Sea Dogs acquire forwards from Foreurs

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The Saint John Sea Dogs made another trade on Sunday.

The team acquired forwards Olivier Picard and Lucas Mercuri along with a seventh-round pick in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick (Rouyn-Noranda) and a 2024 fifth-rounder.

Picard, 19, recorded a goal and four assists in 27 regular season games with Val-d'Or last season. He added an assist in 13 playoff games, helping the Foreurs - a team that also featured current Sea Dogs goaltender Jonathan Lemieux - reach the President Cup final.

Listed at 6'0" and 187 lbs, Picard is known more for his physical game than his offense. He'll presumably slide into Saint John's third or fourth line. Currently in the mix for bottom six roles are Charles Savoie, Riley Bezeau, Evgeny Sapelnikov (assuming he is able to report), Cole Foston, Carter McCluskey, Nico Laforge and Gavin Watt.

“Olivier plays an intense, gritty, and physical game. He loves to hit and will compliment our group,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He came close to winning the President Cup last season but lost out in the finals. We expect him to bring that hunger to the team.”

Mercuri, meanwhile, was a second-round pick of the Foreurs in 2018. The 19-year-old has spent the past three seasons in the United States and is committed to join the UMass Minutemen this season, which is currently one of the NCAA's top hockey programs.

The Montreal native recorded 13 goals and 23 assists in 45 games with the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers last season.

“Lucas is a player that we loved in his draft year and we have continued to follow his career closely,” said Georgie. “We think very highly of him but understand that he is committed to playing in the NCAA at a great program. Great players have great options, and we simply want to be an option for him should things change for him in the future.”

Mercuri was a sixth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2020 NHL Draft. A desire to turn pro faster could increase the odds of him reporting to Saint John - but we'll see what happens.

This transaction was not a cheap one for the Sea Dogs. The Val-d'Or newspaper le Citoyen also reports that the Sea Dogs will compensate the Foreurs if Mercuri reports to Saint John.

The Sea Dogs also swapped picks with the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Sunday in a deal that is presumably connected to a previous transaction. The Sea Dogs sent a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Volts in exchange for their own 2023 fifth-rounder.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 6-5

FINAL: Saint John 5, Bathurst 6

BATHURST - The Saint John Sea Dogs couldn't quite complete a second half comeback on Saturday at the KC Irving Regional Centre, falling 6-5 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The Sea Dogs were trailing 6-1 and getting outplayed by the Titan as the midway mark of the second period approached. But then things slowly started to turn. Saint John would score twice in the second while outshooting Bathurst 21-7. Then in the third, the Dogs scored two more and outplayed the Titan until the final minutes.

Ultimately, Saint John couldn't net the equalizer and dropped their first game of the pre-season, falling to 4-1-0-0.

William Dufour, making his Sea Dogs pre-season debut, scored twice for Saint John while singles came from Charles Savoie, Peter Reynolds and Brady Burns. Jonathan Lemieux, also making his Saint John pre-season debut, allowed six goals on 20 shots. Noah Patenaude stopped all 14 shots he faced in the second half of the game.

Bennett MacArthur, as he always does, scored twice for Bathurst. Cole Larkin, Cole Huckins, Hendrix Lapierre and Ben Allison also scored. Chad Arsenault allowed two goals on 17 shots while Jan Bednar allowed three on 26.

Pre-Season Game Day 5: at Bathurst

BATHURST - Two teams who got to know each very well last season will meet for the first time this pre-season today at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

The Saint John Sea Dogs and Acadie-Bathurst Titan will face each other for the first time since the provincial playoffs. The two saw each other 12 times during the regular season and another three times during the playoffs.

Both teams are expected to be near the top of the Maritimes Division this season. With rosters trimmed down, both should be dressing quite a few regulars today.

Game time is 3 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/Titan Facebook maybe?

Pre-season records: The Sea Dogs are 4-0-0-0 this pre-season while the Titan are 0-2-0-0.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off an 8-1 win over the Charlottetown Islanders on Wednesday in Fredericton. Josh Lawrence scored a hat trick while singles came from Charles Savoie, Kananga Mangala, Loik Miville, Peter Reynolds and Nico Laforge. Noah Patenaude and Ventsislav Shingarov split the win in net. The Titan are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Moncton Wildcats in Dieppe on Wednesday. Kency Pierre-Noel and Carter Ansems scored for Bathurst. Kevyn Brassard and Chad Arsenault split the loss in net.

2021 pre-season head-to-head: This is the first meeting between the two.

