U18 men's worlds begin Wednesday

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The IIHF U18 Men's World Championship begins on Wednesday and will feature a few Saint John Sea Dogs in action.

Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph and defenseman Cameron Chartrand were named to Team Canada's 25 player roster on Tuesday. It's worth pointing out that Chartrand (and two others) has not been officially registered yet, giving Canada some roster flexibility.

Joseph recorded two assists in pre-tournament action. He'll have plenty of eyes on him as the potential first overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Joseph posted 24 goals and 36 assists in 54 regular season games with the Sea Dogs. He added another three assists in four playoff matches.

Chartrand, meanwhile, appeared in just 35 regular season games with Saint John due to injuries. He registered two goals and five assists in those games. A strong under-18 tournament could really boost his stock heading into this summer's NHL Draft.

Canada opens the tournament on Tuesday against Slovakia.

Another Sea Dog who struggled to stay healthy this season was forward Olivers Murnieks, who is part of Latvia's registered roster. Murnieks appeared in 31 games with Saint John, posting seven goals and 13 assists – but he hasn't played since Jan. 31.

This will be the second under-18 tournament for Murnieks, who posted two assists in five games last year. He's also played for Latvia at the last two world juniors.

Latvia's first game is on Wednesday against Team Canada.

The United States features forward Jamie Glance, who was a sixth-round pick of Saint John in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft. Glance has spent the past two seasons with the USNTDP and is committed to Boston University for the 2027-28 season.

The Americans play their first game on Tuesday against Czechia.

The 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, which is taking place in Bratislava and Trencin, Slovakia, ends on May 2. All of Canada's games will be broadcast on TSN.

Sea Dogs land fifth overall pick

QMJHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs will select fifth overall in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

The Sea Dogs were unable to move up through this year's draft lottery, which was held Tuesday night. Saint John had just one ball in the lottery, giving them a slim 4.8% chance of winning the top pick.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, who had the best odds, won the lottery and will select first overall while the Halifax Mooseheads, who had the second best odds, slid to third.

Here's what the top-five picks currently look like.

Here they are! The Top 5 picks of this year's #QDraft! pic.twitter.com/S3TTP1BacT

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) April 21, 2026

This was the third straight year that the Sea Dogs were in the draft lottery. They also picked fifth overall in 2024 (William Yared) while last year they won the lottery to pick first (Alexis Joseph).

The Yared selection in 2024 is the only previous time the Sea Dogs have picked fifth overall.

The 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft takes place June 5-6 in Halifax.

Remarkably, this will be the first time the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies select first overall. The Huskies, who are set to play the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the QMJHL semifinals this weekend, previously acquired the pick from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

The Sea Dogs also own the 15th overall pick.

It's draft lottery time

QMJHL

It's the Saint John Sea Dogs' time to shine on Tuesday night.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League will hold its annual draft lottery at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic on Tuesday, meaning the Sea Dogs will find out where their first selection will be in this year's Entry Draft. The results will be broadcast live on RDS.

Saint John has just one ball in this year's lottery, giving them the fifth best odds of landing the first overall pick – but that hasn't stopped them in the past. The Sea Dogs have had a remarkable amount of success in the lottery over the years, which includes landing the top pick last year.

Here's a look at Saint John's draft lottery history.

Year	Odds of win	Result	Selection
2026	4.8% (5th)	TBD	TBD
2025	28% (2nd)	1st	Alexis Joseph
2024	5% (5th)	5th	William Yared
2020	10% (4th)	3rd	Leighton Carruthers
2019	5% (5th)	1st	Joshua Roy
2018	43% (1st)	2nd	William Villeneuve
2015*	50%	1st	Joe Veleno
2014*	50%	1st	Luke Green
2007*	50%	1st	Simon Despres
2006*	50%	1st	Yann Sauve
2005*	50%	1st	Alex Grant

*Lottery was only between the QMJHL's two last-place teams

As mentioned, the Sea Dogs will have the fifth best odds of winning this year's lottery. The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies have the best odds followed by the Halifax Mooseheads – who are hosting this year's draft – Shawinigan Cataractes and Victoriaville Tigres.

Rouyn-Noranda (from Baie-Comeau) – 9 balls – 42.9%

Halifax (from Rimouski) – 6 balls – 28.6% 

Shawinigan (from Gatineau) – 3 balls – 14.3% 1

Victoriaville – 2 balls – 9.5% 

Saint John – 1 ball – 4.8%

The 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft will take place June 5-6 in Halifax.

