Saturday, January 10, 2026

Notebook: New Dogs, new numbers

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
Five players made their Saint John Sea Dogs debuts this week. Here's a quick look at the numbers they're wearing.

23 - Jabez Seymour: was worn by Max Vilen this season. The number was worn most by Pierre Durepos, who sported it for 303 games.

26 - Bo Damphousse: was worn by Patryk Zubek this season. Noah Zilbert wore the number for 136 games whole Nico Laforge wore it for 133 games.

31 - Arseni Radkov: the number has been used a couple times in recent years by emergency backups. Alex Bishop is the only player to wear it for an extended period, having it for 165 games.

44 - Carl-Otto Magnusson: was worn by Elliot Dubé this season – but it hasn't been worn a lot. Only five players have ever used it, led by Brett Gallant's 142 games.

91 - Maxime Côté: Justin Gendron wore the number 11 times this season. Only six players have ever worn it with Tomas Jurco being the most well-known.

It's worth mentioning as well that Nolann Héroux, who joined the team full-time for the second half, is just the third player to wear No. 54. Jeremie Poirier was the first, wearing it for 175 games.

LEADERS
Olivier Groulx continues to lead Saint John in points this season.

With a couple goals in Friday night's game, Groulx now has a team high 38 points. He also continues to lead the team in assists with 25.

Alexis Joseph leads the team in goals with 18 while Alexander Donovan is second with 15. Entering play on Saturday, Joseph was tied for fifth in QMJHL rookie goal scoring.

Groulx and Donovan each have a team high five power play goals on the year.

DEFENSE LEADERS
Everett Baldwin's strong offensive play of late has moved him up the defensemen goal scoring leader board.
Entering play on Saturday, Baldwin sat fifth in goal scoring amongst defensemen with eight on the year. Four of those goals have come since the Christmas break ended.

With four goals and four assists in his past six games, the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect has eight goals and 12 assists in 36 games this season.

DOG BOWL BEGINS
The second edition of the Dog Bowl, a high school hockey tournament hosted by the Sea Dogs at TD Station, gets underway on Saturday.
The MVP of the event will earn an invite to Sea Dogs training camp in August.

ODD TRIPS
As the Sea Dogs prepare to head out on their northern Quebec road trip next week, there are a couple teams currently on interesting treks.

The Gatineau Olympiques, who played the Sea Dogs in Fredericton on Thursday, are currently on a six-game road trip through Atlantic Canada, a trip that began last weekend in St. John's.

Jan. 3 at Newfoundland
Jan. 4 at Newfoundland
Jan. 7 at Moncton
Jan. 8 at Saint John (in Fredericton)
Jan. 10 at Halifax
Jan. 11 at Charlottetown

The Olympiques are 0-3-1-0 so far.

The Newfoundland Regiment, meanwhile, are bouncing around New Brunswick. They played in Saint John on Friday, will visit the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday at 4 p.m. and then return to Saint John on Sunday for a 3 p.m. contest.

EXPANSION TALK
Le Journal de Quebec provided an update on the USHL and CHL expansion this week.

It seems the chances of the USHL joining the CHL anytime soon are slim. However, the CHL continues to work with USA Hockey on potentially adding more US-based teams. It's hard to imagine this all getting resolved quickly, but we'll see what happens.
BRANCH PASSES
Long-time CHL president and OHL commissioner David Branch has died at the age of 77. 

A Bathurst native, Branch was OHL commissioner for 45 years and president of the CHL from 1996 to 2019. He handed the Memorial Cup to Sea Dogs captain Mike Thomas in 2011.

“Although I did not have the opportunity to work closely with David Branch for an extended period of time, his influence and legacy within Canadian junior hockey are undeniable,” said QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini in a news release. “My predecessor, Gilles Courteau, worked alongside him for more than 30 years. Their professional relationship helped shape junior hockey as we know it today and strengthened the bonds between our leagues.”

LAWRENCE TO BU
Fredericton native Tynan Lawrence, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, has left the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks for Boston University.
Lawrence made his NCAA debut on Friday, playing on BU's second line between Cole Eiserman and Ryder Ritchie.

Lawrence is a top prospect for this year's NHL Draft, so this is significant news. His QMJHL rights are owned by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, who weren't able to get the talented forward to report despite a loaded roster.

Lawrence helped the Lumberjacks win the USHL's Clark Cup last season where he was named playoff MVP. In 13 USHL games this season, the 17-year-old had 10 goals and seven assists.

The Lumberjacks recently announced that Zaac Charbonneau, a top prospect for this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, has signed a tender with the club for next season.

OTHER THINGS
  • The Athletic's Scott Wheeler on Olivers Murnieks' performance with Team Latvia at this year's IIHF World Junior Championship: "Fine tournament, but not as impactful/impressive as last year’s. Relied upon. Played a lot. Good in bumper on PP. But an OK draft year kind of continued. Has gone from a second-round candidate to more of a mid-to-late round guy for me this year."
  • Speaking of Murnieks, here's some confirmation that his Boston College commitment is set to begin in 2027-28.
  • The Telegram has a story on the Regiment giving Newfoundlanders in the QMJHL a chance to play at home.
  • Could we see Alexis Joseph on Team Canada next year?
  • Former Sea Dogs goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel made 44 saves in the Mercyhurst Lakers' 2-0 loss in North Dakota last weekend. Shots were 46-8 in the game. He followed that up with a shutout on Friday, giving the Lakers their first win of the season (they're 1-17-1).
  • Former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy will be out four-to-six weeks with an upper body injury, the AHL's Laval Rocket announced this week. Roy has eight goals and 10 assists in 22 AHL games this season.
  • The Chicoutimi Sagueneens were ranked No. 1 in the CHL this week. The Moncton Wildcats were seventh.
  • Some tough times for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, who are one of the favourites to win the QMJHL this season. They've dropped four straight games and have fallen to fourth in the Western Conference.
  • A big signing by the Charlottetown Islanders this week, inking Carolina Hurricanes prospect Ivan Ryabkin. The 18-year-old Russian had been playing with the AHL's Chicago Wolves. Ryabkin did not make his QMJHL debut on Friday as they had not received IIHF approval.
  • Fire at Scotiabank Centre this week. Games will be played as planned this weekend.
  • Attended the 2026 Winter Classic in Miami last Friday. Still plenty of Jonathan Huberdeau jerseys being worn by Florida Panthers fans.
  • Also attended the final couple days of the IIHF World Junior Championship in St. Paul. It just wasn't the same with such small crowds – but people really shouldn't be shocked. The ticket prices were way too high (they plummeted on the resale market after the United States was eliminated) for an American market. On that note, this tournament is never going to get big in the US without better TV coverage. It's simply too hard to watch down there.
  • The US is expected to host the 2031 world juniors. My guess for the host city? Detroit.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2026 at 12:58 PM

    Continue the good work !!!! Your excellent coverage and info are next to none and very informative.

    ReplyDelete

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