Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Notebook: Quebec bubble begins

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL
The QMJHL's Quebec City "protected environment" kicked off on Tuesday afternoon with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada taking on the Victoriaville Tigres.

It was just the third game of the season for the Armada and their first match since Oct. 4.

The Armada, Tigres, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Quebec Remparts, Gatineau Olympiques, Shawinigan Cataractes and Chicoutimi Sagueneens are all taking part in the event. Games count towards the regular season standings. There was some concern about the Voltigeurs joining due to an undetermined COVID-19 test result, but the club received clearance on Tuesday.

The league also announced that the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Val-d'Or Foreurs will venture outside their divisions this weekend, travelling to Baie-Comeau and Rimouski. The four cities are currently not in Quebec's red zone classification. The Sherbrooke Phoenix, who have been red zoned and didn't have time to meet the Quebec City bubble requirements, will be the only team sidelined this week.

Phoenix head coach and general manager Stephane Julien was not overly optimistic about his team returning to action anytime soon, telling Le Tribune that he doesn't expect the club to play another game in the calendar year.

MORE ON HUGHES
The Sea Dogs announced Monday that 16-year-old forward Simon Hughes "will join the Sea Dogs later this week and will begin training and practicing with the club."

News came out Sunday that Hughes, a second-round pick of Saint John in June's QMJHL Entry Draft, had signed with the Sea Dogs after parting ways with his US prep school.

“We’re happy to welcome Simon and his family to Saint John,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He adds size, skill, and offensive depth to our team. He’s only 16 and hasn’t played or practiced for a number of weeks so we will be patient with him. Our coaching and training staff will work with him over the coming weeks to get him into game shape and help him adjust to the pace and life of a Major Junior player.”
HITTING THE ROAD
Following three straight home wins, the Sea Dogs will play their next three contests on the road.

Saint John visits Cape Breton on Wednesday before visiting Charlottetown on Friday and Bathurst on Sunday. In terms of 2020-21 road treks, this will seemingly be one of the Sea Dogs' more challenging stretches.

The Eagles sit last in the Maritimes Division with a 6-8-0-0 record but are 4-3 at Centre 200. The Islanders sit atop the standings with an 11-2-0-0 record while the Titan sit four points back with an 8-4-1-1 mark.

Saint John is 0-3-2-1 on the road this season and have been outscored 26-16. Rouyn-Noranda is the only other active QMJHL team that remains winless on the road.

DesROCHES HONOURED
Sea Dogs defenseman Charlie DesRoches has been named to the QMJHL's Team of the Week.

DesRoches had quite a week, recording two goals and five assists in three Saint John victories. That included a career-best four-point game (two goals and two assists) on Friday against Moncton.

The third-year defender now leads the entire Sea Dogs team in scoring with 15 points. He sits fourth in QMJHL defensemen scoring. 

RECORDS
A few interesting stats/records from this past weekend.
This one is just freaky.
MHL HONOURS 
Former Sea Dogs defenseman Jordan Spadafore has been named one of the Maritime Hockey League's players of the week.

The 20-year-old now has three assists in five games so far this season with the Miramichi Timberwolves. The T-Wolves are 3-2 on the season.

Defenseman Connor McCluskey, who attended Sea Dogs training camp a couple years ago, was also named a player of the week.
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