No Sea Dogs Picked In NHL Draft

For the second straight year, no members of the Saint John Sea Dogs were selected in the NHL Draft.

Only two Sea Dogs – forward Stephen Anderson and defenseman Jurij Repe – were named in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. Both were projected as late picks so it did not come as a huge surprise to see neither picked in today’s lengthy draft.

A couple players with Sea Dogs connections were selected. Ryan Segalla was a fourth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins while Wiley Sherman was selected in the fifth-round by the Boston Bruins.

Segalla, a Massachusetts native who is committed to play at the University of Connecticut in 2014, was an eighth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft but never reported. The Sea Dogs lost his rights to the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the expansion draft.

Meanwhile, Sherman, a Connecticut native who is committed to play at Harvard in 2014, was a 13^th-round pick of the Sea Dogs in 2012 but has never reported. Judging by this tweet from The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy, it doesn’t look like he’ll be coming to Saint John.

#Bruins pick Wiley Sherman says he will return to Hotchkiss prep school next season, then go to Harvard in 2014-15
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) July 1, 2013

Although it wasn’t a great draft for the Sea Dogs, it was a great draft for the QMJHL as an unlimited amount of players were selected. Good stuff.

It's NHL Draft Day

The 2013 NHL Draft takes place this afternoon in New Jersey.

Because of the lockout, the entire draft will take place in one day.  It all begins at 4pm Atlantic on TSN.

The Colorado Avalanche have the first overall selection this year and it looks like they will be selecting Halifax Mooseheads forward Nathan MacKinnon with the pick. MacKinnon going first would be the highlight of what is expected to be a great draft for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Two of MacKinnon’s teammates – forward Jonathan Drouin and goaltender Zach Fucale – are also projected first rounders.

Rimouski’s Frederik Gauthier, Baie-Comeau’s Valentin Zykov, Val-d’Or’s Anthony Mantha, Cape Breton’s William Carrier, Quebec’s Adam Erne, and others could also be selected in the top 30.

Only two members of the Saint John Sea Dogs – forward Stephen Anderson and defenseman Jurij Repe – were listed in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. Anderson was ranked 127^th while Repe was 205^th, respectively.

After a slow start this year, Anderson recorded 12 goals and 15 assists in 63 games.

“If I get drafted, that’s great, I’d really like that, but if I don’t I’m not going to be teary-eyed,” Anderson told the Charlottetown Guardian. “It would be a huge honour to know all your effort over the years has paid off.”

Meanwhile, Repe registered three goals and eight assists in 38 games in his first season with the Dogs.

No Sea Dogs were selected in last year’s NHL Draft.

Huberdeau Named To NHL Rookie Team

Jonathan Huberdeau has been named to the National Hockey League’s All-Rookie Team for the 2012-13 season.

The news comes as no surprise as the former Saint John Sea Dogs captain was named the Calder Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year earlier this month.

Huberdeau, who spent the first half of the season with the Sea Dogs due to the lockout, recorded 14 goals and 17 assists in 48 games with a bad Florida Panthers team. According to NHL.com, “his average ice time of 16:55 led all first-year forwards. He was also the first player in franchise history and the only one in the NHL this season to score on two penalty shots, and he set a team record for points by a teenager, breaking the mark of 27 set by Radek Dvorak in 1995-96.”

Fredericton native and former QMJHLer Jake Allen of the St. Louis Blues was the goaltender named to the All-Rookie Team. Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens and Brandon Saad of the Chicago Blackhawks – both of whom were Calder finalists – were the other forwards on the team. The Minnesota Wild’s Jonas Brodin and the Edmonton Oilers’ Justin Schultz were the defensemen.

The 2013 NHL Draft takes place tomorrow afternoon in New Jersey.

3rd Line Grind Airs Tonight At 6pm

It’s show day!

Here’s what’s going down on tonight’s episode of 3^rd Line Grind beginning at 6pm on Local 107.3 FM.

• Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup
• Talking ‘bout Sunday’s NHL Draft
• Trades and buyouts and trades and buyouts
• Sea Dogs news
• The Import Draft is coming
• Coaching changes
• More stuff probably?

Tune in tonight from 6-7pm on Local 107.3 FM in the Saint John area, listen live online at localfm.ca, or check us out on Rogers channel 949 and Aliant 824.

Also, follow us on Twitter @3rdlinegrnd and like us on Facebook to keep up to date on show happenings.

The Drafts Are Coming

It’s been fairly quiet in the junior hockey world over the past few weeks but things are about to get busy.

On Sunday, the 2013 NHL Draft will take place in New Jersey. Because of the lockout the entire draft will take place on a Sunday afternoon. TSN has coverage beginning at 3:30pm.

This is expected to be a huge draft for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. It certainly looks like Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche plan to take Nathan MacKinnon with the first overall pick. MacKinnon, along with Halifax teammates Jonathan Drouin and Zach Fucale, are other QMJHL players who should go in the first round.

QMJHLers Valentin Zykov, Frederik Gauthier, Anthony Mantha, William Carrier, Samuel Morin, Adam Erne, and Laurent Dauphin are all listed in the top 30 of the NHL Central Scouting’s North American player rankings.

Only two Saint John Sea Dogs – forward Stephen Anderson and defenseman Jurij Repe – made Central Scouting’s final rankings. Anderson came in at No. 127 while Repe was listed at No. 205, respectively.

Meanwhile, the 2013 CHL Import Draft will take place next Wednesday, July 3. The Sea Dogs have the ninth overall selection and they are expected to be using that pick.

The Vancouver Giants will select first overall. QMJHL teams picking ahead of Saint John are Cape Breton at No. 3 and Halifax at No. 6.

Pens Trade Grant To Ducks

The Pittsburgh Penguins traded former Sea Dogs captain Alex Grant to the Anaheim Ducks today.

The 24-year old defenseman was dealt to the Ducks in exchange for left winger Harry Zolnierczyk. Not exactly a blockbuster trade here.

Grant was drafted by the Penguins in fourth-round of the 2007 NHL Draft and has spent his entire pro career in the minor levels of the organization. He had one of the best seasons of his career in 2011-12, recording 37 points in 61 games with the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He registered four goals and 16 assists in 46 games with the baby Pens this past season.

As Pensburgh explains beautifully, this is probably a good move for Grant.

For the Penguins it's not a big loss, Grant (a former 4th round pick) has been in the minors for the past four seasons and is quite buried on the organization's depth chart even before the bluechip pipeline of prospect defensemen is about to kick guys like Scott Harrington, Olli Maatta and Derrick Pouliot into the system in the coming months/years. Grant's been a good AHL defenseman and isn't a bad player, but his chances of ever amounting to much in Pittsburgh's organization just weren't rosy. He'll get a new start and the Pens will get some forward depth that they badly need.

Grant will join another former Sea Dogs defenseman – Kevin Gagne – in the Anaheim system.

The Sea Dogs selected Grant with the first overall pick in the 2005 QMJHL Entry Draft. He spent three-and-a-half seasons with the club before being traded to the Shawinigan Cataractes during the 2008-09 trading period.

MacAulay Gets Camp Invite

Metro Halifax is reporting that former Sea Dogs forward Stephen MacAulay has been signed to a tryout contract by the Montreal Canadiens.

“I feel really good and I think I developed another dimension to my game,” MacAulay told Metro Halifax. “I have a good two-way game but I think I’ve shown that I can put the puck in the net too.”

MacAulay was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the sixth-round of the 2010 NHL Draft but was never signed. He participated in Hamilton Bulldogs – the American Hockey League affiliate of the Habs – training camp last fall.

“I know where I want to be next, and that’s in the AHL and I think that’s a realistic goal,” MacAulay added.

Metro also notes that former Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant, now an assistant coach with the Canadiens, played a role in getting MacAulay to come to camp this July.

