Goaltender Callum Booth and forwards Spencer Smallman and Julien Gauthier all attended the camp, which took place June 28 - July 1 in Raleigh. All three were draft picks of the Hurricanes and spent the final half of the 2016-17 season playing together in Saint John.
“I first met them here at camp [last year], and we became good friends at camp, we hung out,” Smallman told the North State Journal last week. “I kind of mentioned that to our GM in Saint John and see if we could maybe work out a deal to get them in Saint John, and fortunately it worked out. We had a great team and ultimately we got the championship.”
The only non-Sea Dog from the QMJHL to take part in the camp was Chicoutimi's Nicolas Roy.Learn more about @ssmallman96's season as captain of the @SJSeaDogs → WATCH: https://t.co/t6TZcE7HHN pic.twitter.com/jwCu7F8DGb— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) June 28, 2017
Smallman was an overager last season and will play pro somewhere this year. Gauthier and Booth both have a year of junior eligibility remaining, but there is a good chance both will turn pro this season as well. Booth, being a goaltender, seems more likely to return, but those chances seem slim at this point.
Sea Dogs head coach Danny Flynn spoke to the Charlotte Observer about the trio making the jump to the AHL before eventually making the NHL.Catch up on @cjboothy's championship run with the @SJSeaDogs this season → Prospect Profile: https://t.co/ikf3N0Muks pic.twitter.com/ydzOO2iapN— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) June 29, 2017
“I’ve never had a general manager say they left a player in the minor leagues too long,” Flynn told the newspaper. “Go to the AHL, grow and mature. The American League is a great stepping stone. What’s wrong with first going in there and trying to dominate that league?”
Carolina's AHL affiliate is the Charlotte Checkers - who will join the AHL's Eastern Conference this season - while their ECHL affiliate is the Florida Everblades."I'm a hard-nosed guy who goes to the net & [Smallman] feeds me the puck." —@ju_gauth12 on playing with @ssmallman96 this season#CanesCamp pic.twitter.com/BBB81PU0hP— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) June 28, 2017
The three weren't the only current, former or future Sea Dogs to take part in NHL development camps over the past few weeks (and weeks ahead). Here's a full list of players who have worn a Dogs jersey at some point:
| Team | Player |
| Arizona Coyotes | Adam Marsh |
| Boston Bruins | Cedric Pare |
| Boston Bruins | Jakub Zboril |
| Calgary Flames | Samuel Dove-McFalls |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Callum Booth |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Julien Gauthier |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Spencer Smallman |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Matthew Highmore* |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Nathan Noel* |
| Los Angeles Kings | Bokondji Imama |
| Montreal Canadiens | Simon Bourque |
| Ottawa Senators | Thomas Chabot |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Alex D'Orio |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Mathieu Joseph |
| Winnipeg Jets | Luke Green |
Sea Dogs draft picks Ostap Safin (Edmonton Oilers), Ben Mirageas (New York Islanders), Morgan Barron (New York Rangers), Marc McLaughlin (Montreal Canadiens) and Shane Bowers (Ottawa Senators) also attended camps.
*Development camp rosters have not been released yet, but presumably these players will be invited
No comments:
Post a Comment