If you weren’t at this past Saturday’s Saint John Sea Dogs home game, you would have missed the launch of the team’s new theme song.
The song entitled “The Sea Dogs Are Ready To Play” was written and performed by country music artist and New Brunswick native Kevin Chase.
“Kevin Chase has been commissioned to write a theme song for the QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs hockey team,” states Chase’s official website. “Chase, who is an avid hockey fan, was thrilled to be asked.”
“The song ‘The Sea Dogs Are Ready To Play’ will become a big part of the games at Harbour Station in Saint John, NB. A video for the song was recently shot and it will appear on the arena’s new High Definition Screens as a lead up to each home game.”
The song became available on iTunes earlier this week and can be bought for $099. There is a short free preview available on iTunes as well.
According to Chase’s Facebook page, “a portion of the proceeds will go to the Saint John Sea Dogs Foundation.”
Not your traditional hockey pump-up song, the tune was played as an intro video on Saturday, featuring a split of Sea Dogs highlights and shots of the in-studio recording.
There was next to no fan noise during the video, and it certainly didn’t compare to the “Right Here, Right Now” song played during the President’s Cup Final last season.
Whether or not this video will be played as the one and only intro video all season isn’t really clear.
National Hockey League Rookie Camps are just about all wrapped up. Main training camp for most teams begins on Friday.
MIKE THOMAS, EDMONTON OILERS When Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall are not in the lineup for the Edmonton Oiler rookies, there is only place to turn.
Mike Thomas.
The Saint John Sea Dogs captain recorded his first goal of the Young Stars Tournament in a 5-3 Oilers win over their provincial rival the Calgary Flames.
"Mike Thomas figures to be a 20 year old on a good Saint John Sea Dogs team," commented Flames play-by-play Peter Loubardias.
The goal can be seen at 2:15 of this video. (Ed. Note: Thanks to @JeremyBouche_Eh for the info.)
MIKE HOFFMAN, OTTAWA SENATORS Former Sea Dogs sniper Mike Hoffman recorded a hat trick in the final game of the London, Ontario rookie tournament. The only problem was that only two of the goals were for the Ottawa Senators.
Hoffman scored two goals for the Senators in their 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leaf rookies. The QMJHL Most Valuable Player last season also had a shot deflect off him and into his own goal.
Despite His bad luck, Hoffman still impressed.
“Certainly, that might also apply to Hoffman,” writes Rob Brodie of OttawaSenators.com about Binghamton Senators assistant coach Steve Stirling’s comments, “who had a goal and assist to spark the comeback against the Hawks and found the back of the net twice against the Leafs. It has Hoffman, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's most valuable player last season, in a good frame of mind heading into Senators main camp later this week.”
"Things were clicking (for me) these three games," said Hoffman. "I had good linemates and I was in the right spot at the right times to get some goals, so that worked out.
"Getting a few points in this tournament gives you confidence heading into main camp."
SIMON DESPRES, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Simon Despres and the Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up their part of the London Rookie Tournament yesterday afternoon. “The Big Horse” recorded a pretty shorthanded marker.
Unfortunatly, we couldn’t find any video highlights of the game. If you find some, shoot an email to stationnation@yahoo.ca.
Despres was also featured on the popular website Hockey’s Future yesterday.
“There were a lot of different things,” he said about last year’s Sea Dogs team. “We had a winning team, a great group of guys, and excellent coaches, which helps. It was a good change.”
“I’m not going back to junior yet,” Despres added when asked if he would be disappointed about a return to Saint John. “I’ll answer that if it comes up.”
STANISLAV GALIEV, WASHINGTON CAPITALS Japers’ Rink has all the coverage you need of day three of Washington Capitals rookie camp.
STEPHEN MacAULAY, ST.LOUIS BLUES Sea Dogs forward Stephen MacAulay and the St. Louis Blues wrap up their Traverse City Tournament today against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blues are 1-2 in the mini-tournament.
Here are some late Tuesday evening observations on Saint John Sea Dogs participating in NHL Rookie Camps. A few are playing games tonight so we’ll try and post updates on those happenings tomorrow.