The Cole Harbour native is one of the winningest junior hockey players ever, winning four QMJHL regular season championships, three President Cups, and two Memorial Cups. He played four-and-a-half seasons with Saint John and half a year with the Halifax Mooseheads.

Former PEI Rocket and UNB Varsity Reds commit Ben Duffy will also be taking part in the Habs camp. TVA Sports also adds that Gabriel Desjardins, formerly of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, also received an invite.

Alumni Weekend Info Released

The Saint John Sea Dogs Foundation officially released details on August’s alumni weekend today. The Inaugural Wallace McCain Memorial Alumni Weekend will be held from Friday, August 23rd to Sunday, August 25th.

From the release:

The weekend will be jammed packed with activities highlighted by the Wallace McCain Memorial Alumni Game. The game will take place at Harbour Station at 1:30 PM on Saturday, August 24th, 2013 featuring former Saint John Sea Dogs vs. UNB Varsity Reds alumni. The weekend is named in honour of businessman, community leader and philanthropist, G. Wallace F. McCain. He was a former Chairman of Maple Leaf Foods and also co-founder and former Vice Chairman of McCain Foods. Mr. McCain is the father of Scott McCain, CEO of the Saint John Sea Dogs hockey club.

The Sea Dogs Alumni team will be coached by former head coach Gerard Gallant, now assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens while Mike Kelly, current Sea Dogs head coach and GM, will coach the UNB Varsity Reds Alumni. Kelly guided the Varsity Reds to a Canadian Interuniversity Championship in 1998. Gallant and Kelly were the tandem that brought 3 regular season titles, two President Cups and a Memorial Cup to the Port City. The Sea Dogs alumni roster will be filled with former stars and fan favorites, many of whom have progressed to the professional level. Roster will include players such as Mike Thomas, Jason Churchill, Travis Fullerton, Kevin Gagne, Jeff Caron, Pierre Durepos, Charles-Olivier Roussel, Ryan Sparling, Michael Kirkpatrick, Alex Beauregard, Danick Gauthier, Francois Gauthier, Sea Dogs' 2007 1st-overall pick in the QMJHL draft and Pittsburgh Penguins' Rookie of the Year Simon Despres and Nathan Beaulieu who made his NHL debut this past March as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. More players will be announced at a later date. The roster is subject to change, due to player availability.

The Sea Dogs Foundation has been a fabric in the community for the past sevenyears and has raised money to help support various charities and organizations in the community. All funds raised during the weekend activities will be given to the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada (New Brunswick Chapter); a national non-profit organization dedicated to fulfilling a favourite wish for children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, as well as the Top Corner fund in Saint John and The Brendon Oreto Foundation in Fredericton. These two organizations meet the principles to provide financial assistance and hockey equipment to young New Brunswickers in need. 

Fans will have a chance to meet and interact with players at various events throughout the weekend and have a chance to bid on sports memorabilia items donated by various NHL/AHL/ECHL teams and players.

Below is the tentative schedule for the event:

New 3rd Line Grind Tonight At 6pm

It’s Friday! Which means there is a new show today! Exclamation point!

Here’s what’s going down on tonight’s episode of 3^rd Line Grind on Local 107.3 FM:

• Calder Trophy and Calder Cup talk
• The Sea Dogs’ 2013-14 schedule is out
• The Stanley Cup Final has been decent
• Blue Jays Talk? Blue Jays talk.

Tune in tonight from 6-7pm on Local 107.3 FM in the Saint John area, listen live online at localfm.ca, or check us out on Rogers channel 949 and Aliant 824.

Also, follow us on Twitter @3rdlinegrnd and like us on Facebook to keep up to date on show happenings.

Sea Dogs Notebook

HUBERDEAU

The CHL website has an article on Jonathan Huberdeau’s Calder Trophy win.

