Sea Dogs pick two in Import Draft

NHL.com

The Saint John Sea Dogs may have landed just what they needed in Wednesday's CHL Import Draft.

With the 22nd overall pick, the Sea Dogs selected Yan Kuznetsov, a Russian defenseman that's listed at 6'4" and 216 lbs. Kuznetsov was a second-round pick of the Calgary Flames in last year's NHL Draft.

Scouting reports indicate he is exactly the type of defenseman the Sea Dogs need.

"He has really good defensive fundamentals with a chance to grow his game offensively," said Flames' director of amateur scouting Tod Button last fall. "He definitely takes care of his own end first, but he's a player we think can play with more of a risk-taking, offensive defenseman on a middle pairing."

The catch? There's no guarantee the 19-year-old, who is eligible to play in the AHL, will be assigned to Saint John by the Flames this fall.

“We wanted a top 2-way defenseman with size who can shut down the opposition. Yan Kuznetsov is that,” Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said in a news release. “We have been very interested in him since he won gold here at TD Station during the Under 17s. He is a horse on the backend. We do not have any confirmation of the Flames’ plans for next season and respect whatever they decide. We are hopeful that he joins fellow Flames prospects Jeremie Poirier and Ryan Francis as we look to make a push next season. It is a risk but for a big reward, and we were willing to take that risk.”

Kuznetsov has spent the past two seasons with the NCAA's University of Connecticut Huskies, a program that has been attracting more and more import players in recent years. This past season the defenseman posted a goal and five assists in 16 games.

Import Draft takes place Wednesday

The 2021 CHL Import Draft takes place on Wednesday.

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar will select first overall followed by the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips and the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts.

The full draft order can be found on the CHL website. The selection process begins at noon Atlantic time.

The Saint John Sea Dogs currently hold the 22nd and 82nd overall picks - although both of those selections will likely be made earlier due to teams opting to pass.

The Sea Dogs dressed just one overage player last season - overage forward Vladislav Kotkov. With the San Jose Sharks prospect aging out of junior hockey, Saint John has two open import spots. The team used both of its picks last year, taking highly touted Russian forward Fyodor Svechkov 23rd overall and shutdown Czech defenseman Jan Hampl with the 83rd pick.

Svechkov, projected to be a first-round pick in July's NHL Draft, is a long shot to report to the team. Hampl was unable to make it to Saint John last season due to pandemic travel restrictions.

The Sea Dogs have selected two players in three of the past four Import Drafts.

The Import Draft is arguably the strangest draft in all of sports. An added wrinkle this year is, of course, continued international travel restrictions. Hopefully by fall people are able to move much easier.

Draft Notes: High goalie pick is a rare one

The Saint John Sea Dogs did something they've rarely done in their history this weekend: draft a goaltender in the first two rounds.

The Sea Dogs selected Gatineau Intrepide netminder Olivier Brideau in the second-round, 27th overall on Saturday, making him the second highest goaltender the team has ever selected.

Alex D'Orio, selected in the first-round, ninth overall by Saint John in 2015 remains the highest drafted goaltender.

The Sea Dogs have selected goalies twice in the third-round: Karel St. Laurent in 2006 and Michael D'Orazio last year.

Brideau was the third ranked goaltender available in this year's draft by HockeyProspect.com, placing him at No. 30 overall. He was ranked 28th overall by QMJHL Central Scouting.

FIRST ROUNDERS

If defenseman Natan Grenier makes Saint John's lineup this coming season, the Sea Dogs will have seven first rounders on their active roster.

2017 Round 1, 10th overall: Christopher Inniss (Rimouski)
2018 Round 1, 2nd overall: William Villeneuve (Saint John)
2018 Round 1, 6th overall: William Dufour (Rouyn-Noranda)
2018 Round 1, 8th overall: Jeremie Poirier (Saint John)
2018 Round 1, 15th overall: Josh Lawrence (Saint John)
2020 Round 1, 15th overall: Nathan Drapeau (Saint John)
2021 Round 1, 19th overall: Natan Grenier (Saint John)

The Sea Dogs traded forward Leighton Carruthers, who they selected third overall in last year's draft, to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Friday.

OLD TIMES

The Sea Dogs played their first game in franchise history on Sept. 16, 2005. Moncton Flyers forward Justin Gendron, selected 14th overall by Victoriaville, was born a couple weeks after that game on Sept. 30, 2005.

Ian Dickie of the Saint John Vito's, drafted in the ninth-round by the Sea Dogs, was born on Sept. 8, 2005.

