Roy, Drover producing early for new teams

 Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Joshua Roy made an immediate impact with his new club.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward scored in his first game with the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Saturday. Roy also added an assist and recorded six shots in a 6-3 loss to the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

1st goal with the @PhoenixSherbroo for Joshua Roy, 10th of the season. Great pass from Justin Gill (I like what I saw from him today! Great acquisition too)#LHJMQ #QMJHL #2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/fXAtsdttrR

— Benoit Belanger (@BenoitGBelanger) January 30, 2021

It was Roy's first game since Nov. 18. He now has 10 goals and nine assists in 16 games this season. He's been held pointless in just two of those games.

The Sea Dogs traded Roy, the first overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft, to the Phoenix in exchange for three first-round draft picks and second rounder. The 17-year-old requested a trade from the team.

The Roy deal was one of a few trades that saw Sea Dogs regulars dealt to new teams. One of the others saw Alex Drover traded to the Rimouski Oceanic, where the forward has recorded two goals and two assists in three games with his new club.

Drover made his Oceanic debut last weekend. He now has six goals and five assists in 17 games this year.

Dawson Stairs, meanwhile, has yet to play for the Cape Breton Eagles due to quarantine. According to the Eagles radio broadcast on Saturday, Stairs' isolation period ends on Feb. 1. Cape Breton's next game is on Saturday in Charlottetown.

Stairs, who has three goals and five assists in 13 games, was traded to the Eagles in the Ryan Francis deal.

In the Maritime Junior Hockey League, defenseman Benjamin Roode made his debut with the Yarmouth Mariners on Friday, recording an assist in a 5-3 victory in Truro. Roode appeared in two games with the Sea Dogs in the first half before being reassigned to the MHL.

All New Brunswick zones to stay orange

A few hours before Quebec Major Junior Hockey League games returned in the Maritimes, teams in New Brunswick received some potentially bad news.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, New Brunswick health officials announced that no region of the province will move past the orange phase for "many weeks." The news comes as new variants of COVID-19 begin to spread quickly across the globe.

From CBC New Brunswick:

To help "manage the risk," she said, the yellow zone will be reassessed and no zone in the province will be allowed to progress to anything less restrictive than a newly modified orange phase for at least several weeks.

Currently, the Fredericton, Campbellton, Bathurst, Miramichi and Saint John regions are in orange, with the Moncton region in the more restrictive red phase and the Edmundston region in the most restrictive full lockdown phase.

QMJHL teams can practice in the orange phase but are not able to play games. Of course, some kind of exemption could be made for the Saint John Sea Dogs, Moncton Wildcats and Acadie-Bathurst Titan to resume playing games - and today's announcements reinforced that the province is willing to adjust its current rules/guidelines. We'll see what happens.

While games are resuming - without fans - in the Halifax, Cape Breton and Charlottetown markets, the 12 Quebec based clubs will begin another round of "protected environments" on Saturday in Rimouski, Chicoutimi and Drummondville. The league also announced Friday a fourth round of bubbles will take place in Quebec City, Victoriaville and Shawinigan from Feb. 12-18.

In an interview with CHSJ News on Wednesday, Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie noted the financial challenges of holding a bubble event in the Maritimes. The Quebec clubs have all received government funding.

Jones rejoins Oceanic

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

In a move rarely seen in junior hockey, Creed Jones his joining his old club.

Jones became a free agent after passing through waivers. The Rimouski Oceanic, who traded Jones to the Saint John Sea Dogs in September in exchange for three draft picks, signed the overage goaltender on Thursday.

The Sea Dogs, in an expected move, announced on Wednesday that they had released Jones from their roster. The team acquired 20-year-old goaltender Zachary Emond from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies during the trading period, which essentially put an end to Jones' time in Saint John.

The Oceanic stated in a news release that the club has until Feb. 25 to decide on their overage situation.

« Il y a une belle compétition au sein de notre équipe et ce sera la même chose avec nos quatre 20 ans », Serge Beausoleil#LHJMQ

— X- L'Océanic de Rimouski (@oceanicrimouski) January 28, 2021

Players rarely return to their former clubs in the QMJHL due to league rules that make it difficult. Presumably the Oceanic have done their homework on this one - and there's probably not many teams that will put up a fuss about this situation. Rimouski is in rebuild mode, sitting second-to-last in points percentage.

Jones appeared in 12 games with the loaded Oceanic last season, recording a 9-2 record to go along with a 1.42 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. For whatever reason, the netminder could never find his game in Saint John. He went 1-4 with a 4.36 GAA and a .872 SV%.

The major downside to this story is that, according the Oceanic, Jones will have to quarantine for 14 days. In the first half of the season, the Peterborough native spent 42 days in quarantine over a three-month period.

Jones joins former Sea Dogs forward Alex Drover on the Oceanic.

Sea Dogs make several roster moves

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Following the completion of the winter trading period, the Saint John Sea Dogs announced a number of roster moves on Wednesday.

The team has added three players to its roster for the second half, claiming defenseman Brandon Casey off waivers from the Rimouski Oceanic; signing free agent forward Zach Alchorn; and recalling forward Carter McCluskey.

Casey, 18, has appeared in nine games with the Oceanic this season and has been held pointless. The Newfoundlander registered three assists in 33 games last season. He was a fifth-round pick of Rimouski in 2018 after playing two seasons at Newbridge Academy.

Alchorn, 19, appeared in seven games with the Moncton Wildcats 2018-19. He has spent most of the past two seasons with the St. Stephen Aces/Fredericton Red Wings organization. In 13 MHL games this season, Alchorn - a former Saint John Vito - has six goals and five assists. 

McCluskey, 17, was a 14th-round draft pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft and appeared in three pre-season games this year. Also a former Vito, McCluskey has recorded nine goals and eight assists in 12 games with the Grand Falls Rapids, placing him ninth in MHL scoring and second amongst rookies.

Overage goaltender Creed Jones, meanwhile, has been released by the team. The move doesn't come as a surprise after the Dogs acquired 20-year-old netminder Zachary Emond from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last week.

Notebook: Roy trade aftermath

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Why did Joshua Roy want a trade? We may never know the answer.

The Saint John Sea Dogs traded the 17-year-old forward to the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Monday in exchange for three first-round picks and a second-rounder. The move came after several weeks of media reports that Roy asked for a trade.

The reasons for Roy's ask have not been made public and the whole situation sounds very similar to the recent trade between the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets involving Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Je viens de m'entretenir avec Joshua Roy du @PhoenixSherbroo il ne souhaite pas dévoiler les raisons de sa demande de transaction avec les #SeaDogs - il est très heureux du dénouement et se dit prêt à jouer et aller de l'avant - Entrevue dans "SUR LA GLACE" #Balado et à Sports30

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) January 25, 2021

Au cours des dernières semaines Joshua Roy avoue que sa situation ressemblait à celle de Pierre-Luc Dubois avec les #BlueJackets - Comme dans le cas de Dubois, Roy a été "class" avec les #SeaDogs en les remerciant de l'avoir repêché au 1er rang en 2019 #LHJMQ

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) January 25, 2021

“Josh wanted the opportunity to play in a different market,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release sent out several hours following the deal. “We wish him good luck in Sherbrooke. We brought in a significant return for the player. Given the uncertain times, these selections give us lots of flexibility and the ability to add players in the future.”

The Sea Dogs are calling the return for Roy "the second largest return for a single-player in franchise history, behind Joe Veleno in 2017 that brought in three firsts and two second round selections."

La Tribune reports that the Sea Dogs and Phoenix solidified the deal late Sunday night.

Patrick Roy told le Journal de Quebec that the Remparts inquired about Roy, but the Sea Dogs' price was too high. Like Saint John, Quebec is expected to make a strong push for the President Cup next season.

LOTS OF PICKS

The Sea Dogs have plenty of picks to work with over the next three drafts.

Following Monday's deal, Saint John now has six first-round picks over the next three years. That includes a yet-to-be-acquired first-round selection from the Halifax Mooseheads to finalize the Ostap Safin deal.

Nova Scotia, PEI to resume QMJHL games

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is set to make its returns in the Maritimes - but not quite yet in New Brunswick.

The league announced on Monday that games will return in both PEI and Nova Scotia this weekend, beginning with a Friday night contest in Sydney between the Eagles and Islanders.

Here's part of the league's news release:

Public Health Officials of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have approved the league’s plans to continue the 2020-2021 regular season after Jan 25.

However, with the actual epidemiological status in New Brunswick, the Government and its Public Health Officials have delayed their return to regular activities until the situation has improved.

The schedule released Monday extends all the way until Feb. 28. The league noted that the schedule will be updated if/when any of the three New Brunswick teams receive approval to play.

Both the Mooseheads and Eagles have confirmed that they will play without fans in attendance until at least Feb. 8. The Islanders, at the time of this writing, had not released any details regarding their return.

“While this is certainly not something we hoped for as an organization, it was the only way we would be able to resume play in the short-term,” said Eagles president Gerard Shaw in a news release. “We are very optimistic that this will only be for limited games and we will be back to playing in front of our loyal fans soon.”

Roy traded to Phoenix

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - As expected, Joshua Roy is no longer a Saint John Sea Dog.

The Sea Dogs traded the 17-year-old forward to the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Monday in exchange for first-round picks in the 2021 (Charlottetown), 2022 (Charlottetown) and 2023 QMJHL Entry Drafts along with an additional second-round pick (Bathurst) in the 2021 draft.

Stephane Leroux of RDS was first to report the deal.

Transaction

Les #Seadogs cedent Joshua Roy au @PhoenixSherbroo en retour Sherbrooke cède

1er choix 2021
2e choix 2021
1er choix 2022
1er choix 2023#LHJMQ

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) January 25, 2021

Roy, who led the Sea Dogs in scoring before the season was paused in November, asked for a trade and did not return to Saint John following the league's holiday break, according to multiple media reports.

The first overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft, Roy got off to a slow start in his rookie season but became one of Saint John's most consistent offensive producers in the second half. That carried over to this season where he's registered nine goals and eight assists in 15 games.

Roy has 25 goals and 36 assists in 75 career QMJHL games.

While the return for Roy seems pretty good, the Sea Dogs no doubt would have preferred to keep the 2021 NHL Draft eligible skater around. A 2003-born player, Roy fit well into Saint John's core group heading into "go for it" years in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Given where Saint John is at in the cycle, it seems like the picks acquired in this deal would be better suited to make trades with than to draft with. Time will tell.

The Phoenix, who have been able to play just seven games this season, sit last overall in the QMJHL standings with a 1-5-0-1 record.

The QMJHL's trading period closes at 1 p.m.

QMJHL's trade deadline nearing

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's trading period comes to a close on Monday at 1 p.m. Atlantic.

After a quiet start to the trade season, there will be plenty of eyes on the Saint John Sea Dogs as the deadline approaches. The attention all circles around Joshua Roy and what the Sea Dogs may do with him.

The 17-year-old Roy, who led Saint John in scoring before the season was paused, has reportedly asked for a trade. If he is dealt, the Sea Dogs should get a good return - just how good and how much is the big question.

The Sea Dogs have made three deals during this year's trading period, which was originally scheduled to end on Jan. 6 but was pushed to Jan. 25. Leaving Saint John are Dawson Stairs and Alex Drover while coming to the Dogs are Ryan Francis and Zachary Emond.

Trades can be tracked on the QMJHL's website.

What else is happening?

Iften Redjah/QMJHL

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is officially back in action.

The league returned to the ice on Friday night with four games, beginning play in its "protected environments" in Shawinigan, Drummondville, Rimouski and Chicoutimi. 

Last night's action marked the first time the league held a game since Nov. 29. Earlier in the day, the league confirmed that no positive cases of COVID-19 had been detected before teams entered their respective environments. One on-ice official is not attending due to a positive case.

Forward Alex Drover, who was traded by the Sea Dogs on Jan. 5, made his debut with the Rimouski Oceanic on Friday. Drover recorded an assist on Zachary Bolduc's second period goal in a 5-2 loss to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

It's still unclear when play will resume in the Maritimes. Here's a look at what else is going on while we wait.

