Cajkovic brings hype to Dogs camp

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs will have no shortage of hype at this year's training camp.

The Sea Dogs are coming off what appears to be - on paper, anyways - one of the best off-seasons in club history, landing several highly touted and hyped players.

Perhaps the most hyped up player coming to camp is Slovakian forward Maxim Cajkovic, who was the first overall pick in this year's CHL Import Draft. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic recently listed Cajkovic, 17, as a contender to be selected in the top five of the 2019 NHL Draft.

"Cajkovic now joins a young, rebuilding Saint John’s team in the QMJHL, where he should be afforded a big offensive role and the chance to really establish himself near the top of this class," writes Wheeler. "His impressive play continued at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he posted three points in as many games on a weak Slovakian team. Cajkovic is an athletic scorer who can flat out shoot the puck and make plays."

Cajkovic finished second on Team Slovakia in scoring at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, recording two goals and two assists in four games. Guillaume Lepage of NHL.com writes that Cajkovic raised his draft stock during the tournament.

"I'm fast, but I need to improve my skating every day," Cajkovic told NHL.com. "There's a lot of room for me to improve right now. I think I'm getting bigger and better, that's important for me."

Listed at 5'11" and 185 lbs, it will be interesting to see what Cajkovic can do with Saint John this season after putting up excellent numbers in the Swedish junior circuit a year ago. He'll be joining a young team that will likely struggle to score on some nights. Despite this, he definitely seems excited too be joining the Dogs, posting on Instagram throughout the summer about playing in Saint John.

Cajkovic will play on Team Blue at Sea Dogs training camp, the same squad as Josh Lawrence and Charlie DesRoches. The team hits the ice first, playing on Friday at 10 a.m. at Harbour Station.

Saint John's other pick in this year's Import Draft, 17-year-old Czech forward Filip Prikryl, also appeared at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, recording a goal and an assist in four games. He'll play on Team White at training camp.