All of this officially makes the Sea Dogs an old-timey franchise.

Sea Dogs select 13 in 2021 Entry Draft

The Saint John Sea Dogs leave the virtual 2021 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft with 13 new players.

That amount includes four players selected in the first two rounds - which comes as a bit of a surprise given where Saint John is at in their cycle. Spots in next this season's lineup are already limited.

The Sea Dogs used their lone first-round pick on a defenseman, Natan Grenier, from the Seminaire Saint-Francois Blizzard.

“We’re thrilled to add Natan to our team,” said Sea Dogs assistant general manager and head scout Anthony Stella in a news release. “He brings speed, intensity, offensive ability and high end IQ. As we all know one day our 02’s will have to pass the torch and Natan will be ready to step in.”

😍 Goosebumps don't lie. Welcome aboard Natan! pic.twitter.com/gnJLIb61Sy

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) June 26, 2021

There's no question that this was the hardest draft in league history to prepare for given the limited amount of player viewings. There are surprise hits and unfortunate misses in every draft - but there could be more than ever this year.

“With it being such a different year in terms of prospect viewings and rankings, we felt that having more players in a certain range would be a better fit for us,” Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said.

Sea Dogs acquire Lemieux from Foreurs

QMJHL

It's official: Jonathan Lemieux is now a member of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The overage netminder was acquired by the Sea Dogs in a significant deal that was announced during the sixth-round of Saturday's QMJHL Entry Draft. Saint John picked up Lemieux and the 128th overall pick in this year's draft in exchange for defenseman Kale McCallum; a first-round pick in 2023; a third-round pick in 2022 (Val-d'Or); and a fourth-round selection in 2022 (Bathurst).

The deal had been rumoured for a few weeks and was all but confirmed when the Sea Dogs traded Nicholas Girourd on Wednesday, opening up an overage slot.

🔄TRADE ALERT🔄
The Sea Dogs have acquired overage goalie Jonathan Lemieux from the @ForeursVD in exchange for (D) Kale McCallum and a package of picks. pic.twitter.com/lCAvTNbVJN

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) June 26, 2021

It's a huge add for the Sea Dogs. Lemieux is projected to be one of the best netminders in the QMJHL this season and will obviously help a team that has struggled to consistently play well defensively.

Lemieux went 20-4 last season with a loaded Foreurs squad, posting a 1.96 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. In the playoffs he went 11-4 with a 1.95 GAA and .910 SV%, helping Val-d'Or reach the President Cup final.

In 139 career QMJHL games, Lemieux has a 3.67 GAA and .896 SV%.

The price certainly wasn't cheap but seems to be a manageable amount for the Sea Dogs, who still have plenty of picks banked. McCallum, meanwhile, had slipped down the team's depth chart this past season.

McCallum, an eighth-round pick of Saint John in 2018, has appeared in 80 games with Saint John over two seasons, recording six goals and 18 assists. A Quispamsis native, the 19-year-old played at Rothesay Netherwood prior to joining the Sea Dogs.

Takeaways from 2021's opening round

As expected, the Sherbrooke Phoenix selected forward Ethan Gauthier with the first overall pick in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft on Friday night.

Gauthier was the top-ranked player by QMJHL Central Scouting and HockeyProspect.com.

"We believe Gauthier has everything you need in order to become a dominant player at the QMJHL level," writes HockeyProspect.com. "The potential we see in him is that he will become the go-to guy as a first line centre and premium offense producer for whichever team drafts him, hence why we have him as the best available prospect in the 2021 QMJHL Draft."

Gauthier did not play any regular season games at the midget AAA level this past season but did appear in some pre-season games with the Magog Cantonniers.

Gauthier is, according to Elite Prospects, the cousin of former Sea Dogs forward Julien Gauthier.

Forward Tyler Peddle, who spent last season at Shattuck St. Mary's, was the second ranked player by both services and did in fact go second overall to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The big question: will he report?

In an interview on the league's broadcast Friday, Peddle once again said that he has not committed to playing major junior hockey yet.

Peddle recorded 31 goals and 15 assists in 47 games at Shattuck St. Mary's this past season. He was recently selected in the third round of the USHL draft by the Sioux City Musketeers.

You can rewatch Eastlink's first-round coverage below.

Dogs select Grenier; trade Carruthers

They waited until the final couple picks, but the Saint John Sea Dogs made some noise in the first-round of the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft on Friday.