• Grand Bay-Westfield native Lynden Breen, a fifth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft, has two goals and five assists in nine games with the University of Maine. The Hockey East schedule has been a complete mess with multiple postponements almost every week. The Black Bears are 2-6-1 on the year but have yet to play a home game.
• Defenseman Guillaume Richard, a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft and also a Maine commit, has six assists in 19 games with the USHL's Tri-City Storm so far this year.
• All games in the Maritime Hockey League have been postponed until Jan. 27. The Nova Scotia government announced Friday that sports games can resume in the province - but without fans in attendance.
• The AHL released its regular season schedule on Friday. Teams will play a varying amount of games. Travel is being kept to a minimum and most teams will play only a handful of opponents. The season begins Feb. 5.
• There's not a lot of Sea Dogs alumni playing in the ECHL this season, which has several teams taking the year off. Cedric Pare has registered three goals and three assists in 11 games with the Utah Grizzlies.

Dogs still busy as trade deadline nears

The Saint John Sea Dogs made another trade on Thursday, acquiring 20-year-old goaltender Zachary Emond from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The Sea Dogs sent a fourth-round pick in 2023 (originally Rimouski's) and a sixth-round pick in 2022 to the Huskies in exchange for the San Jose Sharks prospect.

“Zachary is very experienced and will enhance the leadership in our dressing room,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a release. “He has a winning pedigree, NHL camp experience and was part of a President Cup and Memorial Cup Championship team. We place a high value on players who have won championships and his ability to offer Noah (Patenaude) and our players pearls of wisdom.”

It's the fourth time the Sea Dogs have acquired an overage goaltender over the past year.

Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo: acquired from Chicoutimi in exchange for a 2022 7th-round pick (Shawinigan).

Creed Jones: acquired from Rimouski in exchange for a 2021 6th-round pick; 2022 10th-round pick (Gatineau); and a 2022 3rd-round pick.

Daniel Moody: rights acquired from Baie-Comeau in exchange for a 2022 12th-round pick. He originally joined training camp on loan.

Zachary Emond: acquired from Rouyn-Noranda in exchange for a 2022 6th-round pick and a 2023 4th-round pick (Rimouski).

Moody was not expected to make the Sea Dogs. Pagliarulo and Jones never looked comfortable in net; neither could find their A-game when given the opportunity to do so. The Dogs will try again with Emond.

Report: Sea Dogs to acquire Emond

Photo: NHL.com

The Saint John Sea Dogs will reportedly acquire yet another overage goaltender.

According to Stephane Leroux of RDS, the Sea Dogs are set to acquire 20-year-old netminder Zachary Emond from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in exchange for a couple draft picks.

On confirmera plus tard aujourd’hui la transaction suivante :

Les #SeaDogs font l’acquisition du gardien de 20 ans Zachary Emond - un espoir des @SanJoseSharks - en retour d’un choix de 6e ronde en 2022 et de 4e ronde en 2023.#LHJMQ

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) January 21, 2021

Emond, a sixth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2018 NHL Draft, is 3-4-2-1 this season with a 3.57 goals against average and a .886 save percentage. He's posted a 63-49 record to go along with a 2.86 GAA and .908 SV% in 116 career QMJHL games.

Emond's best season came in 2018-19 when he was Samuel Harvey's backup en route to the Huskies winning both the President Cup and Memorial Cup. He posted a 24-1 record with 1.73 GAA and a .932 SV% that season.

The deal marks the fourth time the Sea Dogs have acquired a 20-year-old goaltender over the past year. Previously they've made deals to pick up Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo, Daniel Moody and Creed Jones.

Emond will presumably replace Jones and join Noah Patenaude as Saint John's goalie tandem. Jones has struggled during his time with the Sea Dogs, posting a 1-4 record with a 4.36 GAA and .872 SV%.

The QMJHL's trading period ends on Monday at 1 p.m. Atlantic.

Notebook: Eagles talk swap

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a huge splash on Monday, acquiring 19-year-old Calgary Flames prospect Ryan Francis from the Cape Breton Eagles.

The Sea Dogs traded forward Dawson Stairs along with a first- and second-round pick in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft in exchange for the forward. The teams also swapped sixth-round draft choices.

