Drabczynski off to USHL

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Oskar Drabczynski is off to the United States Hockey League.

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced the news on Wednesday, posting in a tweet that the 18-year-old defenseman "has decided to leave the #SJSeaDogs to pursue an opportunity in the USHL. We wish Oskar the very best the rest of the way this season."

Elite Prospects has Drabczynski with the USHL's Omaha Lancers but Robert Chalmers reports that he's heading to the Fargo Force.

The news doesn't come as a huge shock given that the defenseman has been pushed down the Saint John's depth chart – and this is before Olivier Duhamel returns from injury and/or Vertti Svensk possibly joins the backend. Drabczynski has appeared in just one game with the Sea Dogs this season. 

The Connecticut native played in 44 games with Saint John last season, posting two goals and eight assists. He also appeared in two playoff games.

Drabczynski, a seventh-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2025 QMJHL Entry Draft, is committed to Harvard University.

There are a few other players with Sea Dogs connections playing in the USHL this season, including former Dogs Dylan and Matthew Krayer.

Sea Dogs back to 7th in latest CHL Top-10

The Saint John Sea Dogs are back up to seventh in this week's CHL Top-10 rankings.

The Sea Dogs moved up two spots following a 4-3 shootout win in Cape Breton on Friday and a 4-3 overtime victory over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday.

The Quebec Remparts were the highest ranked QMJHL team, coming in at No. 2. The Moncton Wildcats, meanwhile, were ranked sixth and the Rimouski Oceanic 10th.

The Sea Dogs were ranked seventh in both the pre-season and week one CHL Top-10 rankings. They fell to ninth last week.

Here's what the CHL website had to say about the Sea Dogs this week:

7. Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL): Saint John turned a pair of close games into four points, beating Cape Breton 4-3 in a shootout Friday and Halifax 4-3 in overtime Sunday. Dylan Rozzi’s fifth goal of the season forced extra time against the Eagles before Jamie Glance and Alexander Donovan converted in the shootout. Brandon Delarosbil then scored 30 seconds into overtime against the Mooseheads to lift the Sea Dogs to 3-1-1-1. Glance had three assists Sunday, while Matyas Cancik scored his first QMJHL goal. Alexis Joseph added a goal and an assist in that game, bringing his season totals to two goals and four assists in six games. Joseph was among the first four players named to Team CHL for the 2026 CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Primaris. Buffalo Sabres prospect Samuel Meloche stopped 63 of 69 shots across the two wins. Saint John’s homestand continues with visits from Rouyn-Noranda, Charlottetown and Drummondville.

As the CHL website noted, the Sea Dogs will play three home games this coming long weekend but none will be against ranked teams – something that has been rare for Saint John so far this season.

Meloche named to Team of the Week (and some other stats)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Two weekend wins have earned Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Samuel Meloche a spot on the QMJHL's Team of the Week.

In two starts, Meloche posted a 2-0 record with a 2.87 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.

Meloche made 37 saves in Saint John's 4-3 shootout win in Cape Breton on Friday night and followed that up with a 26-save performance in a 4-3 overtime win over the Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday.

This weekend was the first time Meloche had started back-to-back games this season. He'll likely make a third straight start on Friday when his former team, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, make their lone regular season visit to TD Station.

A few other stats now that we're six games into the season...

• Dylan Rozzi and Jamie Glance each have a Sea Dogs high seven points. Rozzi leads the team in goals with five while Glance is the team leader in assists with six. Glance had three helpers in Sunday's win, including the overtime winner.
• Glance has recorded the second most assists amongst QMJHL rookies, just one less than Quebec's Carter Meyer. Glance sits sixth in overall rookie scoring with seven points.
• Brandon Delarosbil netted the overtime winner on Sunday. He has just 10 career goals in the QMJHL – but four of those have come in overtime. He netted three last season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Oddly, all of his OT goals were scored at roughly the same time.
• Oct. 12, 2025 vs BAC: 0:33
• Oct. 25, 2025 vs VIC: 0:35
• Jan. 7, 2026 vs QUE: 0:36
• Oct. 4, 2026 vs HAL: 0:30
• The production that Matyas Cancik has had early this season pretty much forced the Sea Dogs to move him up the lineup after starting the year on the fourth line. He currently sits eighth in rookie scoring with six points (a goal and five assists).
• Saint John is averaging 15.83 penalty minutes per game, the most in the QMJHL. Fortunately, the team's penalty kill has been pretty good, sitting fourth in the league (83.3%).
• The Sea Dogs have the third best power play in the league with a rating of 38.1%. The top unit, which started the year as a five forward unit, has adapted well to the addition of Delarosbil.
• Rozzi and Alexander Donovan each have three power play goals on the year. Glance and Alexis Joseph have scored the others.
• Saint John's GF-GA by periods:
• Firsts: 10-5
• Seconds: 5-6
• Thirds: 4-8
• Saint John's past four games have all gone into extra time. The Sea Dogs played in nine extra time games all of last season.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-3 (OT)

FINAL: Halifax 3, Saint John 4 (OT)

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs picked up their first home win of the season on Sunday at TD Station.