According to the CHL, “the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup MVP, Huberdeau follows former Kitchener Rangers Gabriel Landeskog and Jeff Skinner, Kelowna Rockets’ grad Tyler Myers, Rangers’ goaltender Steve Mason, and London Knights’ star Patrick Kane on the list of past CHL players to earn top rookie honours.”

Here’s Huberdeau speaking with EJ Hradek of the NHL Network after winning the Rookie of the Year award.

NOEL

Here’s a good John Moore video featuring Nathan Noel, Saint John’s top pick in the 2013 QMJHL Entry Draft.

CHAMPIONS

The Sea Dogs may have been eliminated in the first round of this year’s playoffs, but they had plenty of former players win championships.

QMJHL President Cup – Stephen MacAulay

CHL Memorial Cup – Stephen MacAulay

CIS University Cup – Travis Fullerton

ECHL Kelly Cup – Stanislav Galiev

AHL Calder Cup – Tomas Jurco

MACAULAY

Speaking of MacAulay, the radio station CJLS The Wave has an interview with the former Sea Dogs forward on their website. Listen to that here.

HOFFMAN

The Sea Dogs website has a new name on their roster – Tyler Hoffman.

The 17-year old forward, who is the younger brother of former Sea Dogs star Mike Hoffman according to SN’s Kevin Chambers, has spent the past two seasons playing for the Kitchener Dutchmen of the GOJHL.

The Kitchener native is listed at 5’09” and 145 lbs on the Sea Dogs website. Here is some more info on him.

Pre-Season Schedule Released

SAINT JOHN – The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has released their full pre-season schedule.

The Saint John Sea Dogs open up exhibition play on Saturday, August 17 at the qplex in Quispamsis against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. They’ll then travel to Bathurst to play the Titan the following afternoon.

The Sea Dogs have played one pre-season game at the qplex in each of the past two seasons. Unreal facility. Ticket information has not yet been released.

Saint John will play six pre-season games in total – four against Bathurst and two against Moncton. They were scheduled to play seven last year but ended up only playing five due to illness hitting the Halifax Mooseheads, cancelling two games.

Here is the full schedule:

Saturday, August 17 – 7pm vs Bathurst (qplex)
Sunday, August 18 – 3pm at Bathurst (KC Irving Centre)
Saturday, August 24 – 7pm vs Bathurst (Harbour Station)
Sunday, August 25 – 3pm at Bathurst (KC Irving Centre)
Friday, September 6 – 7pm at Moncton (Bouctouche)
Sunday, September 8 – 3pm vs Moncton (Harbour Station)

The Sea Dogs begin the regular season on Friday, September 13 in Moncton against the Wildcats.

Jurco, Griffins Win Calder Cup

Tomas Jurco and the Grand Rapids Griffins are 2013 Calder Cup Champions.

The Griffins won their first American Hockey League championship last night with a 5-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch. Grand Rapids, who led the best-of-seven series 3-0 at one point, won the trophy in six games.

Tomas Tatar had two goals for the Griffins while singles came from Mitch Callahan, Joakim Andersson, and Brennan Evans. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves in the victory. Jurco was held pointless and was a -1.

It’s the third straight year that Jurco’s season ended with a championship. He helped Saint John win back-to-back President Cup titles in 2011 and 2012 as well as the 2011 Memorial Cup.

The Slovakian, a second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2011, had a solid playoff run. He recorded eight goals and six assists in 24 post-season games after registering 14 goals and 14 assists in 74 regular season contests.

The Crunch roster featured former Sea Dogs forward Danick Gauthier. He did not play in any playoff games, though.

Five Dogs Taken In MHL Draft

Five players with connections to the Saint John Sea Dogs were taken in Saturday’s Maritime Junior Hockey League Draft.

