Pre-Season Road Game Cancelled

There has been a change in the Saint John Sea Dogs’ pre-season schedule.

It was announced yesterday that the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles will represent the Canadian Hockey League at the Junior Club World Cup in Ufa, Russia. The tournament takes place from August 22 to 30.

The Sea Dogs and Screaming Eagles were originally scheduled to play a pre-season game on August 24 in North Sydney. That game has been cancelled.

Saint John will now play five exhibition games beginning on August 15 at Harbour Station against none other than the Screaming Eagles. Cape Breton will also play the Halifax Mooseheads on August 17 before heading across the ocean.

The Sea Dogs’ other pre-season games are on August 16 in Halifax, August 22 vs Halifax, September 5 vs Charlottetown, and September 6 at Charlottetown.

Saint John’s regular season begins on September 12 at Charlottetown.

VIDEO: Darrell Young Speaks

The Saint John Sea Dogs have at least one more free agent signing announcement to make in the coming weeks.

In an interview with Mooseheads play-by-play man John Moore (see above video), Sea Dogs general manager Darrell Young said the player is from Ontario and that the announcement can’t be made until August 1.

Young also told Moore that there will be several players from the United States taking part in training camp next month.

Saint John has already made two big Ontario free agent announcements, signing Boston Bruins prospect Mitchell Dempsey and SIJHL Player of the Year Daniel Del Paggio. Young discusses both signings in the video above.

Notebook: CHLPA Making a Comeback

The CHLPA is making a comeback – and this time it appears to be much more legitimate.

The Toronto Star reported on Monday that Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, has restarted efforts to create a CHL players union. Glenn Gumbley is reportedly involved once again.

Also involved in the unionization effort is former Sea Dogs forward Nicholas Pard who is a part-time recruiter. From the Star:

(Pard) says he was paid $35 a week as a 16-year-old rookie working more than 40 hours a week practising, travelling and playing for the Sea Dogs. And despite three seasons in the league, he’ll never see the education scholarship he earned because he chose to continue playing hockey overseas in France when his playing days in the CHL concluded.

Pard was a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2006 QMJHL Entry Draft. In 89 career games with Saint John, the right winger registered 26 goals and 17 assists.

GRANT

Alex Grant is staying in the Ottawa Senators organization.

The Sens announced yesterday that they have signed the former Sea Dogs captain to a one-year, two-way contract.

Last season, the 25-year old recorded two goals and eight assists with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators following a trade from the Anaheim Ducks organization to the Sens. Prior to the deal, the offensive defenseman registered seven goals and 20 assists in 52 games with the Norfolk Admirals.

Grant, a 2007 fourth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, made his National Hockey League debut last season, registering two goals in two games with the Ducks.

John Moore has video of Grant and Brad Marchand training in Halifax.

JURCO

Via reader Lorne via The Score, here’s Tomas Jurco’s latest trick.

Dogs Sign Another Free Agent

The Saint John Sea Dogs have signed another free agent.

The club announced today the signing of right-winger Daniel Del Paggio. The 17-year old played last season with the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Thunder Bay North Stars.

From the Sea Dogs’ release:

Del Paggio, 17, led the SIJHL in scoring with 36 goals and 69 assists for 105 points in just 51 games, and finished the season on a 36-game points streak. He was named the 2013-14 SIJHL Player of the Year and RBC Scholastic Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) Top Forward and Most Valuable Player awards.

"Dan Del Paggio is an offensive-minded and gifted player that will challenge for a spot in our top six forwards," said Sea Dogs General Manager Darrell Young in the release. "We were able to acquire skill without costing the team prospects or draft picks, which allows us to build up our organizational depth."

Young also noted that Del Paggio “had other options, but felt that his greatest opportunity for success was in Saint John."

“@SeaDogsHockey: Sea Dogs ink free agent winger Del Paggio http://t.co/WuWshsac5a” Thank you for the opportunity i sincerely appreciate it.
— Daniel Del Paggio (@Delpag8) July 9, 2014

He is listed at 5'10", 175 lbs.

When Young was hired by the Dogs, he promised he would dive into the free agent pool. So far he has delivered.

This is the second big free agent signing announcement made by the team this week. On Monday, the club announced the signing of Boston Bruins prospect Mitchell Dempsey.

Training camp will certainly be worth watching this year.

2015 NHL Draft Watch Begins

Just under a year away from the 2015 NHL Draft, Nathan Noel is already attracting attention.

The draft eligible forward was one of the players listed in NHL Central Scouting's Futures List for North America, released today. 19 QMJHL skaters were included in the listings.

Some draft ranking/scouting websites have already pegged Noel as an early round pick in next year’s draft. The smooth skating centre from St. John’s was ranked 27^th by Future Considerations while The Hockey Writers have him listed at No. 49.

Noel isn’t the only Sea Dog getting some attention for next year’s draft. Defenseman Jakub Zboril, picked fifth overall by Saint John in last week’s CHL Import Draft, was listed in NHL Central Scouting’s Future list for international skaters.

Zboril was ranked 54^th by The Hockey Writers.

@HPCanucklehead Zbořil is a steal. He'll be looking to raise his stock and become a first-rounder at 2015 NHL draft. Great two-way D.
— Radoslav Vavřina (@Pacific4_Rado_V) July 2, 2014

Also in The Hockey Writers’ rankings was defenseman Bailey Webster who was listed as a “sleeper.” Webster played in seven games with the Dogs last season and registered three assists.

With plenty of 1997-born players on this year’s Sea Dogs squad, the team is bound to get plenty of attention from scouts.

Kelly Joins Gallant In Florida

Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly will be reuniting behind a bench very soon.

The Florida Panthers officially announced today that Kelly has been named one of the team’s new assistant coaches. Manchester Monarchs head coach Mark Morris was also hired as an assistant.

“We are pleased to welcome Mike and Mark to our coaching staff,” said Panthers general manager Dale Tallon in a release. “They bring to our club a wealth of hockey knowledge and experience and will be the perfect fit to work together with Gerard, John (Madden) and Robb (Tallas). I would also like to sincerely thank Brian (Skrudland) for his hard work and dedication, after stepping in last season to serve as an assistant coach. We are happy to have him return to his previous role and oversee the growth and development of our prospects.”

The Sea Dogs hired Gallant as head coach and Kelly as associate coach and director of hockey operations in 2009. The duo guided Saint John to three straight 50 win seasons, three consecutive President’s Cup final appearance, two President’s Cup titles, and a Memorial Cup championship.

After Gallant left Saint John for the Montreal Canadiens in 2012, Kelly was quickly named head coach of the Dogs. He acted as head coach and GM until he was fired last October.

As the Panthers release notes, “Kelly spent three years with the Vancouver Canucks organization (2005-2008) as an assistant coach with both the Canucks and the Manitoba Moose.”

It’ll be interesting to see how these two work things at the NHL level and how Jonathan Huberdeau’s play/role adjusts. 

Florida's pre-season begins on September 24 against Dallas. Their regular season opens on October 9 in Tampa Bay.