The Sea Dogs acquired the 19th overall pick from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies along with a 2021 second-round pick; a 2022 second-round pick; and a 2023 third-round pick in exchange for forward Leighton Carruthers - who Saint John drafted third overall in last years's draft.

With the 19th overall selection, the Sea Dogs selected defenseman Natan Grenier from the Seminaire St-Francois Blizzard.

Grenier, listed at 5'11 and 154 lbs, was ranked 19th overall by HockeyProspect.com but was projected as a fourth-round pick by QMJHL Central Scouting. Of course, we all knew that there would be plenty of differences in the rankings this year.

#19 (SJ) - Natan Grenier
Two way defenceman who has good offensive instincts and puck skillsX Very good skater, who can carry the puck. Smart player who anticipates the play well. Good puck distributor who also plays very well in his own zone and who competed hard.

— Alex Pilote (@alex_pilote) June 26, 2021

Carruthers, who will turn 17 in a couple weeks, recorded three goals and an assist in 30 regular season games with Saint John, playing mostly on the team's bottom two lines. He added a goal in six playoff games.

The Sea Dogs were scheduled to select 20th overall but they traded that selection to the Halifax Mooseheads for a second- and third-round pick in this year's draft. The Mooseheads used the pick to draft Weeks forward Logan Crosby to close out the opening round.

Saint John now has three second-round picks (27, 29, 36) and a third-round selection (42) in the Saturday portion of the draft. Rounds 2-14 and the two-round American draft begin at 10 a.m. Atlantic.

It's QMJHL Entry Draft day

The 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft begins tonight.

Held virtually for a second straight year, the first-round will take place this evening beginning at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic. Like last year, the league will be streaming the event on its YouTube page.

Rounds 2-14 and the two-round American draft will take place on Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m. Atlantic.

After trading away the eighth overall pick in the William Dufour deal, Saint John's first selection will be 20th overall - a pick acquired from the Charlottetown Islanders. This year's first-round features 20 selections due to two compensation picks being handed out.

Saint John currently has 10 picks in this year's draft.

Round 1, 20th overall (via Charlottetown)

Round 2, 36th overall (via Bathurst)

Round 4, 73rd overall (via Chicoutimi)

Round 5, 92nd overall (via Val-d'Or)

Round 6, 104th overall (via Quebec)

Round 7, 129th overall (via Charlottetown)

Round, 155th overall

Round 11, 191st overall

Round 13, 227th overall

Round 14, 245th overall

This year's event will likely be much more chaotic than in the past due to the lack of player viewings this season. Every team likely has a much different set of rankings.

“We’ve watched hundreds of hours of video for this draft,” said Sea Dogs head scout and assistant general manager Anthony Stella in a draft preview posted on the team website. “Luckily, we were able to see some players live who actually had seasons. It’s an unfortunate year because so many players didn’t get to showcase themselves, but that’s what also makes this draft so exciting. If you looked at each team’s top 10-20, they will be completely different. Talking with agents it seems 30 different players could be drafted in the top 10. I don’t anticipate Central Scouting’s list will be a good reflection of how the actual draft will go; I’d expect it to be all over the place.”

Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie told the Telegraph-Journal (paywall) he expects there to be a lot of teams making deals to move up and down the draft order given the differences in player rankings amongst the 18 teams.

One thing that does seem certain: Magog forward Ethan Gauthier will very likely go first overall. The Sherbrooke Phoenix have the first overall selection. After Gauthier... anything could happen.

The full draft order can be found on the QMJHL website.

Notebook: Volts happy to have Hughes

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Drummondville Voltigeurs general manager Philippe Boucher is looking forward to having Simon Hughes in his lineup this season.

“He’s loaded with natural skills,” Boucher said in an interview with The Guardian. “I’m very comfortable with our coaching staff that we can get the best out of him.”

Saint John traded the 17-year-old Hughes; the eighth overall pick in Friday's first-round of the QMJHL Entry Draft; and a fifth-rounder in 2023 to the Voltigeurs in exchange for forward William Dufour and a fourth-round pick (Bathurst) in 2022.

Hughes appeared in just seven games with the Sea Dogs last season - all coming in the restart. He played in one playoff game. He'll likely get quite a bit more playing time with the Volts.

The Stratford, PEI native was a second-round pick of Saint John in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft. The Sea Dogs were very high on Hughes after selecting him.

LOOKING BACK

Hughes was one of four players from the 2020 draft to play with the Sea Dogs this past season.