Notebook: Five Sea Dogs make NHL Central Scouting final rankings

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Five Saint John Sea Dogs were listed in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Olivers Murnieks, Cameron Chartrand, William Yared and Dylan Rozzi were all 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

Penn State forward Gavin McKenna was the top-ranked skater. Quebec Remparts forward Maddox Dagenais was the top-ranked skater from the QMJHL at No. 15.

Fredericton's Tynan Lawrence, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, was ranked seventh.

The full rankings can be found here.

The 2026 NHL Draft takes place June 26-27.

JOSEPH NOMINATED

Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph was nominated for two QMJHL awards.

Joseph was nominated for the Michel-Bergeron Trophy, which is awarded annually to the offensive rookie of the year, and the Paul-Dumont Trophy, which is awarded to the personality of the year.

Victoriaville Tigres forward Egor Shilov won the Michel-Bergeron Trophy while Newfound Regiment president Glenn Stanford won the Paul-Dumont Trophy.

Jonathan Huberdeau won the Paul-Dumont Trophy in 2012 while Thomas Chabot won in 2017. No Sea Dog has ever won the Michel-Bergeron Trophy.

SUMMERSIDE ELIMINATED

The Summerside Western Capitals had their Maritime Junior Hockey League playoff run come to an end last week.

The Western Capitals fell 3-2 to the Truro Bearcats in Game 7 of the North Division final on Thursday in Summerside. The Bearcats advance to the MHL final where they'll face the Edmundston Blizzard.

Summerside is hosting this year's Centennial Cup national championship. Their first game is on May 7 against the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions.

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matthew MacLean had an assist in Game 7, giving him a goal and six helpers in 14 playoff games. Goaltender Justin Robinson only made one appearance, going 0-1.

Armada eliminate Regiment to lock in QMJHL's final four

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

The semifinals of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy Playoffs are set.

The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada finished off the Newfoundland Regiment on Sunday, winning 5-3 to take the second round series in six games. The Regiment led the game 2-0 at one point early in the second period.

The Armada, who finished fourth overall in the QMJHL standings, move on to the third round where they'll face the top-seeded Moncton Wildcats. The dates for the series have yet to be locked in – but it will start in Moncton, just not on Friday with Stars on Ice visiting Avenir Centre.

The other series will feature the No. 2 seed Chicoutimi Sagueneens taking on the No. 3 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. That series begins Friday in Chicoutimi.

The Armada/Wildcats series will feature three former Sea Dogs, all of whom played for the team this season: forwards Elliot Dubé and Jacob Beaulieu along with defenseman Max Vilen.

Beaulieu has been held pointless in 10 playoff games with the Armada while Dubé has one assist. Vilen, meanwhile, has a goal and four assists in eight playoff matches with the Wildcats.

With the Regiment getting eliminated, former Sea Dogs defenseman Patryk Zubek's season comes to an end. Zubek was on Newfoundland's playoff roster but did not appear in any games.

Three of the four semifinal teams have been to the QMJHL final relatively recently: Moncton last year, Rouyn-Noranda in 2019 and Blainville-Boisbriand in 2018. Chicoutimi, though, has not made it past the third round since 1997.

The Armada are the only team remaining that has not won a QMJHL championship.

Ex-Dogs qualify for Stanley Cup Playoffs

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A handful of former Saint John Sea Dogs have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators), Mathieu Joseph (Los Angeles Kings) and Joe Veleno (Montreal Canadiens) have all qualified for the NHL's post-season, which begin Saturday.

The Senators will face the Carolina Hurricanes; the Kings will take on the Colorado Avalanche; and the Habs will battle the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Chabot, who recently returned much sooner than expected from an arm injury, will play a key role for the Senators. We'll see how much action Joseph, who didn't record a point in 12 games with the Kings, and Veleno get.

Here's a look at how Sea Dogs alumni performed in the NHL this season.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Charlie Coyle	CBJ	82	20	38	58
Thomas Chabot	OTT	57	7	24	31
Jonathan Huberdeau	CGY	50	10	15	25
Yan Kuznetsov	CGY	57	4	8	12
Mathieu Joseph	STL LAK	51	2	9	11
Joe Veleno	MTL	61	2	3	5
Boko Imama	PIT	2	0	0	0
Joshua Roy	MTL	3	0	0	0
William Villeneuve	TOR	3	0	0	0

Charlie Coyle had a strong season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and has likely made himself one of the top unrestricted free agents entering the off-season.

Jonathan Huberdeau appeared in just 50 games due to an injury.

William Villeneuve, who was a late season call up by the Toronto Maple Leafs, has been reassigned to the AHL's Toronto Marlies for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Boko Imama (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) and Joshua Roy (Laval Rocket) spent most of their seasons in the AHL. Both teams have qualified for the playoffs.