The players picked were:

Round 2, Pick 3 – Antoine Landry (Woodstock Slammers)

Round 2, Pick 10 – Bailey Webster (Truro Bearcats)

Round 5, Pick 10 – Matthew Highmore (Truro Bearcats)

Territorial 2, Pick 8 – Alexander McQuaid (Amherst Ramblers)

Territorial 2, Pick 9 – Joey Richard (Yarmouth Mariners)

Of the five, only Highmore, Saint John’s top pick in the 2012 QMJHL Entry Draft, played with the Sea Dogs last season. Landry (Round 9), Webster (Round 7), McQuaid (Round 4), and Richard (Round 3) were all picks of the Dogs in the 2013 ‘Q’ draft that was held a couple weeks ago.

Yarmouth was pleased to pick Richard on draft day.

"Richard is a phenomenal player," Mariners Head Coach and GM Laurie Barron told CJLS. "Maybe the most gifted player of all the Midget prospects. A lot of teams stayed away from him because they thought he was going to the QMJHL for sure. We aren't worried about that. If he happens to go to the Quebec League, then maybe we'll see him as a 19 or 20 year old. We feel Joey is a kid that will step in and be a top line player if we get him."

Bearcats head coach and general manager Shawn Evans told the Truro Daily News that Highmore was a “flyer” pick. He also took Cape Breton Screaming Eagle Zach Moody.

“We’re not sure if we’ll get them here, but they’ll be very nice players if we ever do,” Evans said.

2013-14 Sea Dogs Schedule Released

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open the 2012-13 regular season in Moncton on Friday, September 13. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League released their full schedule this afternoon.

It will be the first time the Sea Dogs open the regular season at the Moncton Coliseum. It will also be the first time since 2009 that the Sea Dogs open the season on the road.

Following their season opening, Saint John will play in Bathurst on Sunday, September 15. The Sea Dogs will hold their home opener on Saturday, September 21 against Bathurst.

The Dogs will play their first game against the Charlottetown Islanders on September 22 at Harbour Station. Other notable dates include October 1 when the Memorial Cup Champion Halifax Mooseheads play their first game at the Station, the Wildcats play their first game of the year in Saint John on October 16, and the Dogs play in Shawinigan on January 29.

The Sea Dogs will end the regular season - as usual - with a stretch of four straight road games. Their ninth campaign closes on March 15 in Charlottetown.

"We are thrilled with this year’s schedule as we have a combined 20 Friday and Saturday night dates which are always our most popular nights," said Sea Dogs president Wayne Long in a team release. "We also have six Sunday dates and these continue to grow as a family afternoon of hockey."

The full Sea Dogs schedule can be seen here. We’ll have a breakdown of the sked later this week.

The QMJHL regular season begins on Thursday, September 12 with the Mooseheads hosting the Wildcats.

More On Huberdeau's Calder Win

Above are the voting results for the Calder Trophy. The voting is done by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Jonathan Huberdeau didn’t beat Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher by a whole lot. Also, former Sea Dogs forward Charlie Coyle and Fredericton native Jake Allen finished in a tie for 17^th with two fifth place votes each.

Here’s Huberdeau speaking with the Hockey Night in Canada crew.

Huberdeau Wins Calder Trophy

Jonathan Huberdeau has won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the National Hockey League’s 2012-13 Rookie of the Year.

Huberdeau received the award this evening in Chicago before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final took place between the Blackhawks and Boston Bruins.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs captain beat out Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher and Chicago’s Brandon Saad to win the award. The winner of the Calder was sort of leaked by TSN.

Huberdeau recorded 14 goals and 17 assists with the Florida Panthers to finish his first pro season with 31 points in 48 games. He finished in a tie with Edmonton’s Nail Yakupov - who was not nominated for the Calder Trophy – for the rookie scoring lead. Huberdeau’s 14 goals were third most amongst rookies behind Yakupov (17) and Gallagher (15). His 17 assists were fourth most. He did all this while playing hurt most of the year.

The Panthers have never had a player win the award previously. It’s big for Huberdeau, big for the Panthers, and also a big deal for the Sea Dogs. Not a whole lot of teams can say they developed a Calder Trophy winner.