If you spot any Sea Dog Rookie Camp news in the interweb, email us at stationnation@yahoo.ca.
MIKE THOMAS, EDMONTON OILERS
According to the Edmonton Oilers website, Sea Dogs captain Mike Thomas will be in the lineup tonight for Edmonton when they face Calgary Flames at 11:30 pm ADT.
He is listed on a line with Phillipe Cornet and Ryan Martindale.
MIKE HOFFMAN, OTTAWA SENATORS
As we write this, Mike Hoffman is playing for the Ottawa Senators against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It will be the last game of the London, Ontario mini-tournament.
Although Hoffman has impressed, the Senators see places for improvement.
"We have some work to do there," Binghamton Senators Head Coach Kurt Kleinendorst said to the Ottawa Citizen (via the Montreal Gazette). "He's a tremendously skilled hockey player. When he figures out how to compete on a consistent basis, wow, that's the complete package.
"But I would say, right now, that that's the one thing we're going to have to spend some time on. There's no question, though, that he's going to help our power play.
"He has got such a good feel for the game. We're going to get some good minutes out of him on the power play if he ends up down in Binghamton."
"When you see him go into the corner and fight for the puck, you know that he'll do it," Ottawa Assistant General Manager Tim Murray added. "So it's not a case that he won't do it. It's just a matter of doing it all the time. But that's the process with all of them."
CHRIS DIDOMENICO, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
The Chicago Blackhawk rookies finished up the London mini-tournament with a 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins today.
In his game day preview, Eric P. of the Wilkes-Blog pointed out that this was the first time that DiDomenico and American Eric Tangradi have met since the infamous stick incident at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa.
“Chris DiDomenico (Drummondville, QMJHL): DiDomenico (164th, 2007 by Leafs) showed a lot of speed and had good vision out on the ice,” writes Scott Rostsof the Junior Report. “He had a knack for finding the puck and involving himself in the play. Hopefully he will be back on track after sitting out much of last season after breaking his femur. Had an assist.”
SIMON DESPRES, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Simon Despres and the Pens rookies wrapped up their mini-tournament this afternoon with a 9-5 loss to the Blackhawks.
“WOW!!! I don't think my words can accurately describe the shorthanded goal Simon Despres just tallied,” writes Jason Seilding NHL.com. “Despres picked up the puck along the far wall in the neutral zone, dangled around three Blackhawks to gain entry into the zone, gave a pass to Zach Sill and then when Sill gave him a return pass, Depres turned the puck to his backhand and beat Simpson.”
Saint John Sea Dogs winger Tomas Jurco has been awarded for his phenomenal start to the 2010-11 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League campaign.
Today, the QMJHL announced that the flashy forward was named the Telus second star of the week. The first star of the week was awarded to Lewiston MAIMEiac Cameron Critchlow while third star honors went to Quebec Rempart defenseman Alex Wall.
Jurco scored five goals for the Sea Dogs in just two games on the opening weekend of the season. Even more amazing, the Slovakian just arrived back in Saint John a little over a week ago and did not take part in Training Camp due to scholastic commitments.
Averaging 2.5 goals per game, Jurco is on pace to record 170 goals.
Last season, Jurco recorded a Sea Dogs rookie record 26 goals and added 25 assists.
“It’s fair to say Jurco has found his scoring touch early this season,” writes Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey news who placed Jurco on his weekly prospect hot list. “The slick Slovak has five goals in two games on just seven shots for Saint John. A late birthday, Jurco will have a great chance to show off his skills this year on both the high-flying Dogs and Team Slovakia at the world juniors.”
Lewiston MAINEiacs forward Cameron Critchlow was named the first star after recording three goals and three assists in two games. He played his best contest of the week on Friday versus the Océanic, registering four points, including a hat-trick, in an 8-3 victory. Moreover, he posted an excellent +5 rating.
Quebec Remparts defenseman Alex Wall took home the third star after recording two goals and two assists in two games to lead all defensemen in scoring. He enjoyed a great outing on Friday with three points in a 4-0 over the Huskies.
It was a busy weekend for several current and former Saint John Sea Dogs at National Hockey League Rookie Camps. Here is a recap of this past weekend’s events.
