Lawrence drafted by Blues; two QMJHL players picked

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Fredericton's Tynan Lawrence was selected 11th overall by the St. Louis Blues in Friday's opening round of the 2026 NHL Draft.

The younger brother of former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, Tynan split last season between the USHL and NCAA.

After recording 10 goals and seven assists in 13 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, the forward joined Boston University for the second half where he posted two goals and five assists in 18 games. While it was likely the best move for his development long-term, Lawrence's modest numbers at BU likely pushed him down the draft rankings.

Welcome to the club, Tynan Lawrence! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/8Q0FndhOXf

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 27, 2026

Lawrence is the first New Brunswicker to be selected in the first-round of the NHL Draft since Bradly Nadeau of St-François-de-Madawaska was taken 30th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023. Like Lawrence, Nadeau didn't play in the QMJHL, suiting up in the BCHL before joining the University of Maine.

Only two current QMJHL players were picked on Friday. Quebec Remparts forward Maddox Dagenais went 16th overall to the Blues while Moncton Wildcats defenseman Tommy Bleyl went 31st overall to the Nashville Predators.

As expected, Penn State's Gavin McKenna – formerly of the Medicine Hat Tigers – went first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The remaining rounds of the NHL Draft will take place Saturday.

NHL Draft begins Friday night

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's likely to be a quiet Friday night for the Saint John Sea Dogs – but that should change on Saturday.

While no Sea Dogs are likely to be selected in Friday's opening round of the 2026 NHL Draft, at least one current Dog should be picked during Saturday's remaining rounds.

Forward Olivers Murnieks is projected by most to be taken somewhere between the late second- and fourth-rounds. The Latvian recorded seven goals and 13 assists in 31 games with Saint John last season – an injury plagued campaign.

Murnieks also played for Latvia at last season's under-18, under-20 and men's worlds events.

Where Murnieks – who is a Boston College commit – plays next season is unclear. Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie has said that decision may ultimately come down to the NHL team that selects him this weekend and what they prefer for his development.

Murnieks was one of five Sea Dogs listed in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings. Cameron Chartrand, William Yared and Dylan Rozzi were also ranked amongst North American skaters while Rafaël Courchesne was listed amongst North American goaltenders. 

98 - Olivers Murnieks 

155 - Cameron Chartrand 

172 - William Yared 

195 - Dylan Rozzi 

27 - Rafaël Courchesne

Another player to keep an eye is defenseman Brian McFadden, who was ranked 115th by NHL Central Scouting. McFadden, who spent last season with the US prep school Thayer Academy, was a seventh-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Import Draft details announced

The Canadian Hockey League has announced the selection order and some rule changes for this year's Import Draft.

The annual CHL Import Draft will take place next Tuesday, June 30 beginning at noon Atlantic. The OHL's Oshawa Generals will select first followed by the QMJHL's Baie-Comeau Drakkar and the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes.

This year's draft will be three rounds again – but there will be some new rules.

The Saint John Sea Dogs currently own four picks: 14th, 44th, 78th and 136th. The team is expected to select three players.

Two picks in the first-round and another early in the second should allow the Sea Dogs to pick some impact players. The Import Draft is more about who you know than where you pick – but as we've seen in recent years, it takes just one pick ahead of you to throw a wrench into plans. The earlier the picks, the better.

Saint John selected three players in last year's draft: forward Olivers Murnieks along with defensemen Patryk Zubek and Max Vilen.

Villeneuve, Paré win Calder Cup championship

Toronto Marlies

Two former Saint John Sea Dogs are Calder Cup champions.

William Villeneuve, Cedric Paré and the Toronto Marlies captured the 2026 American Hockey League championship on Friday night, defeating the Chicago Wolves 4-3 to win the series in five games.

It's the first Calder Cup title for both and the first AHL championship for the Marlies since 2018.

Villeneuve concluded his phenomenal playoff run with a pair of assists in the win. He finishes the playoffs with two goals and 21 assists in 24 games, placing him first in AHL defensemen scoring and second amongst all skaters.

Villeneuve's 21 assists are tied for the second-most by a defenseman ever in a single Calder Cup postseason.

This was Villeneuve's fourth season with the Marlies – a season that also saw him make his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 24-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs in the 2020 NHL Draft.

"I think it's the culture. I got here four years ago & Logan Shaw has been our captain. He's been leading this team through it all."

