wore the hat in an interview with ESPN as well.


The Sea Dogs organization clearly loves wrestling, hosting an NWO themed game earlier this season.

LONGEST POINT STREAKS
Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers extended his point streak to 51 consecutive games on Saturday night with five assists (!) in a 7-2 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. It was just another normal night for McKenna, who will very likely be the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

What's the longest point streak in Sea Dogs history?

Only four times has a Saint John player had a point streak that reached 20 games or more. Mathieu Joseph leads the way with a 28-game point streak during the 2016-17 season.

28 games: Mathieu Joseph (2016-17)
22 games: Zack Phillips (2011-12)
20 games: Nathan Noel (2015-16)
20 games: William Dufour (2021-22)

The franchise record for most consecutive games with a goal is owned by three players, all of whom scored in seven straight games: Ryan Tesink (2012-13), Sam Povorozniouk (2015-16) and William Dufour (2021-22).

WHO ELSE MISSED THE PLAYOFFS?
Besides the Sea Dogs, who else missed the playoffs in the Canadian Hockey League this season?

Here's a quick look and how they compare record wise. The OHL and WHL both played 68 games this season compared to the QMJHL's 64.

QMJHL
Saint John: 21-43-0-0 (42 points)
Victoriaville: 17-43-1-3 (38 points)

OHL
Ottawa: 24-34-4-6 (58 points)
Sarnia: 22-33-6-7 (57 points)
Guelph: 21-28-5-4 (51 points)
Peterborough: 18-41-4-5 (45 points)

WHL
Red Deer: 26-34-6-2 (60 points)
Wenatchee: 23-36-8-1 (55 points)
Kamloops: 24-39-4-1 (53 points)
Kelowna: 18-44-4-2 (42 points)
Regina: 16-44-5-3 (40 points)
Moose Jaw: 15-45-6-2 (38 points)

Note that one of the WHL teams to miss the playoffs was the Kelowna Rockets, who will host next year's Memorial Cup.

BCHL PLAYOFFS
The conference finals are all set in the BCHL playoffs but two former Sea Dogs were knocked out in the first round.

Goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel, who joined the Prince George Spruce Kings after being released by the Sea Dogs in the second half, fell in seven games to the Chilliwack Chiefs in the first round. Gravel stopped 39 of 42 shots in the Game 7 defeat back on April 15.

Gravel went 10-3 with a 1.98 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in 15 regular season games with the Spruce Kings. He then went 3-4 with a 2.18 GAA and .938 SV% in the playoffs. The overage goaltender is committed to the NCAA's Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA for the 2025-26 season.

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Drapeau, meanwhile, and his West Kelowna Warriors fell in five games to the Brooks Bandits in the opening round. Drapeau had two assists in five playoff games after posting two goals and eight assists in 34 regular season games.

Drapeau, who was part of Saint John's 2022 Memorial Cup team, appeared in 11 games with the Val-d'Or Foreurs this season before joining the Warriors.

SCHENK AT U18 WORLDS
After being reassigned to Switzerland in December, Florian Schenk is back in North America as a top-line forward at the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship in Texas.

Schenk scored twice in Switzerland's tournament opening 10-3 loss to Sweden earlier this week. Here part of Daily Faceoff's report on him from that game, noting his strong shot.

Seriously, where was that all year? He packs a ton of power into his game, and he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to show off as Switzerland’s No. 1 center. Let’s see if he can get some extra help, though.

Schenk, who was selected with the seventh overall pick in last year's CHL Import Draft, posted just two goals and two assists in 24 games with Saint John in the first half. He steadily slid down the team's depth chart before being reassigned to SC Bern Future U20 in December.

According to Elite Prospects, Schenk posted six goals and 12 assists in 15 games with SC Bern.

CLOSER TO THE GAME
This was released late last month, but here's the third episode of Closer to the Game presented by TD.


OTHER THINGS
  • Sea Dogs defenseman Cameron Chartrand played for Team Canada in the U18 World Championship pre-tournament but was not registered on the team's roster for the main tournament.
  • Here's video of Saint John's draft lottery win from earlier this week.
  • Saw a few fans mention their disappointment in not being able to stream the draft lottery. It is odd that the league didn't provide a stream this year, especially with a lot of fans outside Quebec not having RDS. It's also a bit odd the league hasn't made this event more bilingual – especially this year when three of the five teams involved (Saint John, Halifax and St. John's) play in English speaking markets.
  • Jeff Marek reports that this year's CHL Import Draft will take place July 2. It's expected that CHL teams will be allowed to carry three imports next season. The Import Draft will also feature 61 teams for the first time with the Penticton Vees joining the WHL.
  • Sea Dogs assistant coach Mark Lee and former Sea Dogs goaltender Jason Churchill are two of the eight Newfoundlanders who will be inducted into the Hockey NL Hall of Fame this year.
  • Speaking of Newfoundland, ticket sales and corporate support for the Regiment are looking good.
  • Sea Dogs legend Brett Gallant is in his second year of coaching the Tyne Valley, PEI based Western Rebels, an under-16 AAA team, reported Saltwire a few weeks ago. Gallant hasn't played in the AHL since the 2022-23 season. Elite Prospects shows that he appeared in a handful of LNAH games the past couple seasons.
  • Former Sea Dogs forward Leighton Carruthers has finished his junior career, appearing in 18 regular season games and another five post-season matches with the Flin Flon Bombers. Carruthers was selected third overall by the Sea Dogs in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft but played just one season with the club before being dealt to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
  • Former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence will have a new home next season.
  • Speaking of Lawrence, his younger brother, Tynan, and the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks are currently up 2-0 on the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the conference finals. Lawrence has five goals and seven assists in eight playoff games. The Boston University commit's QMJHL rights are still held by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
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