When should Saint John Sea Dogs fans expect to see Russian forward Vladislav Kotkov on the ice at TD Station?
"I would say that the earliest is probably the mid to end of October," said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in an interview.
There was some positive news on the import front earlier this week when Russian forward Mikhail Abramov arrived in Victoriaville, where he'll do a 14-day quarantine before joining the Tigres on the ice. The Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that drafted Abramov in the fourth-round of the 2019 NHL Draft, was reportedly heavily involved in the process. That's good news for many imports - including Kotkov, who is a San Jose Sharks prospect.
"It takes time with the borders as we've seen across the league," said Georgie. "Fortunately we've been working really closely with San Jose and Vladislav's agent to get his visa situation sorted out. (With) him being a signed player to an NHL contract, San Jose is eager to get him here in Saint John and get him playing."
Czech defenseman Jan Hampl and American forward Matt Gould are currently not taking part in Sea Dogs camp due to border issues.
PHYSICAL PLAY
Also in that video interview, Georgie brought up a part of Saint John's Tuesday night pre-season performance that not many have mentioned: the team's physical play.
Saint John outhit Bathurst 22-6 in the game. While the hit number recorded on the scoresheet often isn't a great indicator of a team's physical play, there is no doubt that the Sea Dogs were much more willing to lay hits on Tuesday compared to what we have seen in the past.
Some of that likely has to do with the additions of veterans Liam Leonard, Christopher Inniss and Nicholas Girouard. In Tuesday's game, Dawson Stairs led the team with five hits while Julian Vander Voet, Carter McCluskey and Leighton Carruthers each had three.
COYLE'S SEASON OVER
Charlie Coyle and the Boston Bruins have left the NHL's playoff bubble.
Coyle and the Bruins had their season come to an end on Monday with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coyle finished the playoffs with three goals and two assists in 13 games.
The elimination means Mathieu Joseph of the Lightning is the lone Sea Dogs alumni remaining in NHL post-season play. Joseph has yet to appear in any games.
MHL DELAYS START
The Maritime Hockey League has pushed back the start of its 2020-21 regular season to Oct. 30. The league originally planned on an Oct. 2 start.
In a news release, the league said that the move means the schedule will be reduced from 52 games to 44.
“The return of fans is critical to the success and continued health of the Maritime Hockey League and its teams,” said MHL president Steve Dykeman in a release. “We’re confident that this extra time will allow for continued productive discussions to lead to the return of our exciting brand of hockey throughout the region.”
2020
This just needed to be shared.
Le nouveau look des entraîneurs à l’ère de la COVID-19 hors-bulle. #LHJMQ pic.twitter.com/XnQJF2ZUtl
— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) September 2, 2020
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