William Villeneuve to @ShawnMcKenzieSN on the 2026 #CalderCup Champion @TorontoMarlies.@InsideAHLHockey pic.twitter.com/kKgK0hszGt

— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) June 20, 2026

Paré, meanwhile, finishes the playoffs with four goals and six assists in 24 games. This is the first professional championship for the 27-year-old, who helped Saint John win the President Cup in 2017.

The Marlies were not predicted by many (if any) to win the Calder Cup this season. The team went 36-26-5-5 in the regular season and entered the playoffs as the seventh best team in the Eastern Conference. The team did not have a bye through the first round of the playoffs and had to face the Rochester Americans in a best-of-three. From there they faced the division champion Laval Rocket and then the Cleveland Monsters in best-of-five matchups. All three of those series went the distance.

The Marlies won the Eastern Conference by defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in six games. In the Calder Cup final, Toronto won the first three games of the series and took the title in five games.

Four camp invites announced

The Saint John Sea Dogs have announced four free agent training camp invites.

Forwards Dylan Hug, Kareem Baig-Mirza, and Travis Tremblay along with goaltender Olivier Pépin have all received invites. The four will attend Saint John's training camp in August.

Hug, who will turn 17 on Boxing Day, recorded eight goals and eight assists in 42 regular season games with the Magog Cantonniers of the Quebec under-18 league last season. He added an assist in 16 playoff games.

A Sherbrooke native, Hug is listed at 6'1" and 179 lbs.

Baig-Mirza, 17, appeared in 42 games with the under-18 Châteauguay Grenadiers last season and recorded 11 goals and 10 assists. He also played in two playoff games.

Listed at 5'11" and 170 lbs, Baig-Mirza was a fourth-round pick of the Valleyfield Braves in the recent QJHL Draft.

Pépin was a teammate of Baig-Mirza on the Grenadiers last season. The 17-year-old posted a 13-10-0 record to go along with a 3.56 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. In the playoffs he went 2-2-0 with a 4.11 GAA and .929 SV%.

The netminder was a second-round pick of the Princeville Titan in last year's QJHL Draft. He's listed at 6'2" and 174 lbs.

Tremblay, a Cow Bay, NS native, spent last season with the Dartmouth Steele Subaru of the Nova Scotia under-18 circuit, registering 10 goals and 31 assists in 31 regular season contests. He added five goals and six assists in nine playoff games. He also appeared in three playoff games with the Cole Harbour Colts of the NSJHL.

Tremblay, who will turn 17 in November, was a second-round pick of the Yarmouth Mariners in last year's MHL Draft.

Notebook: Lee (officially) joins Mooseheads

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

As reported a couple weeks ago, former Saint John Sea Dogs assistant coach Mark Lee has officially joined the Halifax Mooseheads.

Lee, who will be an assistant coach under Brad MacKenzie, was one of three coaching staff additions announced by the Mooseheads on Wednesday.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the exceptional staff that Brad MacKenzie, Peter, and Sam Simon have assembled,” said Lee in a Mooseheads release. “Having known Josh Hepditch for a long time and competing against him as both a player and a coach, I know our coaching styles will complement each other perfectly. The Halifax Mooseheads are not just a phenomenal organization; they are an elite brand and a top-tier franchise in the CHL. I am eager to see what we can accomplish this season as we work collectively toward bringing a championship back to Halifax.” 

“Mark’s passion for the game combined with his ability to build relationships and connect with players makes him a great addition to our coaching staff,” said MacKenzie. “He brings with him a wealth of experience from his playing career as well as recent history coaching in the QMJHL. I’m looking forward to working alongside Mark and having him work closely with our players.”

Lee, who was sitting with the Mooseheads at this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, was an assistant coach with the Sea Dogs for four seasons. He departed the organization at the same time as Travis Crickard.

DRAFT RANKINGS

The 2026 NHL Draft is just over a week away.

Over at FloHockey, Chris Peters has released his final draft rankings. Sea Dogs forward Olivers Murnieks was ranked 50th.

"He’s a good two-way player with potentially limited offensive upside, but looks like he has the jam to play down the lineup if all works out," writes Peters.

The Hockey Writers, meanwhile, listed Murnieks as one of their "sleeper picks" for this year's draft.

"His offensive game isn’t particularly exciting, but he has a decent shot and can make reasonably clever passes under pressure," they write. "There’s certainly bottom-six potential for Murnieks and his late July birthday means he has lots of development still to come."