This was a great year for the Sea Dogs at the NHL level as six former players – Huberdeau, Charlie Coyle, Simon Despres, Nathan Beaulieu, Mike Hoffman, and Eric Gelinas – all played in The Show.

Sea Dogs Notebook

TICKETS

The Sea Dogs announced the other day that “if you pay in full for your Season Tickets before Friday June 28, 2013, your 2013-14 Season Tickets will be printed in a commemorative ticket booklet which will feature full color pictures and action shots of your Saint John Sea Dogs. We hope that this new benefit will enhance the value of being a Season Ticket Holder and we have included an image of the cover (see above) so that you can get a sense of what to look forward to receiving in September.”

More info on that, including details on early bird prizes, can be found here.

CALDER TROPHY

Will Jonathan Huberdeau win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year? We will find out tonight.

According to NHL.com, beginning at 8pm Atlantic tonight, NBC Sports Network and CBC will join forces to co-host a live pregame television special in which the winners of the Hart Memorial, Calder Memorial, James Norris Memorial and Vezina trophies, along with the Ted Lindsay Award, will be revealed.

Huberdeau, who had 14 goals and 17 assists 48 games with a bad Florida Panthers team this past season, is up against Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens and Brandon Saad of the Chicago Blackhawks.

CALDER CUP

Tomas Jurco and the Grand Rapids Griffins will have another shot tonight to win the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup.

The Syracuse Crunch kept the series alive with a 3-2 victory last night. The Griffins lead the series 3-1 entering tonight’s Game 5 in Grand Rapids. That game begins at 8pm and can be viewed for free on AHL Live.

In last night’s game, Jurco was a -1 with five shots. Danick Gauthier, once again, did not play for the Crunch.

Jurco Closing In On AHL Championship

Crunch vs. Griffins - Calder Cup Finals from griffinshockey on Vimeo.

Tomas Jurco and the Grand Rapids Griffins are a win away from a Calder Cup Championship.

The Griffins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, lead the Calder Cup Final 3-0 entering tonight’s Game 4 against the Syracuse Crunch.

Game time this evening is 8pm Atlantic. All games of the Calder Cup Final can be seen for free on AHL Live.

The Griffins won the first two games of the series in Syracuse, defeating the Crunch 3-1 and 6-4. On Wednesday, Grand Rapids returned home and took a 3-0 series lead with a 4-2 victory.

Jurco’s only point in the series so far was a goal in Game 2. He has a solid eight goals and six assists in 21 playoff games this year.

The Crunch roster also features a former Sea Dogs forward in Danick Gauthier. He has not played in the post-season.

New 3rd Line Grind Tonight At 6pm

It. Is. Show day.

Here’s what’s happening on tonight’s episode of 3^rd Line Grind, which airs every Friday at 6pm on Local 107.3 FM.

• Recapping what the Sea Dogs did at last week’s draft
• More QMJHL Entry Draft talk
• CHL Import Draft changes
• NHL stuff

Tune in tonight from 6-7pm on Local 107.3 FM in the Saint John area, listen live online at localfm.ca, or check us out on Rogers channel 949 and Aliant 824.

Also, follow us on Twitter @3rdlinegrnd and like us on Facebook to keep up to date on show happenings.

Goodbye, Import Goaltenders

As reported over the past few weeks, European goaltenders in the Canadian Hockey League will soon become a thing of the past.

#CHL announces change to Import Draft rule - 2013 will be the final opportunity for clubs to select European goaltenders at annual draft
— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) June 11, 2013

Euro G born 94/95 may be picked in 1st round '13 #CHL Import Draft, current import G and those selected can play until eligibility exhausted
— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) June 11, 2013

The move has to do with Canada’s recent struggles to produce quality goaltenders, as the Toronto Star explains. Buzzing The Net also has a solid read on the controversial decision.

Switzerland native Robert Mayer is the only Euro goaltender the Sea Dogs have ever had. He played two seasons in Saint John from 2007-2009 and has been playing in the Montreal Canadiens farm system ever since.