MIKE HOFFMAN, OTTAWA SENATORS
The former Saint John Sea Dogs sniper helped the Ottawa Senators come back from a 3-1 third period deficit on Sunday in London, Ontario to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks rookies 7-3.
Hoffman recorded a goal and an assist en route to being named the clubs first star.
The Senators lost their first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins rookies 5-3 on Saturday afternoon.
“Had a solid assist and looked good with (Bobby) Butler,” writes the Senators blog Silver Seven about Hoffman. “If both of them are sent to (AHL Binghamton), they'd make a good two-thirds of a scoring line.”
Hoffman’s junior eligibility ended last year.
Never thought we'd use this sound feature again, but here is a sound-bite if the 2010 QMJHL MVP speaking to the media about his first star performance.
SIMON DESPRES, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Simon Despres played well in Saturday’s tournament opener against Ottawa.
“To me, this is just invaluable to have a guy like Simon Despres, who for my money has been the most impressive Penguin today, picking up major minutes trying to hold onto a lead,” notes NHL.com writer Jason Seidling. “Instances like this are only going to help enhance his development and get him on the fast track to Pittsburgh.”
Despres seemed to take a step back in the Pens’ Saturday win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“The idea that Simon Despres could work his way into the NHL lineup, at least for nine games to start the season, seems pretty ludicrous to me,” writes Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beat reporter Jonathan Bombulie in his Citizen’s Voice blog. “He’s a big, strong kid, but he has to learn how to play the pro game. It looks to me like Brian Strait and Robert Bortuzzo are way, way ahead of him at this point. Those two make a noticeably better first pass than the other four D who played for the Penguins tonight. Despres seems to get a lot of shots blocked at the point too, which can be a killer in pro hockey. Gotta get the puck through.”
Despres was one of the final cuts at Penguins Training Camp last year. The ‘Big Horse’ probably will not be back playing with Saint John for a few more weeks.
Pittsburgh wraps up the tournament on Tuesday against the Blackhawks.
In the photo, Despres is inserting a new video for the prospects to watch on their bus drive from Pittsburgh to London.
ALEX GRANT, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
If you haven’t heard, Grant received whiplash and a broken wrist in the Penguins’ rookie game on Saturday against Ottawa.
Nothing new to report on the former Sea Dogs captain. He will be revaluated when the team returns to Pittsburgh later this week.
NICK PETERSEN, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Former Saint John Sea Dog Nick Petersen has not been too active on the score sheet so far at the NHL Mini-Rookie Tournament in London so far.
“Petersen looked weak too,” added Eric P. of the Wilkes-Blog. “(Petersen and Casey Pierro-Zabotel) should probably carpool (to ECHL Wheeling) with their current salary.”
Here are highlights from yesterday’s Penguins rookie game:
Gillis showed no sympathy for the former/current Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman.
“It might have been a French-English thing, I'm not quite sure,” Gillis said, “but he decided to walk the opposite way of everybody else and got hit by a car.”
Kristin Reid, who covers the Canucks for Canucks TV, sent this Tweet out last night.
Gillis: Yann Sauve has a concussion after being hit by a car last week. He's expected to make full recovery.
Sauve was expected to play for the Canuck rookies this weekend oat the NHL’s Young Stats Tournament in Penticton, BC. But due to his injuries, he has been forced to sit out.
“It was hard not to feel for the 20-year-old Montreal native, who often could be seen wringing his hands, I'm sure out of frustration with his predicament,” writes Ian Walker of the Vancouver Sun.
“Sauve's only noticeable injuries are abrasions to his face and arms, but he otherwise seemed to be moving okay.”
Sauve is currently not listed on the Sea Dogs’ roster and did not attend any part of Training Camp. He does, however, have one year of junior eligibility remaining if he were to not make any professional league. He is expected to play with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose this year.
In four seasons with QMJHL Saint John, Sauve has 20 goals and 82 assists in 251 regular season games.
If you weren’t at this past Saturday’s Saint John Sea Dogs home game, you would have missed the launch of the team’s new theme song.
