Sunday, January 25, 2026

Notebook: Coyle plays 1,000th NHL game

Charlie Coyle became the first former Saint John Sea Dog to play in 1,000 NHL games this week.

Coyle played his 1,000 game on Thursday when the Columbus Blue Jackets took on the Dallas Stars.
FanDuel Sports Network had a feature on Coyle's milestone this week.


The 33-year-old has split his NHL career between the Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and now the Blue Jackets. Coyle has 11 goals and 22 assists in 51 games with Columbus this season, his first year with the club.

Coyle left Boston University and joined the Sea Dogs for the second half of the 2011-12 season, helping the club win the President Cup. He posted 15 goals and 23 assists in 23 regular season QMJHL games and added 15 goals and 19 assists in 17 playoff games. He was named QMJHL playoff MVP.

COMING UP
After playing just one game last week, the Sea Dogs have a much busier week coming up.

On Thursday the Sea Dogs will travel to Moncton to face a hot Wildcats team. Moncton will be coming off a three-game road trip in Quebec, one that saw them earn wins in Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi and Quebec City.

After a day off Friday, the Sea Dogs will travel to Charlottetown to take on the Islanders on Saturday night. 

The Sea Dogs will return "home" on Sunday, hosting the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at 3 p.m. in Fredericton. This will be Saint John's third and final game at the Aitken Centre this season.

NEAR RECORD
The Sea Dogs were getting close to a franchise record on Saturday – one that they probably don't want to touch.

Saint John had one of their worst periods of the season in Saturday 6-3 loss to the Sherbrooke Phoenix, allowing five goals in the first period. The team record for goals allowed in a single period is seven, which has happened twice.
The loss increased Saint John's league high goals against per game average to 4.08. No other team in the QMJHL is averaging over four goals against.

NEXT GEN WEEKEND
Next Gen Weekend is returning and the Sea Dogs have released details.

The festivities will take place Feb. 14-16, which includes the Sea Dogs hosting the Shawinigan Cataractes on Feb. 14 and Victoriaville Tigres on Feb. 16.


  • It all begins Saturday, Feb. 14, as the Sea Dogs host the annual Kids Takeover Game at 3 p.m. against the Shawinigan Cataractes. 13 lucky children will be selected by the Sea Dogs to take part in the game-day experience, learning from members of the team’s staff, including the coaching staff, equipment manager, PA announcer, DJ and more.
  • Plus, popular hockey content creator and fan favourite, Coach Chippy, is back in Saint John after making his CHL coaching debut with the Sea Dogs last season. Chippy will be bringing the Style & Flow back to TD Station for the Kids Takeover Game with several surprises and fun activities in the works.
  • A highlight of the weekend, Community Day presented by TD, will take place Sunday, Feb. 15, as selected local Timbits minor hockey teams will be invited to participate in on-ice activities with Sea Dogs players and coaches. The event, hosted by the Sea Dogs, is free to attend and will also include a free public skate, locker-room tours and more.
  • In addition to the on-ice activities, the Sea Dogs will host an NHL® 26 tournament at ice level beginning at 1 p.m. Youth will be paired with Sea Dogs players in a bracket-style competition, with the winner receiving an Xbox® console and a copy of EA SPORTS™ NHL® 26.

More details, including how to register for events, can be found on the Sea Dogs' news release.

2028 MEMORIAL CUP
It looks like the Cape Breton Eagles have pulled out of the running for the 2028 Memorial Cup.
Teams likely to still have interest include the Moncton Wildcats, Quebec Remparts and Gatineau Olympiques. The 2028 host will presumably be announced sometime in late 2026.

The WHL's Kelowna Rockets will host this year's tournament followed by the OHL's Guelph Storm next year.

BSHL STATS
Two former Sea Dogs finished top three in scoring in the Beausejour Senior Hockey League.

Ryan Tesink of the Fredericton Express finished second in scoring with 53 points (22 goals and 31 assists) while Dawson Stairs of the Dalhousie Marauders finished third with 51 (21 goals and 30 assists). Former Acadie-Bathurst Titan forward Eric Faille, also of the Marauders, had a league best 59 points.

Here's how the first-round of the playoffs will look, according to The Unofficial Beausejour Senior Hockey League Podcast Facebook page.
If I'm understanding the format correctly, the fourth team for the semifinals will be determined by a mini tournament featuring the three losing teams.

OTHER THINGS
  • The Sea Dogs/TD Station debuted some upgraded cameras and a new video production system on Saturday. There are certainly some kinks to work out as the FloHockey broadcast was a bit of a mess.
  • The Sea Dogs fell to 8-14-1-0 on home ice on Saturday and have nine home matches remaining. They were 12-20-0-0 at home last season.
  • Inside the Rink looks at the top-10 2026 NHL Draft prospects from the QMJHL, which includes Sea Dogs forward Olivers Murnieks.
  • Egan Beveridge now has seven goals and nine points in 12 games with the Quebec Remparts. He posted two goals and two assists in 26 first half games with Saint John.
  • Justin Gendron now has a goal and two assists in five games since joining the UdeM Aigles Bleus a couple weeks ago. UdeM remains first in the AUS men's hockey standings thanks to a key home win over the Acadia Axemen this past week.
  • Former Sea Dogs goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel now has two shutouts on the season with the NCAA's Mercyhurst Lakers. The freshman recorded his second shutout this month when he stopped all 26 shots in faced in Mercyhurst's 3-0 win over Niagara on Jan. 16. The Lakers remain the worst team in college hockey according to the NPI ratings.
  • Let's talk lacrosse. Former Sea Dogs forward Dawson Theede is no longer a Halifax Thunderbird. The gritty power forward was traded to the Oshawa Firewolves last week.
  • Random, but the Cape Breton Eagles are the only team in the QMJHL without a shorthanded goal this season. The Newfoundland Regiment, meanwhile, have allowed just one.
  • The QMJHL has lost all four intra-league games to the OHL. The Sudbury Wolves completed the sweep on Sunday, defeating the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4-3 in overtime.
  • Fredericton native Tynan Lawrence scored his first NCAA goal with Boston University on Friday.
  • In other NCAA news, Lake Superior State hosted St. Thomas (of Minnesota, not Fredericton) this past Friday at the GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, home of the OHL's Greyhounds. It's the first time since the pandemic that the Lakers crossed the border to play a "home" game.
  • The Port City Power basketball team have released their schedule for the upcoming season, which will run from Feb. 27 to May 18. They'll be playing home games at UNB Saint John and Rothesay Netherwood.
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