CHL TV, WHL off and running

The Canadian Hockey League made it clear this weekend that they have very high expectations for CHL TV.

CHL TV hosted its first live hockey games on Friday night with two Western Hockey League contests. There were a few technical issues, most notably the ice in Red Deer looked brighter than the sun and the streams weren't working on the mobile app.

These are problems we've seen time and time again with junior hockey streams - but the CHL came out the next day and called the experience disappointing.

A message from CHL President Dan MacKenzie and WHL Commissioner Ron Robison pic.twitter.com/8SYoaJu6ar

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 27, 2021

Saturday's streams - what I watched of them, at least - seemed to go much more smoothly. I can't say I've watched too many WHL streams over the years but if what I saw this weekend is going to be rolled out across all 60 CHL markets, I'm pretty okay with that - especially knowing that the CHL is setting the bar high and even more improvements could be on the way.

Here’s a video of the new @CHLHockey streaming service CHL TV from an iOS device. @EdmOilKings @WHLHurricanes @TheWHL #QMJHL #LHJMQ #WHL #OHL #CHLTV pic.twitter.com/gqGjTdHH2L

— Denis Leblanc (@DenisL_1981) February 28, 2021

Making team home openers free to watch is something that hopefully continues down the road. The AHL has been making its opening weekend free to view for a number of years now and it's always received high praise from fans.

QMJHL confirms NB teams are returning

Saint John Sea Dogs

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League confirmed Saturday morning that its three New Brunswick teams will resume playing games when the province flips to the yellow phase, which is expected to happen at midnight on March 7 (fingers crossed).

From the league:

Following constructive dialogue and meetings with New Brunswick Public Health and Government officials, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is announcing the return of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, the Moncton Wildcats and the Saint John Sea Dogs to competition starting the week of March 8th.

A new schedule will be produced and released at the beginning of next week. Of note, the New Brunswick-based teams will only play against each other in March with fans in the building. The situation will be reevaluated with Public Health officials in the upcoming weeks.

"It's outstanding news for our student-athletes that haven't competed since late November," said Commissioner Gilles Courteau. "We want to salute the Government and Public Health officials of New Brunswick for their trust in our Health and Sanitary protocols. Our top priority remains the safety of our players, staffs and fans. We will continue to work in close collaboration with Public Health authorities to ensure a safe environment for all our participants."

The Sea Dogs have not played since Nov. 18 and have not played at TD Station since Nov. 14. The three New Brunswick clubs have only been able to practice for the past several weeks.

Saint John and Bathurst have played 15 games all season while Moncton has played a league low 13. The original plan, produced by the QMJHL in September, was for all teams to play 60 games by April 3.

It remains unclear when - or even if - the three New Brunswick teams will be able to travel freely in and out of the province to play the other Maritimes Division clubs. There is certainly some concern over the status of the Mooseheads, Eagles and Islanders with Halifax unable to play games until March 27 and the possibility of another circuit breaker lockdown in PEI.

It's also unclear how late into the spring/summer the QMJHL season could stretch with the WHL - and potentially the OHL - playing through April and into May. The WHL's US Division has regular season games scheduled until May 11.

NB's QMJHL teams closer to return

New Brunswick's three Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams finally got some good news on Friday.

Provincial health officials announced at a press conference that all zones are poised to be placed into the yellow phase on Sunday, March 7 at 11:59 p.m. This is, of course, is dependent on all things COVID-19 related staying stable over the next week.

A move to yellow would allow the Saint John Sea Dogs, Moncton Wildcats and Acadie-Bathurst Titan to return to game action. The three clubs haven't been able to do anything beyond practice since mid-November.

According to a government news release, a change to yellow would allow, among other things:

• Sports teams will be allowed to play within their league across zones, following their operational plan. Tournaments or larger events within a zone may be permitted, subject to approval of the plan.
• Formal indoor gatherings will be permitted with an operational plan in place as long as the venue is at 50 per cent capacity or less and physical distance can be maintained.

