Report: Pare to be traded to Oceanic

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The Saint John Sea Dogs rebuild is hitting full swing.

According to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek, the Sea Dogs will trade forward Cedric Pare to the Rimouski Oceanic in exchange for draft picks - a package that includes the 15th overall pick in this weekend's QMJHL Entry Draft.

QMJHL trade - Cedric Pare (Bos) goes from Saint John to Rimouski. Picks, including 15th overall goes the other way.

— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) May 29, 2018

Trade is the 15th overall pick and a 4th round pick from Rimouski for Pare https://t.co/ASM8QB9XIZ

— Kevin Chambers (@SN_Canucklehead) May 29, 2018

If this report is accurate, the Sea Dogs will - for the time being at least - have picks two, eight and 15 in this year's first round.

The Entry Draft takes place on Saturday in Shawinigan.

Pare, 19, has struggled to consistently produce offensively. Last season, he recorded 13 goals and 24 assists in 60 games. There's a strong chance his numbers will take a jump this coming season while playing on a team that should be in the league's upper tier.

Pare was taken with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft. He was a sixth round pick of the Boston Bruins in last year's NHL Draft.

The Sea Dogs are in for a few years of rebuilding, no doubt, but stockpiling first round picks should help expedite the process.

Stanley Cup Final begins tonight in Vegas

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At this time a year ago, not many people would have picked Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly to be the Saint John Sea Dogs alumni taking part in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. But here we are.

The two former Sea Dogs coaches will lead the expansion Vegas Golden Knights into the best-of-seven NHL final, which begins tonight. The Knights will take on the Washington Capitals.

The Knights, of course, are one of the best stories in sports this season and are guaranteed to be made into a movie someday. They also feature quite a few QMJHL alumni.

Gallant and Kelly guided the Sea Dogs into three straight QMJHL finals between 2010 and 2012, winning two.

Gallant has been nominated for NHL's Jack Adams Award, which is awarded annually to the league's coach of the year.

Some other alumni notes...

• There were no former Sea Dogs players in this year's Memorial Cup, but the Hamilton Bulldogs did feature JP Laciak, a former athletic therapist with Saint John.
• Will there be any Sea Dogs alumni taking on the Toronto Marlies in this year's Calder Cup final? We'll know soon. Matthew Highmore, Chris DiDomenico and the Rockford IceHogs currently trail the Western Conference final 3-2 to the Texas Stars. Game 6 of that series goes tonight.
• DiDomenico continues to lead the AHL in playoff scoring with six goals and 17 points in 12 games.
• In the ECHL's Kelly Cup final, the Florida Everblades and Colorado Eagles are tied 1-1. The Everblades feature Michael Kirkpatrick, Stephen MacAulay, Spencer Smallman and Callum Booth. According to media reports, Kirkpatrick is currently out with a concussion.

Titan win Memorial Cup championship

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The Acadie-Bathurst Titan made history on Sunday night in Regina.

The Titan won their first ever Memorial Cup championship, dominating the host Regina Pats in a 3-0 victory. The win is the first national championship for the QMJHL since 2013 and marks just the third time a team from Atlantic Canada has lifted the trophy.

Adam Holwell, Samuel Asselin and Ethan Crossman all scored for the Titan while Evan Fitzpatrick made 28 saves in the shutout win.

Bathurst dominated the first 40 minutes, outshooting the Pats 36-11. Regina goaltender Max Paddock was the only reason the game was close heading into the third. The Pats, predictably, had their moments in the third period - outshooting the Titan 17-8 in the frame - but could not score.

The Titan, in just their second ever tournament appearance, had a fairly smooth run to the championship, finishing the preliminary round 2-1 and earning an automatic spot in the final.

This is, obviously, a huge accomplishment for the Titan franchise - a franchise that has had its struggles in just about every department over the past decade. It's also big for all small market teams across the CHL.

Acadie Bathurst Titan win the 100th MasterCard Memorial Cup

With a population just under 12,000, Bathurst, New Brunswick is the smallest city to win the Memorial Cup since Flin Flon, Manitoba in 1957 (pop. 10,234) #mmc100 pic.twitter.com/234ZAWOYSM

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 28, 2018

Next year's Memorial Cup will take place in Halifax - the first time it's been hosted in Atlantic Canada since 2006.

Titan take on Pats in Memorial Cup final tonight

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REGINA - The Acadie-Bathurst Titan will look to do something no QMJHL team has done since 2013 - win the Memorial Cup final.

The Halifax Mooseheads were the last team from the QMJHL to win a national title, capping off a stretch of three straight Q winners. Since then, a QMJHL team has appeared in the final just once (Rouyn-Noranda in 2016).

The Titan earned an automatic spot in the final earlier this week, finishing with a 2-1 record. They'll take on the host Regina Pats in tonight's final, who finished 2-1 in preliminary round play and defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs in Friday's semifinal.

Game time this evening is 8 p.m. The game can be seen on Sportsnet.

The Pats had a long layoff heading into the tournament after being eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs. They'll look to join last year's Windsor Spitfires and the 2012 Shawinigan Cataractes as recent host teams with long breaks to win the tournament. The host team has won the Memorial Cup just three times since 2007.

While the Titan's story isn't really an underdog tale - they were one of the best teams in the QMJHL all season long - it has the feel of one. The Titan are one of the smallest markets in the CHL, and for them to get to this point - especially after everything that has happened to the franchise over the past decade - is quite impressive.

The Titan's only previous Memorial Cup experience was in 1999 when they finished third.

