Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Notebook: David Stich retires

Saint John Sea Dogs
A former Saint John Sea Dogs captain has hung up his skates for the last time.

Defenseman David Stich has decided to retire from professional hockey at the age of 36, according to a Czech news report

Stich was selected fourth overall by the Sea Dogs in the 2006 CHL Import Draft and spent parts of three seasons with the club. A tough and rugged d-man who recorded over 100 penalty minutes twice in his QMJHL career, Stich captained the Sea Dogs in the second half of the 2008-09 season following the Alex Grant trade.

Stich spent his final season of junior hockey with the Montreal Junior in 2009-10.

Besides a few AHL games, Stich has spent his entire professional career back home in the Czech Republic. This past season saw him appear in 30 regular season games and another 15 playoff contests with HC Tabor in the Czech third division.

The report indicated that Stich hopes to remain in hockey in some capacity.

WOODSTOCK BOUND
The QMJHL website now shows the Saint John's "home" pre-season game on Sept. 5 will be played at Woodstock's AYR Motor Centre.

The Sea Dogs are scheduled to face the Moncton Wildcats in what will be their pre-season finale. It will be Saint John's first exhibition appearance in Woodstock.

The AYR Centre was, of course, home to the Maritime Hockey League's Woodstock Slammers from 2003 to 2018. The Slammers are expected to return this fall, this time as members of the NCDC.

Saint John's five-game pre-season schedule can be viewed here.

US EXPANSION NEARING?
It sounds like the QMJHL's expansion into the United States may become reality sooner rather than later.

Le Journal de Quebec reports that the QMJHL could add two American franchises in time for the 2026-27 season. This would mean we're likely less than a year away from an official announcement. We'll see where this goes.

The league has confirmed that this will be expansion. No current teams will be moving.

The most speculated landing spots continue to be Manchester, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine. Those cities make the most sense given their market size, arenas and location to each other and the Canadian border. The obvious obstacle here is what happens with the ECHL's Maine Mariners, who currently play in Portland.

MACDONALD TO NCAA?
There's speculation that former Sea Dogs forward Cam MacDonald could be heading to the University of New Hampshire next season.
MacDonald spent last season with the Acadia University Axemen, recording 13 goals and 14 assists in 29 regular season games. He added two goals and two assists in four playoff games.

The 22-year-old spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the club win the Memorial Cup in 2022.

MacDonald would join an impressive recruiting class of QMJHL players heading to UNH. The Wildcats currently have commitments from Jacob Newcombe, Alex Carr and Sam Oliver.

CLARK CUP FINAL
Fredericton's Tynan Lawrence and the Muskegon Lumberjacks are USHL Clark Cup champions.

Lawrence opened the scoring in Tuesday's winner-take-all Game 5, which ended in a 4-3 overtime win over the Waterloo Black Hawks.
Lawrence, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, posted eight goals and 10 assists in 14 playoff games. The Boston University commit (and Chicoutimi Sagueneens draft pick) was named the USHL's playoff MVP.


Waterloo's Brady Peddle, the younger brother of Sea Dogs forward Tyler Peddle, registered three assists in Tuesday's loss. He finished the post-season with an impressive nine assists and 10 points – which comes after recording 10 points during the entire regular season. Peddle is committed to Michigan State for 2026-27.

OTHER THINGS
  • Former Sea Dogs goaltender Zachary Bouthillier has joined Zero Chill Academy as a high performance goalie coach. Bouthillier, who spent parts of two seasons with the Sea Dogs, spent last season in the LNAH.
  • Bay Today has a story on the Nipissing Lakers' recruiting class, which includes former Sea Dogs Nico LaForge and Danny Akkouche.
  • The Newfoundland Regiment will split their training between their home island and another island. The Regiment will hold part of their camp and all of their "home"pre-season games in Summerside due to the Canada Games taking over St. John's, reports The Telegram. The Sea Dogs will face the Regiment in pre-season play in Summerside on Aug. 28.
  • Caleb Desnoyers joins an elite group of players who were named QMJHL playoff MVP at the age of 16 or 17. Desnoyers will likely be a fairly early first-round pick in this year's NHL Draft.
  • Nice to see the Memorial Cup logo fitted into the full circle rather than small logos on each side of the red line. Also notable: no title sponsor for this year's tournament.
  • The CHL Awards won't take place at the Memorial Cup this year. The ceremony will take place June 13 in Toronto.
  • Rimouski's Jacob Mathieu was the QMJHL's leading scorer this post-season, recording 31 points in 23 games. He also led the league in goals with 17. Desnoyers had a league high 21 assists.
  • The Charlottetown Islanders have signed general manager and head coach Jim Hulton to "a multi-year contract extension."

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