QMJHL plans for Oct. 1 return

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League gave everyone a jolt of optimism yesterday.

During a press conference held over Zoom, QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau said that the league is planning on starting the 2020-21 season on Oct. 1 - a full 68-game game schedule. The commissioner added that the plan includes starting the campaign with “a certain percentage of spectators” in the stands.

Obviously, this could all change. There's still a chance the entire 2020-21 season may not happen at all (hopefully that's not the case). The October start seems like a best case scenario - a scenario that seemed unlikely just a few weeks ago but, as the curve continues to flatten (for the most part) in Quebec and the Maritimes, an early- to mid-fall start seems more and more possible.

The 2019-20 season started on Sept. 20, so an Oct. 1 start would only delay things by a couple weeks. This aligns with reports that the 2021 Memorial Cup could be pushed into early June.

There are tons of questions and concerns still surrounding a possible Oct. 1 return. It seems like all the questions can be broken into two groups:

1. Can the sport itself be played safely?
2. Can fans attend games safely?

The good news about question one is that the league will likely have a framework created by the NHL and/or Hockey Canada that can be followed. Ideally the NHL starts up sometime this summer and they figure out the logistics of playing the game safely. Of course, the QMJHL doesn't have the resources that the NHL has - testing every player every day seems unlikely at the junior level - but hopefully some best practices are created and other hockey leagues can follow.

Question two is much more of an unknown at this point. Will health officials allow enough fans into buildings for teams to financially make this return happen? This is a question facing a lot of sports leagues - even those with massive television contracts.

There's lots of work to do before Oct. 1 - but targeting an Oct. 1 return this is a promising start.

Georgie talks trades, draft on FB Live

During a Tuesday night Facebook Live, Saint John Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie confirmed three trades that the team will make official on Wednesday.

The Sea Dogs will be acquiring defenseman Christopher Inniss from the Rimouski Oceanic and forward Nicholas Girouard from the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Both are 19-year-olds and Georgie said he projects both to be overager players for the club's 2022 run.

The two were the mystery guests on the Facebook Live broadcast.


Georgie didn't get into too many details on the trades. It has been reported that the Sea Dogs are sending two 2021 second round picks to the Volts for Girouard.

Georgie also confirmed that the Sea Dogs will be trading prospect Robert Orr to the Halifax Mooseheads in exchange for a second (38th overall) and fourth round (59th) pick in this year's draft. Orr slipped to the fifth round of last year's draft where Saint John selected him.

A few other tidbits from the Live:

• Compared to a few weeks ago, Georgie definitely didn't sound as confident that the Sea Dogs would be picking third overall. "All bets are off with what we do with that pick," Georgie said.
• Georgie said he's sent an email to all of the league's general mangers, saying the Sea Dogs are exploring all options with all picks.
• On the (never ending) Ostap Safin trade: if Halifax's first round pick in 2021 is in the top 10, Halifax gets to keep the pick and send Saint John its 2022 first round pick. If Halifax's first round pick in 2021 is 11th overall or lower, Saint John will receive that pick.
• "I wouldn't rule it out," Georgie said when asked if the team had another Peter Reynolds type surprise coming in the future.
• The team once again made no mention of its head coaching situation.
• Assistant general manager and head scout Anthony Stella said the top three rounds of this year's QMJHL Entry Draft should be heavy on defensemen.
• "We'll probably be hated on no matter what we do," Stella jokingly (but also correctly) added.
• Current Sea Dogs Joshua Roy, William Villeneuve and Jeremie Poirier were also guests on the program.

The QMJHL trading period takes place Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Atlantic.

Sea Dogs to acquire Inniss, Girouard

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The Saint John Sea Dogs will announce a number of trades on Wednesday.

The Sea Dogs are expected to acquire defenseman Christopher Inniss from the Rimouski Oceanic and forward Nicholas Girouard from the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Both deals have been rumoured/reported for some time.

The Inniss acquisition will complete the December trade between Saint John and Rimouski that saw Nicolas Guay and Jeffrey Durocher swap places. It's not quite clear what the Sea Dogs are sending to the Oceanic to finalize the deal, but we'll obviously find out very soon.

Voici d'autres transactions #LHJMQ

Zachary L'Heureux de MON à HFX
Eliot Desnoyers de MON à HFX
Christopher Innis de RIM à STJN
Alexandre Joncas de SHE à BLB

Un gardien de but de 20 ans s'en va aussi avec les #Remparts

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) June 2, 2020

Inniss, a 19-year-old defenseman, will bring some much needed sandpaper and experience to the Saint John backend. He's not here to score goals - he recorded two goals and 14 assists with Rimouski last season - which won't be an problem given Saint John's already dangerous defense. The Dogs need help defending, and Inniss will provide that.

Girouard, a 19-year-old forward, will be acquired by Saint John in exchange for two second round picks in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft, according to reports. The Sea Dogs currently have their own second rounder and Sherbrooke's for the 2021 draft, according to the Quebec fan forum.