The Titan will also look to become just the third team from Atlantic Canada to win the Memorial Cup following the 2013 Mooseheads and 2011 Saint John Sea Dogs.

2018-19 QMJHL schedule released

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open the 2018-19 regular season at home on Sept. 21.

The Sea Dogs will host the Halifax Mooseheads in what will be the season opener for both clubs. The QMJHL's regular season opens one night earlier with the Moncton Wildcats visiting the defending President Cup champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Saint John has a home heavy first month of the season, playing nine of their first 13 games at Harbour Station, only leaving the province twice (Charlottetown both times). That's good because the Sea Dogs have a comically large road stretch in November due to the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge invading Harbour Station. Here's a look at Saint John's schedule from Nov. 1-16.

That will not be an easy stretch. The Sea Dogs return to Harbour Station ice on Nov. 21.

Titan keep President Cup in New Brunswick

BATHURST - The President Cup is staying in New Brunswick.

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan won the 2018 QMJHL championship on Sunday at the KC Irving Regional Centre, defeating the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 2-1 to take the series in six games.

This marks the second consecutive season a New Brunswick based team has defeated the Armada to win the President Cup. Last year, the Saint John Sea Dogs swept Blainville-Boisbriand.

A New Brunswick based team has won five of the past nine QMJHL championships (Sea Dogs - three; Titan - one; Moncton Wildcats - one).

Jeffrey-Truchon Viel and Samuel L'Italien scored for Bathurst while goaltender Evan Fitzpatrick was tremendous, carrying a shutout until the final three minutes of the third period.

Congrats @ABTitan @QMJHL champs @CTVAtlantic pic.twitter.com/W5bFSmbLdA

— Jeff Long (@jeffatmax1049) May 13, 2018

Drake Batherson scored the Armada's only goal as his team's offence struggled to click throughout the game. The Armada had just three shots in the first period and never looked comfortable all game. Rookie goaltender Emile Samson - one of the best stories of this post-season - made 24 saves in the loss.

The Armada were the top ranked team entering the playoffs. They've made it to the third round four times in the past six seasons and appeared in the final twice, but still have nothing to show for it.

This was the Titan's second QMJHL championship since relocating to Bathurst, having previously won in 1999. The victory is a sweet one for the franchise and its fanbase, who have gone through just about everything over the past decade - relocation rumours, a training camp tragedy, multiple rebuilds, a change in ownership, etc. But all of that will be forgotten for a while thanks to Sunday's win.

Bathurst will now represent the QMJHL at next week's Memorial Cup tournament in Regina. They'll join the host Pats, OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs and the WHL champion (either the Swift Current Broncos or Everett Silvertips) in the 100th edition of the event.

Titan look to clinch Cup tonight

BATHURST - The Acadie-Bathurst Titan can win the President Cup on home ice tonight.

The Titan carry a 3-2 series lead over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada heading into today's Game 6 at the KC Irving Regional Centre. A Titan win would put Bathurst into the Memorial Cup while an Armada win would force a Game 7 in Boisbriand on Tuesday.

It's been a close, back-and-forth series despite some lopsided scores. Bathurst defeated the Armada 5-3 on Friday in what has been the closest end result so far in this series.

Félicitations au @ABTitan pour votre victoire renversante @JoeMurdaca1 👌🏽#LHJMQ pic.twitter.com/HLr9kduvqL

— Océanic de Rimouski (@oceanicrimouski) May 12, 2018

The Titan own a series lead thanks to something no other team could do this post-season: beat the Armada on home ice. Bathurst has won two of the three games played in Boisbriand, which now has them in a position to win the President Cup today on home ice.

Bathurst previously won the President Cup in 1999. They lost in the league final in 2001 and 2002.

The winner of this series will represent the QMJHL at the Memorial Cup, which begins on Friday in Regina. The QMJHL's first game is on Saturday against the WHL champion.

All three CHL finals are currently at 3-2. The Hamilton Bulldogs lead the OHL final 3-2 over the Sault Ste. Mare Greyhounds heading into this afternoon's Game 6. In the WHL, the Swift Current Broncos lead the league final 3-2 over the Everett Silvertips heading into Game 6, which will also take place today.

Dream season ends for Islanders

The Charlottetown Islanders' fairy tale season did not have the magical ending it deserved.

After proving doubters wrong all season, the Islanders had their underdog campaign come to an end on Tuesday in Boisbriand, falling 6-1 to the Armada in Game 7 of their semifinal playoff series.

The Game 7 result came as a surprise (and, to be honest, a disappointment given how good the first six games had been) after such a close and evenly played series. Five of the previous six games had been decided by a single goal with three games going to overtime.

While the loss is no doubt disappointing for the Islanders, reaching the semifinals was an incredible accomplishment for a franchise that has a long history of underperforming. The team was projected by just about everyone to finish dead last in the league with some even predicting the squad to be one of the worst in league history. Instead, they surpassed all expectations and are set up fairly well for next season as well.

The 2017-18 Islanders season could be a franchise altering campaign. We've seen time and time again what overachieving can do for a franchise's near future.

The Armada, the league's No. 1 seed, will now play the No. 2 seeded Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the President Cup final. Game 1 is on Friday at 8 p.m. in Boisbriand and can be seen on Sportsnet.

It's the second straight finals appearance for the Armada, who lost in a sweep to the Saint John Sea Dogs last year. This will be Bathurst's first appearance in the final since 2002.

There will be just one former Sea Dog in the series - Armada forward Samuel Leblanc who has appeared in seven playoff games this year.

The winner of the final will represent the QMJHL at the Memorial Cup in Regina later this month.