After a decade long struggle of getting already NCAA committed players to report to the team, the Sea Dogs have seen an influx of highly touted prospects choose to remain in Canada and play major junior hockey over the past couple years.
The latest addition to this group is Fredericton native Peter Reynolds, who de-committed from one of college hockey's premier programs, Boston College, to play for his (sort of) local team. The forward turned 17 in January and perfectly compliments the team's core.
“I am really excited to come home and be close to my family," Reynolds said in a news release. "I am also extremely excited to play for such a world class organization in my backyard.”
As noted in a Sea Dogs release, the team has been able to sway already NCAA committed players Charlie Desroches (Northeastern), Josh Lawrence (Boston University) and Matt Gould (Providence College) to join the club along with Dawson Stairs and Kale McCallum, who had college intentions. Some draft day gambles have really paid off for Saint John recently - far more than they once did.
Reynolds took part in the Sea Dogs' development camp last summer in Quispamsis, but remained committed to playing college hockey. Obviously some things have changed since last summer. Reynolds said being able to spend more time with his family (he's played away from home for the past five seasons) and everything related to the coronavirus pandemic were factors in his decision to join Saint John.
“A couple things influenced me – obviously this pandemic is pretty crazy,” Reynolds told the Canadian Press, via the Globe and Mail. “As a family we feel safer with me being close to home. I didn’t want to be in BC or Massachusetts if something happened.
"It was a tough decision but such an amazing opportunity to play right in my backyard. I think we’ll have a super special group of guys that can put something special together in Saint John."
Reynolds played his minor hockey in Fredericton - playing with and against Stairs and Lawrence - but has spent most of the past five seasons away from New Brunswick. After three years at the well known Shattuck St. Mary's school, Reynolds spent last season in with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL, recording 14 goals and 33 assists in 53 games.
Reynolds was ranked as the third best player available for last year's QMJHL Entry Draft by HockeyProspect.com but slid to the Sea Dogs in the second round (21st overall) due to his Boston College commitment.
"He’s one of the more skilled players from this draft class, has a great shooting arsenal and above-average speed," HockeyProspect.com wrote of Reynolds in their draft guide. "He likes to have the puck on his stick and make plays offensively. He’s got an excellent release and can score from anywhere in the offensive zone. Reynolds is as good as a scorer as he is a playmaker. He at his best on the man-advantage, where he has more room to make plays be a threat on the ice. Defensively, he’s not a liability; he has above-average smarts and anticipation to intercept some passes."
Reynolds will be a key offensive piece for the Sea Dogs moving forward. Saint John has loaded up their backend with young talent, but up front the team has lacked scoring depth. Given the numbers he's put up the past, Reynolds will be looked upon to provide some offense in the years to come.
Some more notes from this announcement...
- HockeyProspect.com had Reynolds ranked third for last year's QMJHL Entry Draft and Joshua Roy second. Not bad.
- Reynolds was a guest on the Sea Dogs' Monday Night Mic'd program this week and confirmed that Roy jokingly made some recruiting pitches to his Team Canada Red teammate at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge last fall.
- Reynolds also mentioned on the broadcast that this announcement has been in the works for a few weeks now.
- Something completely random: Reynolds is the nephew of TVA Sports broadcaster Louis Jean.
- It appears Reynolds will wear No. 7 - the same number Fredericton native Zack Phillips wore.
- How good were Reynolds' numbers last season in the BCHL? According to Sea Dogs news release, his "point total ranks third in the last ten years for sixteen-year-olds, behind Tyson Jost (10th Overall in 2016 NHL Draft – Colorado Avalanche) and Alex Newhook (16th Overall in 2019 NHL Draft – Colorado Avalanche), and 16th all time in the BCHL."
- This move, and whatever may happen at this year's QMJHL Entry Draft with Saint John's two first round picks, makes the future outlook even more interesting. Saint John's competitive window could be extended past 2022 into 2023, as Craig Eagles brought up in a blog post.
- The acquisition of Reynolds can be traced all the way back to Dec. 12, 2017 - that's when the Sea Dogs acquired the 2019 second round pick used to draft Reynolds from Shawinigan in exchange for Max-Antoine Melancon. Melancon never played a game for the Sea Dogs and has appeared in just 92 career QMJHL games. Asset management at its finest.
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