Brandon Delarosbil scored 30 seconds into overtime to secure a 4-3 Sea Dogs victory. It was the fourth straight Sea Dogs game that required extra time.

This was Saint John's third home game of the season. Last weekend at TD Station, they fell in a shootout to the Moncton Wildcats and lost in overtime to the Cape Breton Eagles.

Along with Delarosbil, Alexander Donovan, Alexis Joseph and Matyas Cancik also scored in the win. Jamie Glance assisted on three of Saint John's four goals. Samuel Meloche made 26 saves in the victory.

Mateo Nobert, Duncan Anderson and Shawn Carrier scored for Halifax. Jack Fichthorn made 24 saves in the loss.

Much like Friday's game in Cape Breton, the Sea Dogs had a slow start offensively. After Halifax scored to make it 1-0 at 3:38, Saint John netted three straight goals in just under two minutes to take a 3-1 advantage at 13:03. But the Moose quickly cut Saint John's lead to 3-2 just 35 seconds later – and that's the way it would stand until the third period.

Special teams proved important in this contest with Saint John going 2/4 on the power play and Halifax 1/5. The Mooseheads' man advantage marker came at 7:56 of the third when Carrier converted, tying the game at 3-3.

The Sea Dogs were called for too many men at 17:34 of the third but produced a solid kill, which set the stage for Delarosbil's overtime winner.

Game Day 6: vs Mooseheads

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will try to win their first home game of the season this afternoon at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 shootout victory in Cape Breton on Friday, improving their road record to 2-1-0-0 this season. At home though, the Sea Dogs are winless so far, sporting a 0-0-1-1 record.

Saint John will look to improve upon that record when they host the Halifax Mooseheads at 3 p.m.

The Mooseheads have a nearly identical record to the Sea Dogs'. Halifax is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Moncton on Friday, a loss that saw them blow 1-0 and 2-1 leads.

This is the first meeting of the regular season between the Sea Dogs and Mooseheads.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/Sea Dogs Audio Network

2026-27 regular season records: The Sea Dogs are 2-1-1-1 for six points (sixth Eastern/11th QMJHL) while the Eagles are 2-1-2-0 for six points (seventh Eastern/12th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-3 shootout win in Cape Breton on Friday. Alexander Donovan, Jamie Glance and Dylan Rozzi all scored for Saint John. Samuel Meloche made 37 stops in the win. The Mooseheads are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss in Moncton on Friday. Nathan Langlois, Oleg Kulebiakin and Owen Phillips had Halifax goals. Carson Mertz made 24 stops in the loss.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-3 (SO)

FINAL: Saint John 4, Cape Breton 3 (SO)

Shane Wilkie/Cape Breton Eagles

SYDNEY, NS - It wasn't easy, but the Saint John Sea Dogs came away with a 4-3 shootout win over the Cape Breton Eagles on Friday at Centre 200.

Jamie Glance and Alexander Donovan scored the only goals of the shootout to give the Sea Dogs the extra point. After not playing in a single shootout all of last season, this was Saint John's second in a week.

The victory ended a three-game losing streak for the Sea Dogs, one that was extended by the Eagles erasing a three-goal deficit on Saturday at TD Station and skating away with a 5-4 overtime win.

It looked as though this game may have a similar script to Saturday's. Despite being heavily outshot, Saint John grabbed a 2-0 lead early in the second period. But the Eagles then scored three straight goals to carry a 3-2 advantage into the third.

Shots were 31-12 in favour of the Eagles in the first two periods combined. The Sea Dogs settled things down in the third and netted the equalizer quickly after an offensive zone faceoff at 7:11, ultimately sending the game into extra time.

It wasn't the prettiest performance by the Sea Dogs, but it got the job done – and that's just the way life is going to be a lot of times in Atlantic Canada this season. This was the third straight extra time game for Saint John.

Donovan, Glance and Dylan Rozzi scored in regulation time for Saint John. Samuel Meloche was named the game's third star, making 37 stops in the win.

Derek Andrews, Elias Schneider and Liam Lefebvre scored for Cape Breton. Lukas Beckman made 20 stops in the loss.