Many Dogs Advance At NHL Camps

With National Hockey League rookie camps now complete, the real fun begins as players begin reporting for main camp.

An incredible 16 members of the Saint John Sea Dogs who are eligible to return to the club this season took part in NHL rookie camps. The Sea Dogs have been forced to play shorthanded over the past week because of so many players missing – and there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of help coming in the immediate future.

According to the Sea Dogs newsletter, only defensemen Ian Saab (Vancouver) and forwards Danick Gauthier (Phoenix), Alexandre Beauregard (Phoenix), and Scott Oke (Dallas) have been assigned back to Saint John. All four were free agent invites.

That means the Sea Dogs will still be without nine players who are likely to return at some point over the next couple of weeks. Three others could also return but are more likely to turn pro this year.

Here are the players that will more than likely return:

Columbus Blue Jackets – Mathieu Corbeil
Detroit Red Wings – Tomas Jurco
Florida Panthers – Jonathan Huberdeau
Los Angeles Kings – Pierre Durepos
Minnesota Wild – Zack Phillips
Montreal Canadiens – Nathan Beaulieu
St. Louis Blues – Stephen MacAulay
St. Louis Blues – Ryan Tesink
Washington Capitals – Stanislav Galiev

The following three are eligible to play another year of junior hockey but will likely be assigned to the pro ranks:

New Jersey Devils – Eric Gelinas
Pittsburgh Penguins – Simon Despres
Vancouver Canucks – Steven Anthony

With so many players still missing, all fans can really do is be patient. Having so many players practice and train with NHL clubs and, for some, play in pre-season games will only benefit the team in the long run.

If you come across anything Sea Dogs related on the interweb over the next two weeks, please email it to us at stationnation@yahoo.ca.

Photo Credit: Florida Panthers Facebook Page