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."

Cooper, Everblades win Kelly Cup; Marlies one win away

Florida Everblades

For a second time, Oliver Cooper is a Kelly Cup champion.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward helped the Florida Everblades capture the ECHL title on Monday night, defeating the Kansas City Mavericks 5-4 in double overtime to take the championship series in six games.

The Everblades scored three goals in the third period to erase a 4-1 deficit. Former UNB Reds forward Isaac Nurse netted the winner at 15:24 of double overtime.

This is the fourth Kelly Cup title for the Everblades over the past five seasons. Florida goaltender Cam Johnson was named playoff MVP for a third time in his career.

Cooper had three shots in the victory and finishes the playoffs with two goals and three assists in 19 games.

The 31-year-old registered 12 goals and 13 assists in 65 regular season games with Florida. He spent the previous two seasons in Europe.

This is the second ECHL championship for Cooper who also helped the Fort Wayne Komets capture the Kelly Cup in 2021. He's now won two Kelly Cup championships; two University Cup titles with the UNB Reds; and a QMJHL championship with the Sea Dogs in 2012.

The Fredericton native spent three seasons with the Sea Dogs before finishing his junior career with the Charlottetown Islanders – which included the 2015-16 season under Jim Hulton.

Over in the AHL, William Villeneuve, Cedric Pare and the Toronto Marlies are a win away from capturing the Calder Cup.

The Marlies defeated the Chicago Wolves 1-0 on Tuesday night to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the AHL's championship series.

Villeneuve and Pare each had one shot on goal in the victory.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Toronto.

2026-27 schedule released

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open up the 2026-27 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season.

The Sea Dogs will play in the league's season opener – officially game No. 1 – on Friday, Sept. 18 when they visit the Newfoundland Regiment at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic. The Sea Dogs and Regiment will also battle the following night at Mary Brown's Centre.

The Sea Dogs will play their first home game on Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Moncton Wildcats. The next day, the Cape Breton Eagles will visit TD Station for a 4 p.m. start.

That 4 p.m. start time is notable because all of Saint John's Saturday home games will begin at that time. The team had a few 4 p.m. Saturday home games last year and obviously liked what they saw.

While Saturday nights are always associated with hockey, afternoon Saturday starts are becoming more common across North America. Many Quebec-based teams have been doing this for years.

According to a Saint John news release release, "of the Sea Dogs’ 32 home games during the 2026-27 regular season, 21 will be played on weekends, with three additional games scheduled on holidays: Thanksgiving Monday, New Year’s Eve, and Family Day."

The Sea Dogs will make four trips to Quebec, including one very late in the season: Oct. 23-25 (Gatineau, Blainville-Boisbriand and Drummondville), Nov. 26-29 (Val-d'Or, Rouyn-Noranda and Victoriaville), Jan. 14-17 (Shawinigan, Chicoutimi and Baie-Comeau) and March 11-14 (Sherbrooke, Quebec and Rimouski).

Jim Hulton's return to Charlottetown will be Nov. 8. Saint John is scheduled to play an 11 a.m. game in Charlottetown on Dec. 16.

Saint John's longest homestand will be six games from Oct. 4-18. The team's longest stretch away from home will be five games from Jan. 7-17.

The QMJHL's regular season ends March 20.

The Sea Dogs' full regular season schedule can be found here. The team's pre-season schedule was released last week.

Of note, both the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Shawinigan Cataractes will start their seasons with lengthy stretches away from home due to arena renovations.

'Hulton Hockey' arrives in Saint John

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Jim Hulton's message to Saint John Sea Dogs fans came through immediately. 

Before Monday morning's introductory press conference even started, Sea Dogs radio broadcaster Bruce Smith told attendees that there were more seats located in the corners of the team's dressing room. Smith quipped that they must not like the corners.

"Hopefully that changes," joked Hulton, the long-time Charlottetown Islanders head coach that is well known for his gritty and hard-working style of hockey.

Hulton was officially named the 13th head coach in Sea Dogs history on Monday after a few weeks of unofficial confirmation. He'll be joined in Saint John by his long-time assistant Guy Girouard, who was also in attendance.

"We want a team on the ice that makes you proud," Hulton said in his opening remarks. "I come from a small town. I grew up on a dairy farm and I believe in hard work. I believe in grit. I believe in tenacity. And I sure as hell want to win."

The hiring seems like a perfect fit for this Sea Dogs group, one that didn't quite meet expectations last season. There were simply too many nights where the Sea Dogs didn't look prepared to play 60 minutes and lacked defensive structure.

Many of Hulton's comments were likely music to the ears of Sea Dogs supporters.