"There was an opportunity to move Ryan Francis to get a player that's a year younger and get some picks that are going to allow us to load the bank with regards to young players at the draft and we thought it was the right thing for us to do," Eagles general manager Jacques Carrier told the Cape Breton Post.

The Eagles like what they see in Stairs, who should see an increase in playing time on his new team.

"He plays 200-feet, he's a decent skater, he goes in the dirty areas and he has some skills, so we liked the overall package that he brought forward," Carrier said.

Stairs played in 87 games with Saint John over parts of three seasons, recording 20 goals and 18 assists. His most recent QMJHL game was in Sydney on Nov. 18 where he recorded a goal and an assist.

TRADE PERIOD CLOSING SOON

The Sea Dogs have made just two moves during the "holiday" trading period - but both were fairly significant.

Along with the Francis/Stairs deal, the Sea Dogs traded Alex Drover - a former Eagle - to the Rimouski Oceanic in exchange for a second-, fourth-, and 10th-round draft pick. Rogers TV analyst Craig Eagles had a nice writeup on the Drover trade a few weeks ago.

The QMJHL's trading period comes to a close on Monday, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. Atlantic. The deadline was originally set to be Jan. 6 but was pushed because COVID.

RETURN TO PLAY

The Sea Dogs are officially scheduled to return to game action on Jan. 29 in Halifax. While it's certainly possible that restrictions could be lifted or exemptions could be made for that game to take place, it seems unlikely.

The Sea Dogs remain hopeful that the season will resume in the Maritimes at some point.

“I’m optimistic we’re going to finish the season and have a fun second half of hockey, but I do expect there could be interruptions," Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie told CHSJ News prior to Saint John being flipped into the red. "I think it’d be foolish to expect any different given what we’ve seen.”

The 12 Quebec teams are scheduled to resume play this weekend in "protect environments." Again, it's possible bubbles could happen in the Maritimes, but it seems unlikely due to current travel restrictions and the financial resources needed to make it happen.

"I don't foresee a situation in New Brunswick where we'd actually host a bubble environment... I don't actually foresee that being something that's feasible," Georgie told CBC New Brunswick a few weeks ago.

QMJHL's return to the Maritimes takes another blow

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's return in the Maritimes took another blow on Tuesday with more parts of New Brunswick being flipped into the red.

The entire province had already been turned orange, which meant the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats were not permitted to leave their respective zones. With the Saint John and Moncton regions both turning red, the return of QMJHL games in these parts seems destined to be even further delayed.

The league announced on Monday that all games involving Maritimes Division teams scheduled for this weekend have been postponed. The Atlantic bubble remains out of commission for the time being and, given the current case count in New Brunswick, it would seem we are at least a few weeks away from the bubble reforming (and that may be optimistic).

Without the Atlantic bubble in place, there are two major obstacles for the Maritimes Division returning to play: 1) getting exemptions from the provincial governments to allow cross border travel without quarantining and 2) if travel is permitted but fans are not allowed to attend, returning to play may not even be financially doable. The Quebec based teams have received financial assistance from their provincial government.

In a news release, the league said it "will continue its constructive dialogue with the three provinces to resume playing as soon as possible. An updated schedule will be published by the end of the week."

Officially, Saint John's next regular season game is scheduled for Jan. 29 in Halifax. The team has not played since Nov. 18.

The 12 Quebec based clubs will all play this weekend in "protected environments."

Sea Dogs make major deal with Eagles

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a major trade on Monday, acquiring Calgary Flames prospect Ryan Francis from the Cape Breton Eagles.

In exchange for Francis, the Sea Dogs traded forward Dawson Stairs; a first-round pick in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft; and a second-round pick in 2023 to the Eagles. The teams also swapped draft picks with a sixth-round pick in 2022 (Sherbrooke) going to Cape Breton in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2021 (Quebec).

Francis, 19, has six goals and 15 assists in 15 games this season. He recorded 24 goals and 72 points in 61 games last season. He should make an instant offensive impact on the Sea Dogs, something the team has been in need of - especially with overage import Vladislav Kotkov not in the lineup.