Of note, the 2013 CHL Import Draft is on Wednesday, July 3. The Sea Dogs will select ninth overall.

Sea Dogs Notebook

CHAMPIONS

Cool picture here from draft week. A member of the Sea Dogs, Shawinigan Cataractes, and Halifax Mooseheads join Gilles Courteau with the Memorial Cup.

CALDER CUP

Tomas Jurco and the Grand Rapids Griffins are up 2-0 in the best-of-seven Calder Cup Final over the Syracuse Crunch.

The Griffins won Game 1, 3-1, and Game 2, 6-4, this past weekend. Both games were played in Syracuse while the next three will be played in Grand Rapids.

Jurco was held pointless in the first game but scored in the second match and recorded five shots. The former Sea Dogs forward now has eight goals and six assists in 20 playoff games.

Only 2 more !!! Being a champ feels great i can tell u that much, lets do it this year too! #ahlfinals #griffs
— Tomas Jurco (@Jurky13) June 10, 2013

The games are being streamed for free on the AHL website.

MIDGLEY

It was announced last week that the Mooseheads coaching staff had resigned with the club.

According to the Moose website, “(General Manager) Cam Russell and Head Coach Dominique Ducharme have agreed to new three year contracts. Smith also announced that Assistant Coaches Jim Midgley and Steve Hartley, along with Goaltending Coach Eric Raymond, have all signed new 2 year contracts with the Club.”

Midgley is a former Sea Dogs assistant coach from the Jacques Beaulieu days.

CHIASSON

The Universite de Moncton is having a really good recruiting year. Last week, it was announced former Sea Dog Danny Chiasson would be joining the men’s hockey team for the 2013-14 season.

Danny Chiasson ( @chiassondanny ) had committed to Université de Moncton's Men's Hockey program. #CapsCommit @aiglesbleus
— Summerside Capitals (@SsideCapitals) June 7, 2013

Chiasson helped the Summerside Western Capitals win a MHL Championship this past season. He played six games with Saint John in 2011-12.

UdeM has also added Pierre Durepos and the Saulnier twins for next season.

News & Notes From Draft Day

Some news and notes from draft day…

• Allan Walsh is Nathan Noel’s and Will Thompson's agent, so we can expect to hear a lot about them and the Sea Dogs on Twitter over the next few years. “Everyone tuck the name Nathan Noel away. He was the youngest player to make Shattuck’s Prep team in 9 years,” Walsh tweeted yesterday.
• Saint John has now selected a forward with their first pick in the draft each of the past four years.
• The Sea Dogs drafted Will Thompson, a RNS defenseman, with the pick they acquired in trading former RNS defenseman Kevin Gagne to Rimouski.
• “It’s the team I wanted to go to, so it worked out well,” Thompson told the Telegraph-Journal.
• This was the fourth time in Sea Dogs history that they had two picks in the first round. In each of those drafts they picked a forward and a defenseman.
• Only two Atlantic players were taken in the first round yesterday – Noel and Thompson.
• Noel, Dogs ninth round pick Antoine Landry, and current Sea Dog Matthew Highmore all played with Team Atlantic at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge this past year.
• Saint John drafted their first goaltender, Christopher Smith, in the fifth round. In the Mike Kelly era, the Sea Dogs have drafted a goaltender in the fifth round four different times.
• Again, Joey Richard’s playoff numbers.
• “It’s awesome,” defenseman Alexander McQuaid, Saint John’s fourth round pick, told The Guardian about being drafted. “I am pretty pumped, that’s one of the spots I wanted to go.”
• The Sea Dogs have selected an Atlantic born player with their first pick in each of the past six drafts.
• A Nova Scotian didn’t get picked until 33^rd overall when Nicholas Welsh went to Shawinigan.
• Cameron Askew was the only American taken in the first round, going 11^th overall to Drummondville. Word on the street is that Askew expected to go third to Saint John or 11^th to the Volts.
• Highly touted American defenseman Noah Hanifin went 26^th overall to the Quebec Remparts. He probably won’t report to the QMJHL this year, but it could get interesting if the Remparts are able to use 2015 Memorial Cup host as a recruiting tool.
• The Mooseheads drafted a car dealership in the second round, picking Taylor Ford.
• Moncton drafted a guy named Will Smith.
• Fredericton’s Luc Deschenes, projected to be a first rounder by most draft publications, slipped all the way to 50^th where Victoriaville selected him.
• How great are Saint John’s third jerseys? One of the best in the CHL.
• Charlottetown showed off their new jersey yesterday. Most people on the interweb were not huge fans and I would have to agree with them.
• Was thinking about this yesterday – Saint John, Moncton, and Halifax have owned the division over the past few years. How weird would it be if Cape Breton, Bathurst, and Charlottetown suddenly took over?
• The 2014 QMJHL Entry Draft will be held in Sherbrooke.
• The CHL Import Draft is just a few weeks away.