The QMJHL is expected to release further details on the return of its three New Brunswick clubs soon.

While Friday brought good news to half of the Maritimes Division, the other half received some bad news. The Halifax Mooseheads announced - in compliance with new provincial guidelines for the Halifax area - that the team will pause its schedule beginning on Saturday. The restrictions, which do allow the team to remain practicing, will remain in place until March 26.

Notebook: Busy CHL weekend ahead

Olivier Croteau/QMJHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs won't be in action again this weekend but there will be several ex-Dogs playing.

The Maritimes Division's non-New Brunswick teams and the 12 Quebec-based squads will all be in action this weekend. That includes the QMJHL's fifth-round of "protected environments."

Maxim Cajkovic could make his Val-d'Or Foreurs debut this weekend. The former Sea Dogs forward had been playing in Slovakia but was able to arrive in Val-d'Or a few weeks ago. He joins an already loaded Foreurs squad that is 18-2-2-2 on the year and have won seven straight.

Here's a breakdown of how former Sea Dogs are performing around the QMJHL heading into this weekend's action.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Joshua Roy	SNB SHE	25	16	12	28
Nathan Larose	CAP	22	14	10	24
Dawson Stairs	SNB CAP	21	9	10	19
Alex Drover	SNB RIM	25	7	9	16
Isiah Campbell	DRU SHA	17	7	6	13
Connor Richard	MON	13	1	1	2

Creed Jones is the only ex-Dogs netminder playing. In eight games between Saint John and Rimouski, the overager is 1-4-1-0 with a 4.06 goals against average and a .868 save percentage.

NEW MASK

By the time the Sea Dogs are playing games again, Zachary Emond may have a new mask.

From @gildersdesign on IG: Zachary Emond’s new mask pic.twitter.com/QOuUjo8b0X

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) February 25, 2021

The 20-year-old goaltender was acquired by Saint John in a trade with Rouyn-Noranda on Jan. 21.

More Maritimes Division games added... without New Brunswick teams

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Maritimes Division is continuing to move along without its three New Brunswick clubs.

The league announced Tuesday the division's schedule until March 14, which will only feature games between the Halifax Mooseheads, Cape Breton Eagles and Charlottetown Islanders. The three teams have been playing against each other since Jan. 29 and have even invited fans back into buildings in recent weeks.

A QMJHL news release said that "the league has continued its dialogue with government and public health officials hoping that the three teams based in New Brunswick will return to their regular activities as soon as possible.

"The following schedule is subject to change depending on New Brunswick’s evolving situation as some games can be postponed and/or added to the schedule should they obtain public health approval."

The three New Brunswick teams have not played since mid-November and have only been allowed to practice since returning from the league's holiday break. COVID-19 numbers continue to drop across the province and there are very few cases in the Saint John, Moncton and Bathurst regions. Despite the decline, it certainly seems like the provincial government will be keeping current guidelines in place until after March break.

Fewer than 10 active cases outside of zone 4 pic.twitter.com/1pJFM3vkGO

— Ray (@RayDoesData) February 23, 2021

At a news conference on Tuesday, PEI's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, said she doesn't expect the Atlantic Bubble to reopen for another six to eight weeks. Not great!

Notebook: MacDonald signs in WHL

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Anderson MacDonald has found a new home.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward has signed a standard player agreement with the Western Hockey League's Winnipeg Ice. The club announced the signing on Monday.

The overager has spent the past four seasons in the QMJHL, playing with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Moncton Wildcats, Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the Sea Dogs. In 23 second half games with his hometown Sea Dogs last season, MacDonald recorded seven goals and nine assists.

MacDonald was not amongst the small group of players that took part in Sea Dogs training camp this year. He has not been playing anywhere this season (according to Elie Prospects, at least).

The 10th-overall pick in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft, MacDonald has publicly discussed his battle with mental health issues and how it's impacted his career.

The Ice will join their provincial rival, the Brandon Wheat Kings, and the five Saskatchewan-based WHL clubs in the Regina "hub," which is scheduled to begin on March 12. Winnipeg's lineup is headlined by Vegas Golden Knights prospect Peyton Krebs, who the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights reassigned to the WHL on Sunday.

DRAFT RANKINGS

There are still plenty of questions surrounding the 2021 NHL Draft. The biggest being will there even be a 2021 NHL Draft.

That big question hasn't stop draft rankings from coming out. Future Considerations' latest rankings have Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds ranked 34th overall, which is by far the highest any publication has ranked the Fredericton native.

Also on FC's list are Fyodor Svechkov (37th), Joshua Roy (64th) and Bobby Orr (80th).

Roy was ranked 42nd in The Hockey Writers' latest rankings while Svechkov (57th) and Reynolds (64th) also cracked the top-64.

Alumdate: Jones makes Rimouski return

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

Creed Jones made his return to the Rimouski Oceanic crease in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's latest "protected environment."

The overage netminder started all three of the Oceanic's games in Quebec City, dropping two one-goal games before getting pulled five minutes into his third match. Here's a breakdown of his performances.

Feb. 12 vs GAT: 2 GA; 23 SH; 1.96 GAA; .913 SV%

Feb. 14 vs ROU: 3 GA; 20 SH; 3.08 GAA; .850 SV%

Feb. 16 vs QUE: 2 GA; 5 SH; 22.78 GAA; .600 SV%

The Feb. 12 contest was Jones' first game since Nov. 14 when the Sea Dogs hosted the Halifax Mooseheads.

Jones has a 3.36 goals against average and a .854 save percentage in his first three games with the Oceanic. He posted a 4.36 GAA and .872 SV% in five first half games with Saint John - but faced, on average, 11 more shots per game in his time with the Dogs.

Jones is in his second stint with the Oceanic. He appeared in 12 games with the team in the second half of last season prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. He signed as a free agent with the team a few weeks ago after being released by the Sea Dogs and clearing league waivers.

Also on the rebuilding Rimouski roster is former Sea Dogs forward Alex Drover. With an assist in the latest "protected environment," Drover now has three goals and six assists in 11 games with his new club.

Elsewhere, Joshua Roy has goals in each of his past three games, giving him seven goals and four assists in 10 games with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. In Cape Breton, Dawson Stairs enters Sunday action with five goals and three assists in just six games with the Eagles.

The wait continues

Photo: Saint John Sea Dogs

Thursday marked the three-month anniversary of the Saint John Sea Dogs' last regular season game.

The Sea Dogs have been unable to play since Nov. 18 due to COVID-19 restrictions. There was hope that games could resume following the extended holiday break but that has not happened for the QMJHL's three New Brunswick clubs.

There's still no clear indication of when the Sea Dogs may resume playing games. The team has been able to practice at least, and on Thursday held its first full team practice with everyone out of quarantine.

First full roster practice today. New names, new faces👋 pic.twitter.com/s40lW2lgg8

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) February 18, 2021

There will be a number of new names on Saint John's roster when they resume game action. They include: forwards Ryan Francis, Vladislav Kotkov, Carter McCluskey, and Zachary Alchorn; defenseman Brandon Casey; and goaltender Zachary Emond.

The Sea Dogs have played 15 games and are 5-6-3-1, placing them third in the Maritimes Division. If the playoffs started today, first-place Charlottetown and second-place Bathurst would receive byes into the second round. The Sea Dogs would play sixth-place Halifax in the first round while fourth-place Moncton and fifth-place Cape Breton would meet in the other series.

The three New Brunswick clubs are really starting to lose ground in terms of games played. Moncton has played a league low 13 at this point while Halifax has played 25. Rimouski and Rouyn-Noranda have each played a league high 27.

The WHL plans to have its teams play 24-game seasons. The OHL has yet to confirm plans on its return, but the expectation is that they will follow the WHL's lead and play around 24 contests.

CHL TV finally becoming reality

After nearly a year of waiting, it appears CHL TV is about to become a reality.

