Sunday, June 14, 2020

Notebook: D'Orio joining Pens camp

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Former Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender Alex D'Orio will reportedly be among the players to join the Pittsburgh Penguins when NHL training camps begin.

The Sherbrooke newspaper La Tribune reports that D'Orio is already in Cranberry, PA, at the Penguins practice facility, where he and a few other players have returned to the ice.

Teams are expected to be able to carry an unlimited amount of goaltenders when NHL play resumes, so it's not a huge shock to see D'Orio join the club. The 21-year-old registered a 3.43 goals against average and .892 save percentage in 31 games with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers last season.

D'Orio spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Sea Dogs. He was named one of the goaltenders on the Sea Dogs' 15th anniversary team in March.

CAMP INVITES
Sea Dogs forwards Joshua Roy and Peter Reynolds have received invites to Hockey Canada's under-18 selection camp. The invites are entirely ceremonious due to the fact that both the camp and the 2020 Hlinka Gretzky Cup have been cancelled due to COVID-19.

Roy and Reynolds were among the six goaltenders, 14 defencemen and 26 forwards to receive invites. 18 QMJHL players were invited.

Also invited was Sea Dogs prospect Guillaume Richard, a fourth-round pick of the team in last weekend's QMJHL Entry Draft. Richard is currently poised to play in the United States next season - unless something changes over the next few months.

DRAFT DATE CONFIRMED
There was some uncertainty around when this year's CHL Import Draft would take place, but a date has been confirmed.
The event will take place before the NHL Draft, which isn't typically the case.

The Sea Dogs are expected to make at least one pick after Maxim Cajkovic was traded to Val-d'Or on draft weekend.

US PLAYERS
The Sea Dogs seem confident that the two players they picked in Monday's QMJHL American Draft will come to camp.
A reminder that reporting to camp and staying at camp longer than 48 hours are very different things. But either way, this is positive news.

Neither Coleman Jenkins nor Ben MacDonald are considered "A list prospects," so they may be more open to looking at the major junior route. In the three-year history of the American draft, no player selected has suited up for a QMJHL game.

COACHING SEARCH
Rogers TV's Craig Eagles has another blog post on the team's apparent search for a head coach.

"It’s very apparent that Trevor Georgie is swinging for the fences," writes Eagles. "When you swing for the fences, sometimes you strike out and sometimes you hit a home run. It’s clear Georgie has to hit a homer for the Sea Dogs to have a chance at going to back to back."

Last Sunday, former Ottawa Senators head coach and PEI native Dave Cameron confirmed he had discussions with the team about the job but has opted to return to Europe for the 2020-21 campaign.

MACDONALD INTERVIEW
John Moore caught up with Cameron MacDonald this past week.



STIENBERG STEPS DOWN
Long-time Saint Mary's Huskies head coach Trevor Stienberg announced last week that he is stepping down from the team. Stienberg has coached several Sea Dogs alumni over the years, most recently Noah Zilbert, Dawson Theede and Adam Bateman.

One of the reasons Stienberg stepped down was so he could watch his son, Matthew, continue playing at Cornell University. Matthew, a Colorado Avalanche prospect, was a 10th-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft.

LAFORGE ARTICLE
Bay Today caught up with Nico Laforge, a 10th-round pick of the Sea Dogs in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

“To be drafted in the QMJHL means the world to me. It’s been a dream of mine for so long and it’s a dream come true to see my name called,” Laforge said.

Laforge spent last season with the North Bay Trappers of the Great North Midget League, recording 19 goals and 16 assists in 29 games. He was the team's leading scorer.

CAMPBELL ON VOLTS
Former Sea Dogs forward Isiah Campbell has high hopes for his Drummondville Voltigeurs this coming season, he explained to Le Express.

Campbell, who will be entering his overage season, exploded for a career high 26 goals and 34 assists in 63 games with the upstart Volts last season. He's also been a Sea Dogs killer since being traded by the club during the 2017-18 season. Campbell had two goals and three assists in two games against Saint John last year.

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