The others were Leighton Carruthers (first round, third overall), Nathan Drapeau (first round, 15th overall) and Hunter Gartley (sixth round, 103rd overall).

Saint John made 12 selections in last year's draft. They are scheduled to pick 10 times this year but that could obviously change.

PEDDLE UNDECIDED

Tyler Peddle, considered to be the best available Maritime player in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft class, is undecided on what playing route to take: major junior or US college hockey.

"It's been stressful for a while but it's really made the last few weeks even tougher trying to figure things out," Peddle told the Chronicle Herald this week. "It's hard to make the decision right now and it's a lot to take in as a 16-year-old."

An Antigonish native, Peddle recorded 31 goals and 15 assists in 47 games at Shattuck St. Mary's this past season. He was recently selected in the third round of the USHL draft by the Sioux City Musketeers.

Peddle is ranked second for this year's draft behind Magog forward Ethan Gauthier. This will be an interesting first round for Peddle given that the Halifax Mooseheads and Cape Breton Eagles are scheduled to pick in the top-10.

Sea Dogs begin pre-season Aug. 19

The Saint John Sea Dogs will begin pre-season action in less than two months.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced its full pre-season schedule on Wednesday. The Sea Dogs' first game will be a 7 p.m. home contest against the Moncton Wildcats on Thursday, Aug. 19. The venue for the game has not been announced.

The following night, the Sea Dogs will travel to Moncton to face the Wildcats at the Superior Propane Centre - the usual venue for Moncton pre-season contests.

Saint John will play nine exhibition games in total. Like in previous years, the schedule has been split into two parts with five games taking place between Aug. 19-28 and the remaining four happening Sept. 10-24.

The Sea Dogs begin the 2021-22 regular season on Oct. 1 against the Charlottetown Islanders.

Here's a look at Saint John's pre-season schedule.

Thursday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. - vs Moncton (TBD)

Friday, Aug. 20 at 7. p.m. - at Moncton (Superior Propane Centre)

Tuesday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. - at Charlottetown (Eastlink Centre)

Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. - vs Charlottetown (TBD)

Saturday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. - at Bathurst (KC Irving Regional Centre)

Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. - vs Moncton (TBD)

Sunday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. - at Moncton (Dieppe UNIplex)

Saturday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. - vs Bathurst (TBD)

Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. - at Halifax (Scotiabank Centre)

The Sept. 12 game against the Wildcats will be Saint John's first visit to the new UNIplex in Dieppe. 

The venues for Saint John's home pre-season matches have not been announced. In the last "normal" pre-season (2019), the Sea Dogs played home games in Quispamsis, St. Stephen, Grand Falls and Fredericton.

It's always exciting to get hockey back, but there will no doubt be a lot of buzz around the pre-season this year. With pandemic restrictions hopefully (or at least mostly) gone my mid-August, these could be the first "normal" hockey games since March 2020.

Sea Dogs make trio of trades

QMJHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced three trades during a brief opening of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's trade period on Wednesday.

The biggest of the three deals saw the Sea Dogs acquire (has had been previously reported) New York Islanders prospect William Dufour from the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

“William will bring size, skill, grit and a scoring touch to our lineup,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He’s the exact type of player we were looking to add this off-season, and we expect him to make an immediate impact.”

The Sea Dogs also acquired a fourth-round pick (Bathurst) in next year's QMJHL Entry Draft from the Volts. In return, Saint John sent forward Simon Hughes; the eighth overall pick in Friday's first-round; and a fifth-round pick in 2023 to Drummondville.

Hughes, a second-round pick of Saint John in last year's draft, appeared in only seven regular season games and one playoff match this past season. He joined the team just as COVID was shutting down the Maritimes Division in the fall.

Dufour recorded 17 goals and 12 assists in 23 games with Drummondville this past season. Saint John will be his fourth QMJHL team after stops in Rouyn-Noranda, Chicoutimi and Drummondville.

The 19-year-old forward was a fifth-round pick of the Islanders in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The Sea Dogs play the Voltigeurs on Nov. 6 and Feb. 20.

Another move saw the Sea Dogs trade overage forward Nicholas Girouard and a first-round pick (Halifax) in next year's draft to the Cape Breton Eagles in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (Saint John) and a 2023 second-round selection (Saint John).

Notebook: It's QMJHL Entry Draft week

QMJHL

The 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft is just a few days away.

With the draft being virtual for a second straight year (and hopefully for the final time), it feels kind of quiet compared to normal years. A lot of the trade buzz happened a few weeks ago and now we wait to see what actually unfolds over the next few days.

