Notebook: Three Dogs Off To NHL Camps

Three current members of the Saint John Sea Dogs will take part in NHL rookie camps.

Defenseman Olivier LeBlanc will be taking part in Columbus Blue Jackets rookie camp. The Jackets will play in the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Dempsey is off to Boston Bruins rookie camp. The Bruins will take part in the Nashville prospects tournament.

Lastly, Matthew Highmore was a free agent invite of the Montreal Canadiens. Highmore attended Habs development camp this past summer.

ANDERSON RETURNS

For the first time since January 5, Stephen Anderson played in a regular season QMJHL game. Anderson suited up for the Val-d’Or Foreurs last night in the QMJHL’s season opener and had an impressive outing, recording two goals and six shots. He also wore an ‘A’ on his sweater and was named the game’s first star.

Anderson, 20, played in four pre-season games with the Foreurs and registered two goals and an assist. He missed most of the second half last season due to injury.

CRAIG’S LIST

Sea Dogs defenseman Jakub Zboril is already being considered a top prospect for the 2015 NHL Draft.

In his latest draft rankings, TSN’s Craig Button ranked Zboril 15^th for the upcoming draft.

Charlottetown’s Daniel Sprong (No. 9) and Sherbrooke's Jeremy Roy (No. 13) were the only QMJHL players ranked ahead of Zboril. Connor McDavid was ranked No. 1 while Sea Dogs property Jack Eichel was second.

ONTARIO FOLKS

Saint John’s season-opening roster will feature seven players from Ontario – while just six are from Quebec. TVA Sports’ Mikael Lalancette took a look at that in a blog post.

SCOUTING CHANGE

The Sea Dogs announced yesterday that scout Mathieu Bougie has resigned from his position due to family commitments. Nate Palango, who worked with the Central Hockey League’s Brampton Beast last season, has been hired to replace him as the Sea Dogs’ scout for the Greater Toronto Area.

TV NEWS

Full details on the new Rogers TV deal that will see the Sea Dogs, Wildcats, and Titan return to cable still haven’t been released. But, the Titan have released their broadcast schedule.

The following Sea Dogs-Titan matches will be broadcast:

November 30: Titan at Saint John

January 7: Titan at Saint John

February 13: Sea Dogs at Bathurst

March 6: Sea Dogs at Bathurst

MAtv’s full QMJHL broadcast schedule is also out. They will air the January 31 game between the Sea Dogs and Armada in Blainville-Boisbriand.

HF RANKS THE WINGS

Hockey’s Future has ranked former Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco the third best prospect in the Detroit Red Wings system.

Jurco appeared in 36 NHL games last season, recording eight goals and seven assists. He also played in three playoff games.

“The only thing that could keep him from being a permanent fixture in the NHL is his waiver status,” writes Adam Schnepp. “Jurco is exempt for the 2014-15 season and this could be cause for him to spend time in Grand Rapids.”

Val-d’Or’s Anthony Mantha was the top ranked prospect.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation