Thursday, July 3, 2025

Notebook: It's development camp weekend

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL
It's development camp weekend for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The camp kicks off this Friday at the qplex in Quispamsis and will conclude Sunday morning. According to the team, "on-ice activities get underway at 6:30 p.m. on July 4, followed by more on-ice sessions throughout the rest of the weekend. Players will also undergo fitness testing and take part in various off-ice sessions focused on nutrition and sports psychology."
33 players were invited to the camp, including Alexis Joseph, who was drafted by the Sea Dogs with the first overall pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft. Joseph recently said in an interview this will be his first time visiting Saint John.

A breakdown of the roster can be found here.

Development camp is open to the public.

IMPORT DRAFT AFTERMATH
A bit more on Olivers Murnieks, the Latvian forward who the Sea Dogs selected with the sixth overall pick in Wednesday's CHL Import Draft.

He's very much a legit prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft.
Murnieks was ranked 26th for next year's draft by Daily Faceoff.

Here's some more video.


Murnieks was named to the all-USHL rookie second team this past season. From the USHL:

Finishing sixth in rookie scoring, the Riga, Latvia native had 15 goals and 20 assists in 52 games for the Musketeers. Murnieks had five multi-point games and scored a pair of shorthanded goals, tied for first among league rookies. He totaled only eight penalty minutes with a +2 rating. Internationally, Murnieks represented his home country at the World Junior Championship.

Murnieks was one of seven Latvians picked in this year's import draft, a record number (most countries saw record numbers due to the draft being expanded to three rounds).

BALDWIN SIGNING SOON?
Things are seemingly continuing to point in the direction of Everett Baldwin signing with the Sea Dogs.

The latest tidbit came from the Tampa Bay Lightning, who posted this on their website Thursday:

Baldwin will play for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) this winter, where he hopes to improve as a skater after working with the Lightning staff this week. He is committed to play NCAA hockey at Providence College.

Baldwin was a fifth-round pick of the Lightning in this year's NHL Draft. He's currently taking part in the team's development camp.

The 18-year-old defenseman was a second-round pick of Saint John in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

SCHENK UPDATE
One name that no longer appears on Saint John's online pre-season roster is import forward Florian Schenk.

The Sea Dogs drafted the Swiss forward with the seventh overall pick in last year's CHL Import Draft. He posted two goals and two assists in 24 QMJHL games in the first half of last season before being reassigned back to SC Bern Future U20.

Schenk, who turned 18 in April, posted six goals and 12 assists 15 games with the SC Bern under-20 squad. He also had four goals and an assist in five games with Switzerland at the IIHF U18 World Championship.

HIGHMORE TO LONG ISLAND
Former Sea Dogs forward Matthew Highmore is off to Long Island.

The New York Islanders announced Tuesday they signed Highmore to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2025-26 season.


Highmore, 29, has 35 points (14 goals and 21 assists) in 187 NHL games with the Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Chicago Blackhawks. He recorded six points (two goals and four assists) in 41 games with the Senators last season and added 10 points (two goals and eight assists) in 23 games with Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Belleville Senators, where he served as an alternate captain.

The Halifax native spent five seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the team win a QMJHL championship in 2017.

BEZEAU TO CLEVELAND
The Cleveland Monsters announced Thursday that they've signed former Sea Dogs forward Riley Bezeau to a one-year AHL contract. The Monsters are the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.


In 24 appearances for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers last season, Bezeau posted 2-3-5 with 32 penalty minutes and a +3 rating and added 3-0-3 with 39 penalty minutes and a +2 rating in five postseason appearances, helping Charlotte reach the 2025 Calder Cup Finals. Bezeau additionally supplied 3-2-5 with a +3 rating in five ECHL appearances for the Savannah Ghost Pirates in 2024-25.

The 23-year-old spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the club capture the Memorial Cup in 2022.

NHL PICKS INCOMING
Thanks to the CHL website, here's a look at the NHL drafted players who were picked by QMJHL teams in this year's CHL Import Draft.

2024 NHL Draft
1/54 Eerik Wallenius (Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL) drafted by the Ottawa Senators (5/136)

2025 NHL Draft
1/18 Maxim Schäfer (Chicoutimi Saguenéens / QMJHL) drafted by the Washington Capitals (3/96)

1/21 Ivan Ryabkin (Charlottetown Islanders / QMJHL) drafted by Carolina Hurricanes (2/62)

1/33 Arseni Radkov (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL) drafted by the Montréal Canadiens (3/82)

OTHER STUFF
  • Got a question on why Peter Reynolds' photo is no longer up amongst the other team captains on The Blue Mile. The answer: it fell down. The team is working on some upgrades to that section of the pedway.
  • The Edmonton Oil Kings were the lone team to not make any selections in Wednesday's CHL Import Draft.
  • The Brantford Bulldogs went big in the CHL Import Draft. He's committed to Penn State for 2027-28.
  • Here's the posting for the head coach and general manager position of the St. Croix Seawolves, the new NCDC team coming to St. Stephen.
  • The off-season really begins to set in now. Saint John's first pre-season game is roughly six weeks away, taking place Aug. 19 in Dieppe.
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