Some Saturday Stuff

It’s the first Saturday of June and the Saint John Sea Dogs’ season has been over for more than a week now. But hey, let’s talk some Sea Dogs hockey anyway.

The Columbus Dispatch’s Blue Jackets blog has plenty of details on CBJ's passing of Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil.

“It was obviously a very difficult decision,” Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson said. “We debated it all year, really. It’s fair to say the Memorial Cup wasn’t the deciding factor, but it didn’t push us from where we were, toward wanting to sign him.”

The Blue Jackets said they had not made a decision on Corbeil before the Memorial Cup and would evaluate him at the tournament. Corbeil’s agent commented on the situation.

"It was not his best play, for sure," said Christian Daigle, Corbeil's agent, to the Dispatch. "But hockey is a team sport, and if you saw the games, you would say that his team made the most turnovers and had some of the worst defensive play. It's a very offensive team, the way they play.”

Daigle said they have already received interest from other teams. The National Hockey League Draft is June 22-23 in Pittsburgh. He could also catch on somewhere as a free agent if not drafted.

Some other stuff after the jump.

• CJAD 800 AM in Montreal has an article on Nathan Beaulieu signing with the Canadiens. “Definitely my ultimate goal is to play for Montreal this year,” Beaulieu said. “I think everyone who goes to camp has that mindset. It won’t be easy but that’s my ultimate goal.”
• Hockey’s Future says Ryan Tesink is the St. Louis Blues’ 17^th best prospect. “Though he may not project as a top six scorer at the pro level, the 19-year-old Tesink is a swift skater capable of succeeding in a variety of roles and projects as more of a complimentary top-nine player at the next level,” writes Ian Altenbaugh. “With another year at the junior level in 2012-13, Tesink may see an increased role next season for a Saint John team that could lose a lot of their top-end talent.”
• According to Even Strength, the Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes had to submit their 16-man protected list to the league this past Tuesday for next Wednesday’s Sherbrooke Phoenix expansion draft. Every other team had to submit their protected list a few weeks ago but the Dogs and Cats got an extension because of the Memorial Cup. The protected lists are not expected to be made public. The Phoenix can select a maximum of two players from each team but no more than one goaltender.
• The off-season has begun but this will be a busy week for the Sea Dogs. Along with the expansion draft and trade period, the QMJHL Entry Draft is next Saturday in Quebec City. This year’s draft week should be much for exciting for Sea Dogs fans compared to last year when the team’s roster was basically already set. This week is where the Sea Dogs’ rebuild will begin. We'll have more draft coverage all week.
• The above photo is from the Memorial Cup Facebook page. They have a lot of nifty photos like the one above and are worth checking out.