L'attaquant Nicholas Girouard passera aux @SJSeaDogs en retour de deux choix de deuxième ronde en 2021. @Voltigeurs_DRU #Voltigeurs #Drummondville #SeaDogs #LHJMQ https://t.co/U8Eb2tJDBI

— Jonathan Habashi (@JonathanHabashi) June 2, 2020

Girouard will provide more of a physical presence up front. His offensive numbers have also been gradually improving, recording 16 goals and 23 assists in 61 games with the Volts last season.

Notebook: Joseph on George Floyd

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Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Mathieu Joseph was among the many professional athletes who took to Twitter on Sunday to express their thoughts on the death of George Floyd.

"Watching the events unfold across America is extremely sad. I wish I could say what happened to George Floyd was an isolated event, but I know it's not," Joseph tweeted. "The problem is that everyone has known that for a long time, and yet very little was done about it. And now people have had enough.

"That said, once it all boils over, what concrete actions will be taken? It is not enough to be non-racist and events unfolding today have proven that. But violent protests are not the answers or a good way to be anti-racist ... we need to focus on the solution. On making a change in the way we educate children."

Some thoughts. pic.twitter.com/3WfQZWK1pd

— Mathieu Joseph (@MathJoseph7) May 31, 2020

Fellow Sea Dogs alumnus Boko Imama, who was on the receiving end of a racial slur during an AHL game earlier this year, retweeted Joseph's message.

TUESDAY HAPPENINGS
Today has the potential to be news filled day.

QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau will hold a press conference this afternoon via Zoom. Among the topics will be yesterday's league rebranding announcement; this weekend's QMJHL Entry Draft; and presumably the latest on the league's return to play plan.

As we have seen with COVID-19, things can change very quickly. But Quebec and the Maritimes have been moving in a positive direction - for the most part - which is both encouraging and increasing hopes that the 2020-21 season will start sometime in the fall.

Parce qu'il n'y a pas que des scénarios pessimistes dans la vie. Un 3e intervenant relié à la @CHLHockey m'indique aujourd'hui que les 3 ligues (@LHJMQ @OHLHockey @TheWHL) étudient aussi l'option d'un début de saison aussi tôt que le 1er octobre. Un retard de 2 semaines.

— jf plante (@jfplante_Droit) June 1, 2020

Later tonight, the Sea Dogs will hold a Facebook Live filled with QMJHL Entry Draft talk. President and general manager Trevor Georgie and assistant GM and head scout Anthony Stella will be among the guests.

Pass/fail: the QMJHL's new logo

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League kicked off draft week by unveiling a "new" logo.

Calling the logo "new" might be a stretch. As you can see above, the old logo, which the league has been using since the late 1990s, has just been freshened up a bit.

Here's the official explanation from the league:

The logo wasn’t entirely redesigned, but rather modernized while keeping the skate-shaped design as it is already one of the most influential sports brands in Canada. 

Modernizing the QMJHL trademark allows the league to rebalance the logo by spacing the letters, increasing its thickness and adjusting the angles. A skate line was also removed, reducing space between the boot and the blade. The result is a more compact and more vigorous crest.

The league had been discussing a new logo for several years. Today's announcement is perhaps a little disappointing for those looking for a much larger rebrand - a rebrand that would be more inclusive to Atlantic Canada.

So... is the QMJHL's new logo a pass or fail?

The QMJHL will hold a press conference tomorrow afternoon. Among the topics will be this new logo; this weekend's virtual QMJHL Entry Draft; and presumably an update on the league's return to play plan.

Bouthillier commits to UQTR

All three members of the Saint John Sea Dogs' overage group have committed to U Sports programs for the 2020-21 season.

Jeffrey Durocher will join the Concordia Stingers; Nicholas Deakin-Poot the Acadia Axemen; and Zachary Bouthillier - it was announced this past week - has committed to the UQTR Patriotes.

[✍🏻 RECRUTEMENT 🚨]

🏒 Le gardien de but Zachary Bouthillier se joint aux Patriotes pour la saison prochaine 🔥

Tous les détails 👉 🎧 https://t.co/W6vNbKt30E@USPORTSca @OUAsport #puissancepats pic.twitter.com/gp9kFh5y00

— Patriotes UQTR (@PatriotesUQTR) May 27, 2020

Bouthillier was a 2018 draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs but has not been signed by the club. While it's believed the June 1 signing deadline has been pushed forward with the hockey calendar in shambles, it seems unlikely that the Leafs will sign the 20-year-old.

Bouthillier spent a season-and-a-half with the Sea Dogs, giving a rebuilding team a chance to win each night. This past season he recorded a 19-25 record to go along with a 4.16 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. He was named the team's most valuable player.

Bouthillier faced the second most shots of any goaltender in the QMJHL in 2019-20.

Former Sea Dogs Sebastien Auger and Julien Tessier played at UQTR last season. Auger played his fifth and final season and will be replaced by Bouthillier - significant shoes to fill given Auger's ridiculous numbers during his U Sports career.

Mathieu Bellemare, a former Gatineau and Shawinigan netminder, was UQTR's other goaltender last season.

Like every other hockey league, it's unclear when the U Sports season will start.