Sea Dogs Notebook

LAST CHANCE

Your last chance to purchase Sea Dogs items in time for Christmas is Saturday. Sea Dogs Styles is open from 10pm – 1pm. Items for sale include a wide variety of hats, shirts, jumbo hockey cards and Memorial Cup championship stuff.

THE BOOK

One of the items that can be purchased at Sea Dogs Styles is the team’s commemorative Memorial Cup championship book, “Hockey Heaven.” The Fredericton Daily Gleaner had an article about the book on Friday.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, as the old cliche suggests, there are thousands of them here: behind the scenes stuff, from training camp, through a record tying 58 win regular season, through the playoffs, the Memorial Cup and the downtown parade that saluted Saint John's champions, the first team from Atlantic Canada to win the Memorial Cup,” writes the Gleaner’s Bill Hunt.

It is an unreal book. We highly recommend checking it out.

FREE TICKETS

If you are looking to win two free Sea Dogs tickets to a game of your choice, here’s how.

1. Go to Barbbaarbbarb.com.

2. Follow the instructions near the bottom of the page.

There is also a pretty solid interview with Nathan Beaulieu on the site.

FIGHT OF THE YEAR

Brett Gallant’s fight against Joel Rechlicz earlier this year in the American Hockey League has been named the hockey fight of the year by Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog.

“This AHL fight between Gallant, a winger for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and Rechlicz of the Hershey Bears tops the list for two reasons: First, because the undisputed fight of the 2010-11 season between John Erskine and Eric Boulton occurred in 2010; and second, because this fight was a [expletive] marathon,” writes Greg Wyshynski. “The amount of quality punches thrown and the rally by Gallant to extend the fight were fantastic.”

The former Sea Dogs enforcer has a goal and an assist in 17 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers this season.

COYLE

The New England Hockey Journal had an article on Friday about several New Englanders who will suit up for Team USA at the world juniors. One of those players is Sea Dogs forward Charlie Coyle.

“He can play center or wing and we’ve got him playing a little bit of both,” said Team USA coach Dean Blais of Coyle. “A good penalty killer. Big. Strong. Quick…. He did wear a letter for us in the exhibition game against Russia. We’re expecting great things out of Charlie, both on the ice and in a leadership role. Whether he’s a captain or not, he’s going to be one of the leaders for us.”

DESPRES

The Sea Dogs website has an article on former Sea Dog and current Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Simon Despres. He’s enjoying life in the National Hockey League.

“Just playing against Ovechkin, Datsyuk, Jagr, it’s crazy… The first few games I kept it very simple. I was very nervous but you get used to it. I find it hard when you first get called up, playing with players you looked up to when you were younger. It was a bit intimidating,” a slightly winded Despres said shortly after being one of the last Penguins off the ice for morning skate in Ottawa. 

“It’s a lot of fun – a lot of hotels though. But I’m not complaining. It’s a great life, I’m enjoying it and I’m getting the most out of it.”

Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma also talks about Despres in the article.

MEMORIES

Jonathan Huberdeau and Michael Bournival share some minor hockey memories.