“Ryan is an offensive threat and a game breaker,” Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said in a news release. “We have seen that firsthand playing against him in the same division and it will be nice to now have him in our lineup. We anticipate that Ryan will be a two-year player for us and one of the most impactful 20-year-old players in the league next season, which we value greatly.”

#Flames prospect Ryan Francis has been acquired by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL: https://t.co/N5PdH7xamy

Take a look a few of his best plays from his time in Cape Breton! pic.twitter.com/MvKEgvVixS

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 18, 2021

Unless other moves are move, this deal pretty much solidifies Saint John's overage group for next season: Francis, forward Nicholas Girouard and defenseman Christopher Inniss. Not bad.

Francis was a second-round pick of the Eagles in the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft and a fifth-round pick of the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The Sea Dogs don't deal away picks like this without doing their homework - and this seems like a trade that will make a positive impact immediately. There are still valid concerns about the team's defensive play and it'll be interesting to see if the Dogs choose to make any changes on the backend. They are clearly not afraid of making big moves during this odd and unpredictable season.

Stairs leaves the Sea Dogs having recorded 20 goals and 18 assists in 87 games over parts of three seasons. The 18-year-old could never quite find his offensive groove in Saint John and made his way up and down the lineup. He's obviously still young and now heads to a team that may have more room for him to show off his offensive upside.

The QMJHL's trading period ends on Jan. 25.

When will the Sea Dogs return?

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

When will Saint John Sea Dogs hockey games return?

Officially, the Sea Dogs are scheduled to play next Friday, hosting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise - New Brunswick reported 25 new cases on Friday, giving the province 256 active cases - and the travel restrictions currently in place, a Jan. 22 return seems very unlikely.

Under New Brunswick's current restrictions, the Sea Dogs can't even play games against provincial rivals in Bathurst and Moncton. And of course, the Atlantic bubble remains closed to non-essential travel at this time, making trips to Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown impossible.

The New Year's Eve weekend ended on Jan. 3, meaning next week will mark two weeks since the holidays ended. The hope seems to be that cases will start to go down - and fingers crossed that they do. It seems unlikely that games resume until the Atlantic bubble reopens given that the "protected environment" concept doesn't appear to be an option for the six Maritimes Division teams. Time will tell.

Q. Status of QMHJL? Will hockey resume with current travel restrictions? Strang says they're having conversations with the league, they made it clear of the requirements in NS and protecting NS comes first. So the league still needs to discuss with other provinces as well.

— Alicia Draus (@Alicia_Draus) January 15, 2021

The Quebec-based "protected environments" begin next Friday for the QMJHL's other 12 teams. Bubbles/pods are being held in Shawinigan, Drummondville, Rimouski and Chicoutimi.

The current Ontario lockdown continues to put any kind of an OHL season in doubt. A WHL return seems more and more optimistic since the league announced its intentions to hold a 24-game season last week.

NHL season underway for ex-Sea Dogs

Embed from Getty Images

The first Stanley Cup champion in Saint John Sea Dogs history got his 2021 season off to a strong start on Wednesday night.

Mathieu Joseph scored and was a +2 in the Tampa Bay Lightning's season opening 5-1 win over the retooling Chicago Blackhawks. Matthew Highmore was held off the scoresheet for the Blackhawks in just under 11 minutes of ice time.

Malcolm Subban can’t absorb the shot and Mathieu Joseph capitalizes. Tough goal to give up. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/fM6tGjzER2

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 14, 2021

Mike Hoffman did not make his St. Louis Blues debut on Wednesday due to a work visa issue.

Hoffman, Joseph and Highmore are just a few of the Sea Dogs alumni that are starting this bizarre hockey season in the NHL. Here's a breakdown:

Boston: Charlie Coyle and Jakub Zboril

Florida: Jonathan Huberdeau

Pittsburgh: Alex D'Orio (taxi squad)

Ottawa: Thomas Chabot

Tampa Bay: Mathieu Joseph

New York Rangers: Julien Gauthier

Chicago: Matthew Highmore

St. Louis: Mike Hoffman

Vegas: Tomas Jurco (taxi squad? Not official)

Winnipeg: Nathan Beaulieu

Spencer Smallman (Chicago Wolves), Luke Green (Manitoba Moose) and Boko Imama (Ontario Reign) were all assigned to the American Hockey League following time at NHL camps. AHL training camps begin this week with a shortened regular season expected to begin on Feb. 5.