The Canadian Hockey League announced Tuesday that it "has selected the Verizon Media Platform to deliver a high-quality streaming experience across an expanded range of devices for fans from coast to coast."

CHL TV will debut on Feb. 26 when the Western Hockey League begins its 24-game regular season.

The QMJHL and OHL were not specifically mentioned in the release. It's hard to imagine the QMJHL switching providers mid-season - but this is still very promising news moving forward. I think it's safe to say that the CHL is confident all three leagues will be brought on board somewhat soon since it made a public announcement like this.

“Working with Verizon Media exemplifies our commitment to providing our fans with the best possible viewing experience,” said CHL President Dan MacKenzie in the release. “We are ensuring our fans can enjoy seamless, high-quality streams at home from any platform or device. Verizon Media’s expertise and technology are renowned in the world of live sports and will play an important role in our success.”

A CHL streaming service was first mentioned by MacKenzie in an interview with The Hockey News last March. The WHL mentioned the new service in a few news releases over the past year.

The QMJHL appeared poised to begin using the new service when its regular season began this past October, even confirming at a news conference that a new webcast provider would be in place for the start of the year. The belief at the time was that the new provider would be Verizon.

Quebecor, the CHL's french-language media rights holders, reportedly blocked the QMJHL from making the switch to Verizon. There have been rumours in Quebec, however, that the Quebecor owned TVA Sports has been trying to get out of its broadcast contract before the 2021-22 season.

The QMJHL's webcasts have been streamed by Neulion since the 2014-15 season. Neulion, to be fair, has made some upgrades this season, including finally adding a scoreboard to each feed.

There is, once again, no junior hockey to watch in NB this weekend

Another week has gone by with no official word on when or how Quebec Major Junior Hockey League games could resume for the three New Brunswick based clubs.

All three zones that are home to QMJHL teams - Saint John, Moncton and Bathurst - remain in the orange phase, which only allows teams to practice. It's believed the league is working with the province to try and find a solution for games to resume, but nothing has been made official yet.

Sunday will mark three months since the Wildcats last played a game. The Sea Dogs have not played since Nov. 18.

There was a bit of good news this week. New Brunswick health officials seemed much more optimistic about the province potentially getting back into the yellow phase in the somewhat near future.

Health Zones must remain in the Orange level for "at least 2-3 weeks" before we can consider a move to Yellow, says Health Minister Shephard.

"The situation is still precarious," she says. Yellow guidelines are being looked at & could change.

— Julia Wright (@thewrightpage) February 11, 2021

The QMJHL's two Nova Scotia teams and the Charlottetown Islanders have resumed play - with fans in attendance - and have had no incidents so far. In Quebec, another round of protected environments are off and running and the league announced Friday the three locations for the fifth round of pods, which will take place Feb. 27 to March 7.

Video: Gauthier scores first NHL goal

Embed from Getty Images

Julien Gauthier became the latest former Saint John Sea Dog to score an NHL goal on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old forward scored the game's opening goal in a 3-2 New York Rangers overtime loss to the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden.

Gauthier was appearing in his seventh game of the season for the Rangers and had yet to record a point. In 24 career NHL games split between the Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, Gauthier has a goal and three assists.

Gauthier was playing against his former Sea Dogs teammate: Bruins defenseman Jakub Zboril. The two played together with Saint John during the second half of the 2016-17 season. Charlie Coyle was also in the Boston lineup.

That 2016-17 Sea Dogs team is looking pretty good these days. Members of that team to play in the NHL this season include Gauthier, Zboril, Thomas Chabot, Mathieu Joseph and Matthew Highmore.

Gauthier certainly knows how to score, netting 104 regular season markers in his four-year QMJHL career.

Ex-Dogs off to strong starts in new homes

Ghyslain Bergeron/QMJHL

Dawson Stairs got his Cape Breton Eagles career off to a great start this past weekend.

After completing a 14-day quarantine, Stairs made his Eagles debut on Saturday, scoring what proved to be the game winning goal in a 5-4 Cape Breton victory over the Maritimes Division leading Charlottetown Islanders.

On Sunday, Stairs found the scoresheet again, netting two goals on three shots in a 6-4 Eagles win over the Halifax Mooseheads.

The three goals on the weekend doubles his goal total on the season. Before joining Cape Breton, the Fredericton native recorded three goals and five assists in 13 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Stairs was dealt to Cape Breton last month in the deal that saw 19-year-old forward Ryan Francis traded to Saint John.

The Eagles are back in action on Wednesday, hosting the Mooseheads in a game that will have fans in the stands for the first time since November.

Stairs isn't the only ex-Sea Dog finding his groove with his new club. Joshua Roy continues to produce for the Sherbrooke Phoenix, registering a total of four goals and three assists in six games with the team.

Sherbrooke will join the Shawinigan protected environment this weekend where they'll face the Cataractes (twice), Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Val-d'Or Foreurs.

Notebook: Waiting game continues in NB

Another week has passed and there's still no clarity on when QMJHL games could resume in New Brunswick.

Both the Saint John and Bathurst regions remain orange while the Moncton area appears poised to join them in the coming days. Under current orange restrictions, teams are only permitted to practice. Health officials have said no region of the province will improve past the orange level any time soon which is obviously concerning for the Saint John Sea Dogs, Moncton Wildcats and Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The QMJHL and the province are no doubt trying to find a solution for games to resume while in orange - but no agreement has been settled on yet.

“Given the presence of new COVID-19 variants in the province, and the speed at which they spread, it’s unlikely that restrictions for sports will be relaxed in the near future,” says Bruce Macfarlane, NB public health spokesperson.@Global_NB https://t.co/22dm0VrBe4

— Callum Smith (@smithc902) February 5, 2021

In that Global News story, Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said that his club expects "seven figure" financial losses this season.

In Nova Scotia, public health officials will allow spectators to attend sporting events beginning next week. The Halifax Mooseheads, Cape Breton Eagles and Charlottetown Islanders all resumed game action last weekend.

THN RANKINGS

Five current or former Sea Dogs players cracked their respective NHL club's top 10 prospect list in The Hockey News Yearbook. They are as follows:

Boston Bruins: #7 Jakub Zboril

Calgary Flames: #10 Jeremie Poirier

Detroit Red Wings: #3 Joe Veleno

New York Rangers: #10 Julien Gauthier

Tamp Bay Lightning: #10 Maxim Cajkovic

Zboril and Gauthier have both started the year in the NHL.

AHL season starts up this weekend

Embed from Getty Images

It's been a long off-season, but the American Hockey League finally resumes action Friday.

The league will understandably have a different look to it with three teams - the Charlotte Checkers (Florida), Springfield Falcons (St. Louis) and Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville) - opting out of this COVID impacted season. The divisions have also been realigned so teams can stay within a smaller geographic area (except for the Canadian Division, which is a bit of a mess as it awaits Ontario government approval).

Perhaps the best part about the AHL's opening weekend is that all games are free to watch on AHL TV until Monday (please take note, QMJHL Live).

Here's a look at the Sea Dogs alumni who received invites to AHL camps (drop us a note if we missed someone).

Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton): Ostap Safin

Chicago Wolves (Carolina): Spencer Smallman

Cleveland Monsters (Columbus): Brett Gallant

Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg): Luke Green

Ontario Reign (Los Angeles): Boko Imama

Providence Bruins (Boston): Callum Booth

Vladislav Kotkov took part in San Jose Barracuda (San Jose) training camp before being assigned to the Sea Dogs earlier this week.

Boko Imama has already been going back-and-forth between the Reign and the Kings taxi squad - and the same could end up happening with Tomas Jurco and Vegas/Henderson. Alex D'Orio will likely stay on Pittsburgh's taxi squad for the season, but would have likely become an AHL regular this year under normal circumstances.

A couple of notables not in the AHL this season include Jakob Zboril and Joe Veleno. Zboril is now a regular on the Boston Bruins backend while the Detroit Red Wings have opted to keep Veleno in Sweden for the rest of the season.

There's always plenty of turnover with Sea Dogs alumni in the minor pro ranks - but Brett Gallant has remained a constant. Gallant, now 32, has been playing pro hockey since the 2009-10 season and his HockeyFights.com page is still having clips added to it regularly. Gallant is one of the few remaining players from the Sea Dogs' inaugural 2005-06 season still playing the sport competitively.

Kotkov has finally arrived in Saint John

The Saint John Sea Dogs got a huge offensive boost this week.

Russian forward Vladislav Kotkov has made his way to Saint John where he'll join the Sea Dogs following a 14-day isolation period. The arrival ends several months of uncertainty surrounding border and travel restrictions.

“Our top priority during this process was ensuring we were following all federal, provincial and league protocols,” Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said in a news release. “We look forward to meeting Vladislav following his 14-day isolation.”

Kotkov joins the Sea Dogs after taking part in San Jose Barracuda training camp where he appeared in a few AHL pre-season games. The San Jose Sharks prospect played in one AHL regular season game in 2018-19 where he scored a goal.

The recently-turned-21-year-old has spent the past three seasons in Chicoutimi where he's recorded 77 goals and 79 assists in 177 QMJHL games. Last season, Kotkov registered 22 goals and 24 assists in 51 games.

Trouble in the (sort of) bubble

Andre Emond/QMJHL

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's "protected environments" hit their first major problem this week.

On Tuesday the league announced that a Victoriaville Tigres player had tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the team to leave the Chicoutimi environment and enter into a 14-day isolation period.

On Wednesday, the league delivered more bad news: a total of four Tigres players have tested positive and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, who played Victoriaville twice last weekend, have been placed into a 14-day isolation period as a precaution.

The announcements mean the Chicoutimi environment will end with Wednesday's Val-d'Or/Gatineau game.

It's the first significant hiccup for these "protected environments," which had been very successful up until this point. The isolation periods will impact the next round of these mini-hubs as well, which are scheduled to begin Feb. 12 in Quebec City, Shawinigan and Victoriaville.

Also on Wednesday, the National Women's Hockey League, which was holding a protected environment event in Lake Placid, ended its season due to COVID outbreaks. This news, along with the QMJHL's, further goes to show that true bubbles seem to be the best method for getting games played safely without interruptions.

Reynolds, MacDonald make latest 'Players to Watch' list

Photo: Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Two current and one former Saint John Sea Dog made NHL Central Scouting's latest Players to Watch list, which was released on Jan. 22.

Peter Reynolds and Joshua Roy were both given B ratings, which indicates a second- or third-round candidate. Cam MacDonald was given a C rating, which means a fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-round candidate.

Roy was recently traded to the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Reynolds and MacDonald are both in their first QMJHL seasons.

There were a few other notable names on the list.

• Forward Fyodor Svechkov, Saint John's first-round pick in the 2020 CHL Import Draft, was given an A rating.
• Defenseman Guillaume Richard, a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft who is committed to the University of Maine, was given a B rating.
• Bobby Orr, a 2019 Sea Dogs draft pick who was traded to Halifax this off-season, was awarded a C rating.
• American forward Nick Roukounakis, a 10th-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2019 draft and a Boston University commit, was given a C rating. 

Only three players from the QMJHL were given A ratings: Rimouski's Zachary Bolduc, Shawinigan's Xavier Bourgault, and Halifax's Zachary L'Heureux.

In total, 35 QMJHL players were listed. The full list can be found here.

The 2021 NHL Draft certainly has the potential to be one of the strangest in history thanks to the pandemic, which has offered scouts very few - and any - chances to watch this year's crop.

The 2021 NHL Draft is currently scheduled for July 23-24. There are reports that some teams are pushing for the draft to be pushed into early winter or even into the summer of 2022, where two drafts would be held.