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.

TEAM AWARDS

The Sea Dogs announced their final team award on Wednesday with Ryan Francis named the club's most valuable player.

There were no big surprises with this year's awards.

GELINAS BACK IN NORTH AMERICA

In a move that seemed to come out of nowhere, former Sea Dogs defenseman Eric Gelinas has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. 

According to the Hurricanes, "Gelinas will earn $750,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the American Hockey League (AHL) level in 2021-22. The contract comes with a $125,000 guarantee."

Gelinas has played in 189 career NHL games with the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche. He has spent the past three seasons overseas, playing in Russia's KHL and Sweden's SHL.

"Eric is a veteran defenseman with NHL experience," said Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell. "He had a strong season in a leadership role in Sweden last year, and adding him helps solidify our defensive depth."

Gelinas played in 27 regular season games with the Sea Dogs in 2010-11 and another 19 playoff contests, helping the team win the President Cup and Memorial Cup.

GALLANT RETURNING TO CLEVELAND

Former Sea Dogs forward Brett Gallant has signed a one-year AHL deal with the Cleveland Monsters. This will be his seventh season with the Monsters.

From the Monsters:

A 6’0”, 192 lb. left-shooting native of Summerside, PE, Gallant posted 17 penalty minutes in four NHL appearances for the New York Islanders during the 2013-14 season and logged 16-14-30 with 1,393 penalty minutes and a -50 rating in 410 career AHL appearances for the Syracuse Crunch, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and Cleveland spanning parts of 12 seasons from 2009-21. In parts of two ECHL seasons, Gallant posted 2-3-5 with 317 penalty minutes and a -5 rating in 63 appearances for the Elmira Jackals and Reading Royals from 2009-11. Prior to his professional career, Gallant notched 8-4-12 with 439 penalty minutes and a -10 rating in 131 appearances for the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs spanning parts of three seasons from 2005-08.

Awesome stuff.

GOALIE UPDATE

Something I forgot the mention in the AHL/ECHL alumni update last week: the goaltenders.

Alex D'Orio went 6-3-2 with a 2.18 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in 11 games with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He also went 2-6-1 with a 2.97 GAA and .892 SV% in 11 games with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers.

Callum Booth, meanwhile, won his only appearance with the AHL's Providence Bruins and posted a 2.00 GAA and .947 SV%. He also went 0-1-0 with a 4.00 GAA and .886 SV% with the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen.

D'Orio (Pittsburgh) and Booth (Boston) both spent time on NHL taxi squads throughout the season.

BEST ASSIST

Former Sea Dog Jonathan Huberdeau won the NHL Fan Choice Award for Best Assist from the 2020-21 season.

Thank you to everyone who voted in the #NHLFanChoice Awards!

Jonathan Huberdeau (@JonnyHuby11) is taking home the title of Best Assist for this spinning beauty. 👏 pic.twitter.com/99IObckjWc

— NHL (@NHL) June 15, 2021

OTHER THINGS

• At the time of this writing, Mathieu Joseph and the Tampa Bay Lightning are tied 1-1 in their Stanley Cup semifinal series against the New York Islanders. Joseph is the only former Sea Dog remaining in this year's NHL playoffs.
• Remember all that Dave-Cameron-to-the-Sea-Dogs speculation last year? Cameron is returning for another year as head coach of the Vienna Capitals.
• The first-round of the 2015 NHL Draft was not good for the Boston Bruins, the team has begun to admit. One of those picks was former Sea Dogs defenseman Jakub Zboril.
• The 2021 MHL Draft will take place on Saturday, July 10. The event will be broadcast on Eastlink TV beginning at 10 a.m.
• Atlantic University Sport released its 2021-22 men's hockey schedule on Wednesday. The regular season begins on Wednesday, Oct. 6 with UNB hosting Moncton.
• The WHL will begin its regular season on Oct. 1. According to the league, "the 2021 WHL Pre-season Schedule will be announced on Monday, June 21 at 11 a.m. MT and the 2021-22 WHL Western Conference Regular Season Schedule will be announced on Wednesday, June 23 at 11 a.m. MT. The 2021-22 WHL Eastern Conference Regular Season Schedule will be announced at a later date."