Sea Dogs Notebook

APP

The 2012 Memorial Cup? Yes, there is an app for that.

According to iTunes, “the 2012 Mastercard Memorial Cup app was developed by the City of Shawinigan. This is the essential tool for those who want to view information about this event. Schedules of games, shows, results, teams and transport descriptions are detailed and updated in real time.”

Download it. Live by it.

ROUSSEL

Sunaya Supurji of Yahoo! Sports has a good article on SeaDogs defenseman Charles Roussel who finished off his QMJHL playing days with a President’s Cup victory.

“You don’t know how much I appreciated that,” Roussel said about being one of the first Sea Dogs to lift the trophy last Thursday at Rimouski Colisee. “I couldn’t be more thankful to the guys for winning this with me, for me.”

Mike Kelly also talks about Roussel’s development in the article.

CORBEIL

Willy Palov has an article on Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil in Tuesday’s Chronicle Herald. Unlike last year, Corbeil is entering the Memorial Cup as Saint John’s No. 1 netminder.

“I was just talking to (teammate) Jason Seed about that,” Corbeil said. “He didn’t get to play much last year and I played a little in the playoffs but we were talking about how winning is so much more pleasurable and you get such a better sense of accomplishment when you get to play and help the team more.”

Corbeil also discusses his play this season and the fact that he still has not signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

GOALTENDERS

Speaking of goaltending, The Pipeline Show examines all four that will take part in this year’s Memorial Cup. Shawinigan’s goaltending situation will be interesting to follow. At least they are both well rested.

ROUNDTABLE

Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino and Patrick King along with Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports all took part in a roundtable discussion that is posted on Sportsnet.ca.

If the Saint John Sea Dogs repeat as MasterCard Memorial Cup champions, would they qualify as the best team ever? Are the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first year of a dynasty? Which player will win MVP honours? Which player is a sleeper in this tournament? These are just a few of the questions asked.

COSENTINO

Sam Cosentino posted his latest column on Sportsnet.ca.

“The Saint John Sea Dogs have been sitting pretty, and the time off will best serve Max Villemaire who has been banged up most of the post-season,” writes Cosentino. “He's a key piece, who doesn't bring to the room what Alexandre Beauregard did, but he may be more skilled and probably equally as tough.”

He also mentions that the Edmonton Oil Kings were a ridiculous 52-1-1-1 when leading after two periods (including the post-season). If you’re wondering, Saint John finished with a combined record of 53-2-0-0.

MORE COSENTINO

Cosentino also posted a Memorial Cup Notebook on Tuesday. He’s making his “Steady Eddies” list for the Memorial Cup preview show. He polled CHL coaches and general managers to make the list. Here are some of the QMJHL candidates.

Pierre Durepos (Saint John), Morgan Ellis (Shawinigan), Kevin Gagne (Saint John), Andrew O'Brien (Chicoutimi), Casey Babineau (Rimouski), Samuel Finn (Victoriaville), Patrick Downe (Moncton).

A TO Z

The crew at Buzzing The Net have put together an A to Z guide for the Memorial Cup. Q is an interesting one.

Q is for the great province of Quebec. It has been 15 years since a Quebec team won a Memorial Cup held in La Belle Province. The 2000 Rimouski Océanic and 2006 Quebec Remparts won tournaments played in Halifax and Moncton, respectively. Far be it to wonder if that means it would have helped the chances of a Quebec team winning if this tournament had been awarded to Saint John, which also bid.

The Sea Dogs-Cataractes game on May 23 is going to be a wild one.

RINGS

We hate linking to the Bleacher Report, but this is a pretty cool post. They have a slideshow of some of the neatest Memorial Cup rings. The Sea Dogs’ 2011 ring is featured.

BEST VS BEST

Daniel Nugent-Bowmen of Postmedia News, via the Ottawa Citizen, writes that this year’s tournament could feature some of the highest caliber of competition in years. The QMJHL, OHL, and WHL champions were all the No. 1 seeds entering the playoffs, making this year’s tournament truly the best vs best.

“It’s the first time that’s occurred since the 1995-96 tournament in Peterborough, Ont., when the Granby Predateurs, Brandon Wheat Kings and Guelph Storm faced off against the host Petes,” he writes.

He also writes that the last time a Memorial Cup had this much "fizzle" was in 2005 when the CHL’s best team, best player, best coach, and reigning champion were all involved.

REPRESENT

Which NHL team will have the most prospects at this year’s tournament? The Montreal Canadiens. Over at TVA Sports, Mikael Lalancette lists which NHL teams will be represented at this year’s Memorial Cup.

PREVIEW

The Hockey Writers takes a look at all four teams participating in this year’s tournament.

“Led by offensive dynamos Charlie Coyle, Stanislav Galiev, Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Jurco, and Zack Phillips, Saint John is filled with future National Hockey League talent,” writes David O’Conner. “There won’t be too many goaltenders in this tournament who will be looking forward to having one of them come down on a breakaway.”

REPEAT

NHL.com previews the Memorial Cup, writing that Saint John is “looking to become just the ninth back-to-back champion in the tournament's 94-year history.” Of course, the last team to repeat was the Windsor Spitfires in 2009 and 2010.

SEA DOGS PREVIEW

Here’s Sportsnet’s Darren Millard and Nick Kypreos taking a brief look at the Sea Dogs heading into the Memorial Cup. Sportsnet’s full preview show will air on Thursday night.