Sea Dogs Select 16 In Entry Draft

The Saint John Sea Dogs had quite a draft day.

The Sea Dogs selected 16 players in Saturday’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft ranging from third overall to 239^th.

Saint John’s draft day was headlined by their two first round picks – forward Nathan Noel and defenseman Will Thompson. We broke down those picks in posts HERE and HERE.

"He battles in the corners, in front of the nets and scores a lot of goals in those areas," said Doug Jackman, the Sea Dogs Newfoundland and Labrador scout, about Noel in a team release. "I think with him you're getting the full package who will be a franchise player down the road."

"We see Will as a complete defenseman," said the Sea Dogs New Brunswick Scout Stephane Leblanc about Thompson. "He's got good offensive skills, but he's also good defensively and he competes very hard. He's got some grit, good size and a right hand shot. We liked everything about his game."

"We're thrilled with the guys we got in the first round," says Sea Dogs Head Coach and General Manager Mike Kelly. "They're both very dynamic players, hard working and very competitive. They're exciting players to watch, they're offensive and are players people will want to come out and watch."

Beyond the first round, the Dogs were able to select some quality players as well. Here is a breakdown:

Second round, 22^nd overall – Thomas Chabot

The Sea Dogs used their only pick of the second round to select defenseman Thomas Chabot from Levis of the Quebec AAA league. According to Elite Prospects he recorded six goals and 20 assists in 41 games.

The QMJHL website lists him at 6.00 and 169 lbs.

Central Scouting had Chabot ranked 16^th, International Scouting Services 20^th, and HockeyProspect.com 14^th.

“He is mostly an offensive defenseman, but due to his excellent understanding of the game and technique, can be quite effective defensively,” states the HockeyProspect.com draft guide. “He rarely gets beaten along the boards or in the middle of the ice. At first glance, it’s easy to think he’s not a good skater or that he is too slow for the next level. The reality is that his footing and first few steps when he explodes are not very good, but when he gets going, his skating is very good and even above average.”

Third round, 41^st overall – Joey Richard

In the third round, Saint John selected Moncton Flyers forward Joey Richard. Last season he had 26 goals and 29 assists in 35 regular season games before lighting it up in the post-season, recording 17 goals and 13 assists in just nine games to lead the NB/PEI Major Midget Hockey League in playoff scoring.

Joey Richard to SJ, this kid has a rocket for a shot and is a pure goal scorer
— Anthony Stella (@AnthonyStella88) June 8, 2013

Richard was ranked 32^nd by Central Scouting, 35^th by ISS, and 27^th by HockeyProspect.com.

“He is very dangerous when he positions himself in front of the net and has a dangerous wrist shot he loves to use,” states the HockeyProspect.com draft guide. “He excels at protecting the puck in one-on-one situations and he uses his body well to defend it.”

He is listed at 6.01 and 190 lbs.