Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Notebook: ECHL happenings

There's a lot going on in the ECHL right now.

It's probably fair to say that the league is as stable as it's ever been but a player strike – which could begin on Boxing Day – could certainly put a halt to that.

We'll see how this all plays out over the next few days, but it's sounding like the two sides are quite far apart. Cancelling games would be devastating for many of the league's teams.

While we wait to see what happens off the ice, here are a few notes from on the ice:
  • Former Sea Dogs forward Nathan Noel was recently claimed by the Norfolk Admirals. The 28-year-old has a goal and two assists in four games with the Admirals. Noel had been playing with the Iowa Heartlanders. The St. John's native has appeared in 194 career ECHL games over seven seasons.
  • Former Sea Dogs forward Nico Blachman was suspended five games and fined an undisclosed amount on Dec. 20 for some warmup shenanigans in a game against the Indy Fuel. Blachman has appeared in just three games with the Fort Wayne Komets this season but has 23 penalty minutes.
  • Drew Elliott has an impressive eight goals and six assists in 17 games with the Tulsa Oilers this season. In the regular season and playoffs combined, Elliott now has 23 points in 26 career ECHL games.

FIRST GOAL STRUGGLES
The Sea Dogs scored first in just 11 of their 32 games in the first half of the QMJHL season. The Charlottetown Islanders and Rimouski Oceanic have also only scored first in 11 games while the Victoriaville Tigres have done so a league low nine times.

The Dogs are also one of two teams – the last-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar being the other – with a below .500 record when scoring the game's first goal. Saint John 4-6-1-0 in those contests.

Here's a look at the entire league (click the enlarge):
WJC SOON
Sea Dogs forward Olivers Murnieks and Team Latvia open the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship on Saturday against Team Canada.

As Steven Ellis wrote in his Team Latvia preview at Daily Faceoff, this tournament will offer Murnieks a chance to get a challenging season back on track.

Perhaps the more interesting prospect is Olivers Mūrnieks, who is coming off a concussion. Projected to go in the first round early on, Mūrnieks has had a difficult season with the Saint John Sea Dogs, with just 13 points in 22 games. He was one of Latvia’s best forwards at last year’s tournament and is easily one of the most skilled centers in the nation’s history. Can he use this event to help get his game back on the right track?

Murnieks has appeared in just one QMJHL game since Nov. 30. His last game action came on Dec. 4.

The IIHF website also has a world juniors preview that includes a mention of Murnieks.

WAGNER COMMITS
Former Sea Dogs forward Mitchell Wagner has committed to play at McGill University next season, the Maritime Junior Hockey League announced Monday.

The 20-year-old appeared in 21 games with the Sea Dogs last season, recording one goal and three assists. He spent most of the first half of last season with the MHL's Miramichi Timberwolves, posting 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games.

Wagner attended Sea Dogs training camp but could not participate after having off-season surgery. He has yet to play a game with the Timberwolves this season.

McGill's roster currently includes former Sea Dogs defenseman Mathis Gauthier.

MOOSE ROOM
Check out the Halifax Mooseheads' extremely impressive new dressing room inside Scotiabank Centre.


OTHER THINGS
  • QMJHL Central Scouting has unveiled its initial prospects list for the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft. According to a press release, the "list features 36 prospects who received an 'A' rating so far this season, indicating their potential as first round selections."
  • FloHockey takes a look at the first half of the QMJHL season, which includes a couple paragraphs on Alexis Joseph's play. "If his trajectory continues, conversations about his potential inclusion on Team Canada’s roster for next year’s world juniors in Alberta will only grow louder," writes Adrien Wilmot.
  • Looks like former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence is looking for a new home.
  • Last week's PWHL game between the Toronto Sceptres and Montreal Victoire was a return behind the Scotiabank Centre bench for Jim Midgley. Midgley, who was a Sea Dogs assistant coach for a couple years under Jacques Beaulieu, was last behind the Mooseheads bench as head coach in 2023-24. Midgley is in his second season as an assistant with the Sceptres. 
  • Interesting story on The National recently about the Italian women's hockey team training in Montreal ahead of the Winter Olympic Games. The team's head coach is Shawinigan Cataractes assistant Eric Bouchard. Former Sea Dogs goaltender Karel St. Laurent is also part of the team's staff, presumably as a goaltending coach.
  • Gerard Gallant is heading to the KHL All-Star Game.
  • Thought Alex Grant, the original Sea Dog, might have retired. But he has joined Denmark's Odense Bulldogs where he has an assist in two games. Grant, now 36, spent the past seven seasons in the KHL.
  • At the Christmas break, Ryan Tesink leads the Beausejour Senior Hockey League in scoring with 37 points in 15 games with the Fredericton Express.
  • Cole Reginato leads the Southern Professional Hockey League in penalty minutes with 95 in just 23 games with the Huntsville Havoc. He's also seventh in the league in scoring with 19 points in 23 games.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 24, 2025 at 10:49 AM

    Keep up the good work !!!!! Great reading !!! Won't find interesting stories in the local TJ that's for sure

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 24, 2025 at 1:51 PM

    Does the Telegraph Urinal still exist ?

    ReplyDelete

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