The status of Callum Booth, who had been attending Boston Bruins training camp, is unclear.

Kotkov included on AHL camp roster

Embed from Getty Images

It looks as though Vladislav Kotkov is coming to North America - but it's not to Saint John. At least not yet.

Kotkov, a San Jose Sharks prospect, has been listed on the training camp roster of the AHL's San Jose Barracuda. The overage forward, who turned 21 last week, was acquired by the Sea Dogs during the off-season but has not been able to make his way to Saint John due to travel restrictions.

According to the Barracuda's website, training camp began on Monday and concludes on Feb. 4. The camp will include seven pre-season games, the first of which will be played next Tuesday against the San Diego Gulls.

The Barracuda, like the Sharks, are currently unable to hold practices or games in San Jose due to COVID-19 restrictions. The team is currently based out of the Arizona Coyotes practice facility.

Kotkov appeared in one AHL game at the end of the 2018-19 season, recording a goal. The Russian forward recorded 22 goals and 24 assists in 51 regular season games with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last season and was expected to be a key veteran in Saint John's lineup this year. Hopefully, if Kotkov isn't able to crack the AHL lineup, his presence in San Jose will make it easier for him to make his way to Saint John. We'll see what happens.

The Syracuse Crunch, meanwhile, have added Shawinigan Cataractes forward - and former Moncton Wildcat - Gabriel Fortier to their roster. The 20-year-old had eight points in 13 games with Moncton prior to the shutdown.

Gabriel Fortier to Syracuse of the AHL. Moncton returns 2022 3rd to Shawinigan. Future 1st round pick that was “frozen”, is now available for Shawinigan to deal if they chose. #DefendTheDen https://t.co/2vCWGWKw7z

— Denis Leblanc (@DenisL_1981) January 12, 2021

The AHL plans to start a shortened season on Feb. 5.

Plenty of Sea Dogs at NHL camps

The NHL's 2020-21 season is just days away, meaning we are just days away from seeing several Saint John Sea Dogs alumni in action.

Training camps have been happening across the league over the past week. Camps are much shorter and have fewer participants than normal, so the likes of Jeremie Poirier and William Villeneuve are absent.

Here's a look at all the Sea Dogs alumni either taking part or recently took part in NHL camps along with where they played last season (leave a comment if we forgot anyone).

Boston: Charlie Coyle (NHL - Boston), Jakub Zboril (AHL - Providence) and Callum Booth (AHL - Charlotte/ECHL - Greenville/ECHL - Atlanta)

Florida: Jonathan Huberdeau (NHL - Florida)

Ottawa: Thomas Chabot (NHL - Ottawa)

Tampa Bay: Mathieu Joseph (NHL - Tampa Bay/AHL - Syracuse)

Carolina: Spencer Smallman (AHL - Charlotte/ECHL - Greenville)

New York Rangers: Julien Gauthier (NHL - New York Rangers/NHL - Carolina/AHL - Charlotte)

Pittsburgh: Alex D'Orio (ECHL - Wheeling)

Chicago: Matthew Highmore (NHL - Chicago/AHL - Rockford)

St. Louis: Mike Hoffman (NHL - Florida)

Winnipeg: Luke Green (AHL - Manitoba) and Nathan Beaulieu (NHL - Winnipeg)

Los Angeles: Boko Imama (AHL - Ontario)

Vegas: Tomas Jurco (NHL - Edmonton/AHL - Bakersfield)

It'll be interesting to see how some of the borderline NHL/AHL players are used given the addition of taxi squads for this season. A shortened AHL regular season is expected to begin play in a few weeks.

CHL leagues still plan on playing

The Western Hockey League remains committed to playing games this season.

The league announced in a press release on Friday night that it plans to play a 24-game season when provincial and state health authorities allow them to do so.