I'm getting a lot of people messaging about when the QMJHL trade period opens.

The league's trade period opens Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Atlantic time. After that time, it will reopen during the draft, which begins Friday night with the first-round.

— Jeremy Fraser (@CBPost_Jeremy) June 21, 2021

The first-round of the draft will be held on Friday night and will be broadcast on the league's YouTube channel. Rounds 2-14 and the two-round American draft will take place the next day.

The CHL Import Draft will be held on Wednesday, June 30.

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
The QMJHL very quietly announced its rookie all-star team last week.

Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds cracked the lineup after recording 15 goals and 16 assists in 33 regular season games. His 31 points placed him in a tie for second most points amongst QMJHL rookies.

Reynolds added a goal and three assists in six playoff games.

Also making the rookie all-star team were forwards Justin Cote of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Antoine Verreault of the Gatineau Olympiques; defensmen Tristan Luneau of the Olympiques and Evan Nause of the Quebec Remparts; and goaltender Chad Arsenault of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

DRAFT RANKINGS

Peter Reynolds was ranked 147th overall in Cory Pronman's top-151 prospects list for the 2021 NHL Draft, which was posted last week on The Athletic.

Pronman's review of Reynolds was not overly positive, writing "Reynolds’ skill gives him a chance to play in the NHL, but he’s a small, low-pace player which likely won’t translate."

Former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy was ranked 97th.

Cooper nets OT winner in Komets comeback

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Oliver Cooper scored at 3:07 of overtime to give the Fort Wayne Komets an improbable 5-4 overtime victory over the Allen Americans in Game 2 of the ECHL Western Conference Final on Saturday.

The Komets entered the third period trailing the top-seeded Americans 4-1. Fort Wayne scored three times in the third period to force the extra frame, setting up Cooper's game-winner.

🚨COOPER🚨

KOMETS WIN IN OT!!!!#LetsGoKomets pic.twitter.com/tnDMY59YSQ

— x - Fort Wayne Komets (@FWKomets) June 20, 2021

It was the second goal of the game for Cooper who now has three goals in three playoff contests with the Komets.

The @FWKomets' Game 2 hero, Oliver Cooper: “To pull that one off, it was an incredible team win and everybody chipped in. From top to bottom, it was pretty special to be a part of and it’s not something I’m going to forget for a long time.”

— Justin A. Cohn (@SportsiCohn) June 20, 2021

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matt Murphy, meanwhile, had an assist and was a +2 in the win.

The best-of-five series is now tied 1-1 with all remaining games being played in Fort Wayne. Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night.

In the Eastern Conference Final, the South Carolina Stingrays lead the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 2-1. Former Sea Dogs defenseman Chase Stewart dressed for the first time this post-season in South Carolina's 3-2 victory on Saturday.

Notebook: Import Draft order announced

Michael Hawking/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Canadian Hockey League announced the order for the 2021 CHL Import Draft on Thursday.

The Baie-Comeau Drakkar will select first overall followed by the WHL's Everett Silvertips and the OHL's Barrie Colts.

The Saint John Sea Dogs are scheduled to pick 22nd and 82nd overall, respectively. Those choices could move up (the second definitely will) with teams opting to pass on their choices.

Oddly enough, the Sea Dogs had the 23rd and 83rd overall picks in the 2020 CHL Import Draft when they picked forward Fyodor Svechkov and defenseman Jan Hampl. It's unlikely that Svechkov will report and it's unclear what Hampl's status is with the Sea Dogs.

Overager Vladislav Kotkov, acquired via trade, was the only import to dress for Saint John last season.

The Import Draft takes place on Wednesday, June 30 beginning at noon Atlantic time.

SEASON TICKET INFO RELEASED

The Sea Dogs released season ticket information for the 2021-22 season earlier this week.

Senior and adult pricing remain the same as last season even with the schedule returning to the usual 34 home games (an increase of four games from the planned 30 last year). Only one pricing option is available for fans under-25.

The Flex 34 package is also returning with pandemic restrictions hopefully eliminated come opening night in October.

Single game tickets go on sale Sept. 21.

More details and key dates are available on the Sea Dogs website.

Gallant back behind an NHL bench

Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Gerard Gallant is heading back behind an NHL bench.

Fresh off helping Team Canada win an impressive (and somewhat unexpected) gold medal at the IIHF World Championship, Gallant is reportedly joining the New York Rangers as their new head coach.

