Training Camp Eve

Some thoughts and stuff heading into training camp…

• Danny Flynn is the head coach of the Sea Dogs. I may never get used to writing that.
• We are officially in the post Sebastien Auger era. Who will replace him in net is one of the bigger questions heading into camp. The Dogs have an overager in  Marc-Antoine Turcotte, a first round pick in Alex D’Orio and a couple somewhat experienced guys in Alex Bishop and Blade Mann-Dixon. There will be eight goalies in camp in total. Will be interesting to see how this shakes down.
• Cool to see Michael-Anthony Veleno, the brother of Joe Veleno, invited to camp. It’s certainly not the first time two brothers have come to camp together.
• Speaking of Veleno, it appears he’ll be referred to as “Joe Veleno” rather than “Joseph Veleno.”
• With all the hype surrounding Veleno and D’Orio, Cedric Pare has become the forgotten first rounder. There were quite a few who questioned the Sea Dogs drafting Pare so early in the draft. Curious to see how he looks in the rookie and pre-season games.
• 2015 draft picks not coming to camp: Marc McLaughlin and Ben Mirageas. Both are American. Adam Marsh and Sam Povorozniouk will be the only Americans in camp.
• Bailey Webster and Kallum Muirhead will be the only PEI natives at camp. That’s far fewer than the Mike Kelly era when basically half the province was in Saint John.
• Curious to see what Julien Tessier can do this season.
• With so many players heading to NHL camps next month, we should get some long looks at several players on the camp roster. It’ll be quite a start to the season.
• Remember: Thursday’s pre-season game against Bathurst is free to attend but a ticket must be picked up at the box office.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation