Taking a look at Saint John's roster

By Kevin Chambers and Lorne Webster
SN Staff

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs recently announced their latest round of cuts from their training camp roster and announced a couple trades that have been confirmed. The Sea Dogs will now have a break before their next pre-season game, which is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 8 at Harbour Station against the Charlottetown Islanders.

First, let's have a look at some of the players that were with the team last year and will not be returning this season - beginning with long time Sea Dog forward Matt Green who, unfortunately, became the victim of a numbers game in Saint John. Also no longer with the team are forwards Robbie Burt and Ben Reid; along with Kevin Gursoy who was dealt to Charlottetown. Defenceman Alexis Girard was also traded on Monday along with a draft pick in exchange for another defender in Carson Gallant, who was/is expected to become an affiliate player and report to the MHL's Campbellton Tigers.

What does this mean moving forward? Simply put, the Sea Dogs are going to be a very young team. It should come as no surprise that this will be the youngest team in the QMJHL (and quite possibly the CHL) with a roster that will include five 16-year old players along with eight 17-year olds on the 25-man roster to start the season. Recent moves also open up several positions that will cause players to not only see the opportunity, but to seize the moment and work even harder to earn one of these regular spots in the lineup.

Forwards

Currently, the Sea Dogs have 14 forwards remaining in camp and they could very well maintain that number. Josh Lawrence and Maxim Cajkovic have shown excellent chemistry and would seem like good candidates to share a line together. The question becomes who joins them. At one point, William Poirier seemed to gel well with them - and this would allow the Sea Dogs to spread out their offence somewhat.

If pre-season play is any indication, the bulk of the faceoffs will be taken by Lawrence, Filip Prikryl, Luke Wilson and Jeremie Jacob. Read into that what you will, but it’s also worth noting that Nicholas Deakin-Poot took a fair number of draws and won a staggering 68.8%. Let’s keep things in context here - it is pre-season, but it is worth noting Deakin-Poot can take faceoffs.

An early leading candidate for the team captain position has to be Anthony Boucher. It was well documented last season how well respected this player was amongst his peers and would come as no surprise if he ended up wearing the 'C' this coming season. Boucher may slide into the second scoring line to try and balance out the offence and take some of the pressure off the other top scoring line. Statistically speaking, Boucher is also the highest scoring player from last season that is currently on this roster.

A few quick side notes...

• Aiden MacIntosh looks completely different but will not be hard to spot. MacIntosh got much bigger and much stronger during the offseason.
• 16-year old Brady Burns (just going out on a limb right now) will become a fan favourite because of his small stature but big work ethic.
• Fans that follow the Moncton Flyers will recall MacIntosh and Jeremie Jacob tearing it up a couple years ago - will they reconnect in Saint John?
• James White, who recently signed with the team, performed very well in the fitness testing. It will be interesting to follow his progress.
• Free agent invite Christian Clark, who seemingly hasn’t signed with the team yet, has shown he’s fearless in the face of competition.
• Returning forward Yohan Plamondon has shown he’s ready for a larger role by looking more confident in the offensive zone.
• Kevin Mason, a returning forward, has shown improvements and should be expected to contribute more on the defensive side (possibly in a penalty killing role).

Defense

The defense is becoming clear after the recent trade of Alexis Girard and the official acquisition of Tyler Higgins. Brendan Sibley, meanwhile, has been injured since the development camp earlier this summer and it’s unclear at this point when he will return.

Early on in training camp, it appeared the Sea Dogs would go with the veteran/rookie combinations - and that appears to be a working strategy. At one point, the newly acquired Michael Campoli and rookie William Villeneuve seemed to click rather well. Another option could see Higgins providing support for the very skilled Jeremy Poirier. Poirier is a guy that loves to jump into the play and Higgins plays it safe - so that might be a good combination.

Charlies DesRoches is a slightly smaller player that likes to play a similar game to that of Villeneuve. He seems like a good match for Nathan Larose.

Goaltenders

The only question between the pipes is who’s the backup between Tommy DaSilva and Stewart Bagnell. These two young goaltenders have battled it out and both have had solid pre-seasons. They will have time to continue this battle as Alex D’Orio will head to the Pittsburgh Penguins training camp in a couple weeks.

DaSilva has surrendered just one goal on 39 shots in just under 120 minutes of playing time. Bagnell has also played very well, giving up just two goals on 32 shots against.

It’s encouraging to watch as these two 17-year old goaltenders continue to push each other.

A few other random notes about this year's squad:

• The 2018 draft class has the potential to be the strongest in franchise's history. William Villeneuve, Jeremie Poirier, Charlie DesRoches, Josh Lawrence and Brady Burns all figure to play key roles. In addition, draftees such as Dawson Stairs, Alexandre O'Neill and Mathias Savoie are expected to a) be an important part of their respective teams this season and b) be ready to step into a roster spot with the Sea Dogs next season - if not sooner.
• Returning veterans Alex D'Orio, Anthony Boucher, William Poirier and Nicolas Deakin-Poot; as well as recently acquired vets Michael Campoli and Tyler Higgins will be counted on heavily to provide leadership to the young squad.
• Imports Maxim Cajkovic and Filip Prikryl have been pretty much everything the Sea Dogs could ask for. This pair has the potential to be as strong as the electric duo of Tomas Jurco and Stanislav Galiev. Should standout import Ostap Safin be reassigned from Edmonton Oilers camp to Saint John, the Sea Dogs will have 14 days to either trade Safin or release one of Cajkovic or Prikryl.
• Of the 12 returning players, there are five 17 year-olds (G Tommy DaSilva, G Stewart Bagnell, D Brendan Sibley (currently injured), W Aiden MacIntosh and C Luke Wilson), three 18 year-olds (D Nathan Larose, W Kevin Mason and W Yohan Plamondon) three 19 year-olds (D'Orio, W. Poirier and Deakin-Poot) and one 20 year-old (Boucher).
• Speaking of DaSilva and Bagnell, it will be interesting to see if the Sea Dogs decide to keep only one keeper as a backup to incumbent Alex D'Orio. Both have looked very good in camp and in the exhibition games thus far.
• Centre Jeremie Jacob - a Midget AAA linemate of MacIntosh - is primed to join his fellow 2017 draftees on the opening night roster. 
• Two 18 year-old free agents from Ontario - forwards Christian Clark and big James White - add depth to the Saint John lineup.

The season appears to be one with plenty of intrigue as these young 16- and 17-year-old kids take to the ice and begin what promises to be an exciting team of the future. At the same time, fans should take caution as some of these younger players are in the early stages of major junior development. They will make mistakes - the key will be learning from those mistakes.

Like rebuilding years in the past, it’s important to note the rebuild didn’t start until the top players were moved and the new draft picks arrived. That time is now - and the rebuild is officially on.