Gerard Gallant's four-year contract with the New York Rangers believed to be worth around $3.5 million a year.@TSNHockey @TheAthletic

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 15, 2021

The former Saint John Sea Dogs bench boss has not been in the NHL since the 2019-20 season when he was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Along with the Golden Knights, Gallant was previously the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers. He was an assistant with the Montreal Canadiens after leaving the Sea Dogs at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Gallant seems like a perfect fit for the Rangers - a young team with a lot of skill looking to make the jump from rebuilding to contending over the next few seasons. A lot of QMJHL followers will certainly be keeping on eye on how Gallant uses Alexis Lafreniere moving forward.

While he wasn't coached by Gallant, the Rangers feature former Sea Dogs forward Julien Gauthier. Current Sea Dogs head coach Greg Gilbert, meanwhile, won a Stanley Cup with New York in 1994.

Gallant coached the Sea Dogs for three seasons from 2009-2012, leading the team to three Maritime Division championships, three QMJHL final appearances, two President Cup titles and a Memorial Cup championship. The Summerside native was named the CHL coach of the year in 2010 and 2011.

Now the big question: will Mike Kelly be joining Gallant on Broadway? The two have become a package deal over the past decade and recently worked together at the world championship.

Alumdate: ECHL playoffs underway

Fort Wayne Komets

It's mid-June. The weather is beautiful. 74.2% of the province has received one dose of vaccine. All this positive news leads us to one obvious place: the ECHL playoffs.

Only 14 teams opted to take part in this pandemic-impacted 2020-21 ECHL season. Eight teams - four from each conference - qualified for a shortened post-season.

In the Western Conference, the top-seeded Allen Americans have already eliminated Cedric Pare and the Utah Grizzlies.

Pare had an impressive campaign, finishing fifth in ECHL rookie scoring with 40 points (17 goals and 23 assists). The 22-year-old added two goals and an assist in three playoff games. 

Kelly Bent, meanwhile, had a goal and 71 penalty minutes in 15 regular season games with the Americans but was left off the team's playoff roster.

The other Western Conference matchup has Matt Murphy, Oliver Cooper and the Fort Wayne Komets holding a 2-1 series lead over the No. 2 seeded Wichita Thunder. Murphy has been held pointless in the series so far while Cooper has yet to play.

In the Eastern Conference, Chase Stewart is on the South Carolina Stingrays reserve list for the playoffs. The Stingrays are trailing 2-1 in their series against the top-seeded Florida Everblades. The other series has the Greenville Swamp Rabbits facing the Indy Fuel.

Notebook: Joseph in hunt for second Cup

Embed from Getty Images

And then there was one.

Mathieu Joseph of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the lone Saint John Sea Dogs alumnus still playing for the Stanley Cup. Joseph became the first Sea Dog to win the trophy last season.

Joseph, who did not appear in any playoff games with the Lightning in The Bubble, has appeared in two post-season games this year.

Charlie Coyle and the Boston Bruins were eliminated by the New York Islanders on Wednesday. The Bruins also featured Jakub Zboril who did not see any playoff action.

Jonatha Huberdeau (Florida) and Mike Hoffman (St. Louis) were eliminated in the first-round. Tomas Jurco spent time with the Vegas Golden Knights this season but doesn't appear to be on the club's playoff roster.

RICHARD JOINING FRIARS

Sea Dogs draft pick Guillaume Richard will be heading to Providence College rather than the University of Maine.

Richard, who is expected to be selected in this year's NHL Draft, broke the news himself.

Proud to announce my commitment to @friarshockey excited to get things going! #gofriars pic.twitter.com/pvI6LihxPQ

— Guillaume Richard (@G_Richard4) June 7, 2021

The 18-year-old defenseman spent this past season with the USHL's Tri-City Storm where he registered two goals and 14 assists in 46 games. He also played for Team Canada at the recent Under-18 World Championship in Texas.

Committing to a new school this late seemingly makes it even more unlikely that Richard, a fourth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft, will report to Saint John.

Maine recently hired a new head coach following the death of Red Gendron in April.

HockeyProspect.com releases 2021 rankings

Ethan Gauthier of the Magog Cantonniers is HockeyProspect.com's top ranked player for the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft.

HockeyProspect.com released its annual draft guide on Wednesday. 151 players were ranked.

Gauthier was also the top ranked player by QMJHL Central Scouting. Those rankings were released last month.

The top-five players ranked can be seen on HockeyProspect.com's website. Following Gauthier is Antigonish forward Tyler Peddle who spent last season at Shattuck St. Mary's. Peddle is one of only two Maritimers to crack the top-10.

