What They Said

By SN Staff

Now that the news of Jonathan Huberdeau returning to the Saint John Sea Dogs has sunk in, it’s time to reflect on Monday’s big news.

The news spread across the internet like wildfire and most of the response to the Florida Panthers roster decision was the same – he is too small/not strong enough to play in the National Hockey League.

Here is look at what several newspapers and blogs had to say about Huberdeau’s reassignment back to junior.

Florida Panthers website: Huberdeau Returned to Juniors; Gudbranson Named to Opening Night Roster. Basically the same quotes and stuff that can be found anywhere.

"He made that an extremely tough decision for us, given his maturity as a person and his play," Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen said of Huberdeau, before adding, "at this time, he still has some physical maturing to do and that is better suited at the junior level."

Buzzing The Net: With Huberdeau, Sea Dogs have the band back together. After that 7-0 thumping on Saturday, the arrival of Huberdeau couldn’t have come at a better time.

Telegraph-Journal: Huberdeau's return could put Sea Dogs over the top. This is basically the same thing being said all over the net. Without Huberdeau, the Sea Dogs were a really good team. With him… oh man.

Miami Herald: Florida Panthers send Jonathan Huberdeau back to his junior team. If the Panthers wanted to keep Huberdeau in Florida to start the season, would his contract have been an issue? “We would have gotten something done,” said Panthers general manager Dale Tallon.

Florida Sun-Sentinel: Gudbranson makes Panthers roster, 2011 top pick Huberdeau sent down. After reading this newspaper so much over the past month, we could go the rest of our lives without looking at it again.

Le Droit: Return of Huberdeau = Second Cup. Jean-Francois Plante brings up the defense, making the point that Nathan Beaulieu, Pierre Durepos and Kevin Gagne are a solid big three. The guy they acquired today might provide a little boost.

The Litter Box Cats: Panthers send top prospect Jonathan Huberdeau to juniors. Panthers fans react to the news.

The Nameless Mask: Random Twitter Discussion: Saint John Sea Dogs. Friend-of-the-blog Bryan Willet makes us think – with the pressure now on the Sea Dogs to repeat, imagine the pressure on the Memorial Cup hosting Shawinigan Cataractes, viewed by many as a step bellow Saint John and Victoriaville, to try and improve their team at the deadline. Huberdeau returning to Saint John is just like the Sea Dogs trading for one of the best players in the Q.

RDS: Another Championship for the Sea Dog? Yesterday brought good news for the Sea Dogs and for the Canadian World Junior team.

NBC Sports: Panthers top pick Jonathan Huberdeau sent to Saint John. NBC makes up for their previous error, spelling Saint John correctly this time around.

L’Echo Du Nord: Jonathan Huberdeau will have to wait. Includes reaction from Huberdeau’s parents en francais.

Sportsnet: From Cats to Dogs. Patrick King comes through in the clutch with some big time quotes from Huberdeau and Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant.

"Two Memorial Cups?" he began. "Taylor Hall did it. If I can do it again, it will be great." 

On Huberdeau playing Saturday against Rimouski: 

“We’ll see how he feels and go from there,” Gallant said Monday. 

“I’ll be playing for sure,” Huberdeau responded on Tuesday. “Why not? Of course I want to play the first game. I’m excited to see how it’s going to be.”

Twitter is the place to be when any kind of roster move happens. Some of the top tweets from Monday’s news:

• Jonathan Huberdeau on his way back to @SeaDogsHockey... Hello domination...hello Shawinigan in May..
• QMJHL announces that all teams except the Sea Dogs have folded for the 2011/2012 season with the return of Huberdeau to juniors.
• Huberdeau back in Saint John....#Cataractes should already forfeit the Memorial Cup, no way #Seadogs don't win it for a second straight year
• Oh man am I excited to watch Huberdeau this year. Him returning to junior is like the Sea Dogs having cheat codes. What a player.
• Wait, Saint John gets Huberdeau and Beaulieau back the year AFTER it wins the Mem Cup? Might as well pencil them in for another #stacked
• #theshawi have appealed against the decision of Florida to reassign Huberdeau to Saint John.

Some members of the Panthers also had some kind words for Huberdeau.

“You had a great camp for us and you will be an all-star in this league soon,” tweeted Scottie Upshall. “Good luck and bring that MemCup back to Saint John.”

George Richards of the Miami Herald posted an articleon his blog today titled “Stephen Weiss: Florida Panthers Right Not to Rush Jonathan Huberdeau.”

“There's no rush to put him in this kind of situation,” said Weiss. “I think it will be good for him to go back and score a lot and win and do what he did last year if not better. Hopefully he takes it the right way and continues to work knowing he's going to be here for a long time.

"He has a long career ahead. Right now he should play with his buddies and guys his own age. He needs to enjoy this year.''

Well, this basically concludes our coverage of NHL training camps. It’s been a fun month. Huge, huge thanks to all the NHL bloggers who helped us out. See you all next summer.