From the release:

The Western Hockey League announced today the WHL Board of Governors have made a commitment to play a WHL 2020-21 Regular Season. The start date for the season will be determined once final approval has been received from the Health Authorities in each provincial and state jurisdiction and it is anticipated the approvals will be received soon.

All models and schedule formats are being considered by the WHL to ensure a WHL season is provided for the players. The 2020-21 WHL Regular Season will consist of 24 games.

The WHL seems quite confident in this release that a short season will happen. This comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are on the rise nearly everywhere and restrictions are being tightened. It also comes at a time when more and more Canadian junior players are heading overseas or to the USHL to play.

The Winnipeg Ice's Matthew Savoie, the first overall pick in the 2019 WHL Draft a top prospect for the 2022 NHL Draft, is joining the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints.

And in junior hockey news away from the WJC: The USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints announced the addition of Matthew Savoie, one of the top prospects for the 2022 NHL draft. He is expected to join the team shortly.

— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) January 5, 2021

The QMJHL plans to return on Jan. 22 with its 12 Quebec-based clubs playing out of four "protected environments." The 12 teams will then be split into three "protected environments" from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7. Quebec's recently introduced evening curfew will reportedly not impact the league.

It's unclear when the QMJHL's six Maritimes Division teams will be able to resume action due to travel restrictions.

Roode joining MHL's Mariners

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Benjamin Roode is joining the Yarmouth Mariners.

The Maritime Hockey League club tweeted on Friday that the 18-year-old Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman will be part of the team's roster.

#BREAKING Defenceman Ben Roode has joined us. Ben was previously playing with the @SJSeaDogs Welcome, Ben!#BleedBlue #MarinersArmy

— Yarmouth Mariners (@MarinersHockey) January 8, 2021

The move does not come as a surprise. Roode, a former first-round pick of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, has played in just two of Saint John's 15 games. The Sea Dogs haven't played since Nov. 18, but Roode's last game was Nov. 6.

Roode spent the past two seasons with the Titan. He has recorded a goal and four assists in 131 career QMJHL games. The Sea Dogs acquired the d-man in September. 

All MHL games are currently postponed until at least Jan. 13. The Mariners currently lead the Eastlink South Division with a 10-3 record.

The move leaves eight defensemen on Saint John's roster: Christopher Inniss, Kale McCallum, Charlie DesRoches, Jeremie Poirier, William Villeneuve, Jan Hampl, Hunter Gartley and Nathan Drapeau. Gartley has played in just two games while it still isn't clear if Hampl, an import, will be able to join the club.

The QMJHL's Maritimes Division is currently scheduled to resume play on Jan. 22, meaning out-of-province moves made now will have to miss game action due to the 14-day quarantine period. But... that Jan. 22 restart is looking more and more unlikely.

Drover dealt to Rimouski

The Saint John Sea Dogs made their first move of the holiday trading period on Tuesday, dealing forward Alex Drover to the Rimouski Oceanic for draft picks.

In return, the Sea Dogs will receive Gatineau’s second- and 10th-round picks in 2022 and Rimouski’s fourth-round pick in 2023.

Drover, 18, was in his third season with the Sea Dogs and had four goals and three assists in 14 games prior to the shutdown. Saint John acquired the Newfoundlander from the Cape Breton Eagles during the 2018-19 season. Drover was the 10th overall pick in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Drover was consistently one of Saint John's hardest working players but could never translate that consistently into points, leaving him in the lower half of the team's depth chart where he regularly played as a third or fourth liner. Moving to a rebuilding Rimouski squad should allow him to see significantly more ice time and a chance to find his groove in an offensive role.

Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie noted in a press release that giving Drover a chance to play more was one of the reasons for the deal - especially with 16-year-old Simon Hughes joining the team.

“Alex is a great young man and we wanted to give him the opportunity play a more meaningful role on a new team," said Georgie. "I want to thank Alex and his family for the time that they put in and commitment to the team, and we look forward to watching from a distance as Alex’s career progresses. We wish him lots of success with his new club.”

The QMJHL's trading period has been extended to Jan. 25, but the expectation is that teams will be busy over the next few days in order to give new acquisitions time to quarantine in their new markets.