Following Peddle is forward Mathieu Cataford of the Collège Charles-Lemoyne Riverains; forward Vincent Collard from the Jonquière Élites is ranked fourth; and forward Matis Ouellet of the Amos Forestiers is ranked fifth.

HockeyProspect.com's 2021 Draft Guide can be purchased online for $19.99 (and you should definitely go purchase one).

Here's where the Saint John Sea Dogs are currently (and officially) picking in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft - although we know that this will be changing.

1-1CHA-2BAT-4CHI-5VDO-6RIM-6QUÉ-7CHA-9-11-13-14

This year's draft takes place virtually June 25-26. Friday, June 25's first-round will be broadcast on the league's YouTube channel.

Notebook: Gallant, Kelly win worlds gold

IIHF

It looked unlikely a week or so ago, but Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly are now world champions.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs coaches helped Team Canada win gold at the IIHF World Championship in Latvia on Sunday afternoon, defeating Finland 3-2 in overtime.

Canada became the first country to ever win the tournament after an 0-3 start. The Canadians lost to Latvia, the United States and Germany before going on an improbable run to win gold.

After starting 0-3, what had to happen for Canada to make the #IIHFWorlds QFs:
CAN reg win vs NOR ✅
CAN reg win vs KAZ ✅
FIN reg win vs GER ✅
CAN reg win vs ITA ✅
FIN win vs LAT ✅
USA reg win vs GER ✅
NOR reg win vs KAZ ✅
CAN 1 pt vs FIN ✅
GER/LAT end in reg ✅

— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) June 2, 2021

Gallant and Kelly are likely on their way back to the NHL for the 2021-22 season. A number of teams have expressed interest in Gallant, according to multiple reports.

DEEP INTO THE 2018 DRAFT

The reported acquisition of forward William Dufour from the Drummondville Voltigeurs gives the Sea Dogs another high pick from the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Dufour will become the sixth first-round pick from the 2018 draft to skate for the Sea Dogs. Two of those six players - forward Alex Drover and defenseman Benjamin Roode - are no longer with the team.

Overall, Dufour will become the 19th player from the 2018 draft to play at least a game with the Sea Dogs. That list includes:

Round 1, 2nd overall - William Villenueve

Round 1, 6th overall - William Dufour (acquired from DRU)

Round 1, 8th overall - Jeremie Poirier

Round 1, 10th overall - Alex Drover (acquired from CAP)

Round 1, 14th overall - Benjamin Roode (acquired from BAT)

Round 1, 15th overall - Josh Lawrence

Round 2, 29th overall - Brady Burns

Round 2, 32nd overall - Charlie DesRoches

Round 3, 38th overall - Alexis Belisle (acquired from RIM)

Round 4, 62nd overall - Mathias Savoie

Round 5, 75th overall - Brandon Casey (acquired from RIM)

Round 5, 82nd overall - Alexandre O'Neill

Round 7, 109th overall - Dawson Stairs

Round 8, 127th overall - Nicolas Kakouras

Round 8, 132nd overall - Sam Dow (acquired from MON)

Round 8, 133rd overall - Kale McCallum

Round 10, 163rd overall - Connor Richard

Round 10, 172nd overall - Zachary Alchorn (FA signing)

Round 12, 199th overall - Riley Bezeau

Tigres complete upset to win QMJHL title

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

This is why you play the games.

The Victoriaville Tigres completed a massive upset on Saturday in Quebec City, clinching the club's first President Cup championship since 2002 by finishing off the heavily favoured Val-d'Or Foreurs in six games.

The Tigres' Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title clinching victory came in dramatic fashion. Val-d'Or's Jeremy Michel tied the match 2-2 at 14:40 of the third period, which would ultimately send the game into overtime. After the first extra frame solved nothing, Alex Beaucage scored just 1:01 into the second OT to clinch the championship.

Here is the final goal of the 2020-2021 #QPlayoffs, scored by Alex Beaucage, that gives the @TigresVicto their second #PresidentCup. 🐯 pic.twitter.com/Wg6CDjbeqM

— QMJHL 😷 (@QMJHL) June 5, 2021

After loading up big time at the trade deadline, the Foreurs were considered the heavy favourites by most heading into the playoffs. The team finished second overall in the regular season standings with a 29-3-2-2 record for a .861 points percentage - second only to the Charlottetown Islanders (.875).

Victoriaville finished sixth overall with a 16-9-1-0 record for a .635 points percentage.

The Foreurs did not suffer a loss in the playoffs until Game 1 against the Tigres. On the other side, Victoriaville swept their opening round series against Rouyn-Noranda but went the distance against both Blainville-Boisbriand and Charlottetown.

Reports: Sea Dogs to acquire Volts' Dufour

QMJHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs will acquire 19-year-old forward William Dufour from the Drummondville Voltigeurs when the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's trading period opens, according to multiple Quebec media outlets.

The Drummondville newspaper L'Express reports that the Sea Dogs will send their top pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft (eighth overall) and forward Simon Hughes to the Voltigeurs in exchange for the veteran forward.

Plein de collègues sortent des transactions #LHJMQ connues dans les cercles rapprochés depuis qq. semaines en voici quelques unes

Zachary Bolduc à QUE
Cole Cormier à GAT
Pierre-Olivier Roy (celui de Gat) à QUE
Louis Crevier à QUE
William Dufour à SJN
Christophe Farmer à QUE

— Stephane Leroux (@StephRDSJunior) June 4, 2021

Dufour recorded 17 goals and 29 points in 23 games with the Voltigeurs last season. His last game of the season came on March 6 due to a knee injury, L'Express notes.

Over his past three seasons in the QMJHL with Rouyn-Noranda, Chicoutimi and Drummondville, the Quebec City native has posted 54 goals and 105 points in 137 games.

Dufour was a fifth-round pick of the New York Islanders in last year's NHL Draft.

Rouyn-Noranda selected Dufour sixth overall in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft - the same draft the Sea Dogs selected their core group of William Villeneuve, Jeremie Poirier, Josh Lawrence, Brady Burns, Charlie DesRoches, etc.

The price to (reportedly) acquire Dufour was/is not cheap - but it's a move that makes sense for Saint John. Dufour, a 2002-born impact forward makes a lot more sense in Saint John's lineup than a 16-year-old they would pick with the eighth overall selection and a 17-year-old Hughes.

Hughes, a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft, joined the team this past November. He appeared in just seven regular season games with Saint John in the restart and was used sparingly. He'll likely have more of an opportunity for ice time with the Volts.

Sea Dogs' 2021-22 schedule released

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs are set to begin the 2021-22 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular season on Oct. 2 at TD Station.

The QMJHL released its full schedule for the upcoming season on Thursday, providing us all with some normalcy and optimism ahead of another - and hopefully last - COVID summer. While things could obviously change between now and October, the schedule is back to its usual 68 games and includes crossover play between the Maritime-based teams and the Quebec clubs.

The Sea Dogs begin the regular season with a home-and-home against the Charlottetown Islanders on Oct. 1-2 with the first match being played at TD Station.

The following weekend the Sea Dogs play a home-and-home against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan before travelling to Charlottetown for an extremely rare Thanksgiving Monday afternoon game. The Sea Dogs have never played on a Thanksgiving Monday.

Some more takeaways from Saint John's schedule:

• Saint John's first trip to Quebec since February 2020 will be from Nov. 4-6 when they visit Quebec City, Shawinigan and Drummondville.
• The Sea Dogs will travel to Quebec four times this season with each trip featuring three games.
• The Sea Dogs will host the Halifax Mooseheads on Halloween, which falls on a Sunday this year. Game time is the usual 3 p.m.
• Saint John will play at the new Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau for the first time on Nov. 17.
• The final game before the holiday break will be on Dec. 18. Play resumes Dec. 28.
• The Sea Dogs will host the Titan at 2 p.m. on New Year's Eve (which is a Friday).
• Saint John's first trip to Moncton won't be until Jan. 2 and their first visit to Halifax won't be until Jan. 4. Their last regular season game in Halifax was on Nov. 7, 2020.
• Joshua Roy and the Sherbrooke Phoenix visit Saint John on Jan. 8.
• It's early, but this could be a big weekend for the Sea Dogs: they host the Quebec Remparts on Jan. 20 and the Gatineau Olympiques the night after. Both teams could be quite good this season.
• Saint John ends the regular season as they have many times in the past: with back-to-back road games in Sydney. The regular season concludes on April 2.

According to the Sea Dogs, of the team's 34 home games, "28 will be played on weekends while Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will feature two games each."

These are still pandemic times so anything could happen - but there are certainly reasons to be optimistic that TD Station will be open to full capacity come October. To help ensure we're all watching the Sea Dogs on Oct. 1, get the vaccine.