2020-21 records: The Sea Dogs finished the regular season with a 15-14-3-1 record for a .515 points percentage (third Maritimes) while the Titan went 21-10-1-1 for a .667 points percentage (second Maritimes).

2020-21 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs went 5-6-1-0 against the Titan in the regular season while Bathurst went 7-4-0-1 against Saint John.

Sea Dogs acquire Foston from Mooseheads

Halifax Mooseheads

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a trade on Friday.

The team acquired 18-year-old forward Cole Foston from the Halifax Mooseheads in exchange for an eighth-round pick in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft. At the time of this writing, the transaction hasn't been posted on the league website but the Mooseheads site is reporting the deal.

Foston, a fourth-round pick of the Mooseheads in the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft, registered two goals and five assists in 23 games last season. He appeared in 11 games with Halifax the year prior, recording no points.

Assuming Foston is making his way to Sea Dogs training camp, the Beaver Bank, NS native is presumably in the mix for a spot on the team's third or fourth line.

At this time, it looks like Saint John's top six forwards will consist of, in no particular order, Josh Lawrence, Brady Burns, William Dufour, Cam MacDonald, Peter Reynolds and Ryan Francis.

That leaves Foston, Riley Bezeau, Charles Savoie, Gavin Watt, Carter McCluskey and Nico Laforge making up the bottom two lines. Import Evgeny Sapelnikov likely has a spot as well when he reports to the team.

The Sea Dogs cut five forwards from their camp roster on Thursday, most of whom were drafted in June's QMJHL Entry Draft.

Saint John returns to pre-season play on Saturday, visiting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at 3 p.m.

Notebook: Kelly, Midgley join Rangers staff

Not one, not two, but three former Saint John Sea Dogs coaches will be part of the New York Rangers coaching staff this season.

As expected, Mike Kelly will work alongside head coach Gerard Gallant as an assistant. The two worked together for three seasons in Saint John and later teamed up with the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights. Most recently, the two helped Canada win gold at the IIHF World Championship.

Also joining Gallant's staff as an assistant is Jim Midgley. The former Halifax Mooseheads head coach was an assistant under Jacques Beaulieu in Saint John from 2007 to 2009. He then went on to be director of hockey operations at Rothesay Netherwood for a couple seasons.

Midgley is currently working as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the IIHF Women's World Championship in Calgary.

HAT TRICKS

Entering Friday's action, the Sea Dogs have scored a league high 28 goals in the pre-season, averaging seven goals per game. They've benefited from playing some young and inexperienced defense groups and goaltenders, so we'll see how this trend holds up the rest of the way.

Three players have scored hat tricks in Saint John's four exhibition contests, which seems like a rarity.

Aug. 19 vs Moncton: Carter McCluskey

Aug. 20 at Moncton: Vince Elie

Aug. 25 vs Charlottetown: Josh Lawrence

McCluskey (four goals and four assists) and Nico Laforge (three goals and five assists), who seem likely to make the team's regular season roster, lead the league in pre-season scoring with eight points each.

The Sea Dogs take on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Saint John won't play again until Sept. 10 when they host the Moncton Wildcats in Fredericton.

Sea Dogs reassign 10 from camp roster

Some major cuts were announced at Saint John Sea Dogs training camp on Thursday.

Most notably reassigned were defenseman Natan Grenier, the team's first-round pick in this year's 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft, and forward Vince Elie, a 2021 third-rounder who has been lighting up the scoresheet during scrimmages and pre-season games.

The 10 players in total were reassigned on Thursday are below.

Goaltender Olivier Brideau

Goaltender Ventsislav Shingarov

Defenseman Natan Grenier

Defenseman Nicolas Bilodeau

Defenseman Brady Stone (invite)

Forward Vince Elie

Forward Francis Woods

Forward Elliot Simard

Forward Kananga Mangala

Forward Loik Miville (loan)

The goaltending moves come has no surprise. The net will be split by overager Jonathan Lemieux and returnee Noah Patenaude. We could certainly see Brideau and/or Shingarov again this season because of an injury or international play.

On the backend, the biggest move is the reassigning of Grenier. The first-rounder looked good during camp but, in a "go for it" season like this, it probably makes more sense to have a 16-year-old playing big minutes at the under-18 level rather than sitting in the stands in Saint John.

With Grenier out of the picture, the battle for the final spot on the backend will be between Hunter Gartley, Brandon Casey and Benjamin Roode.

Up front, the battle for the final few spots becomes much clearer now with Gavin Watt, Carter McCluskey and Nico Laforge seemingly in the best positions to make the team.

It's worth noting that the majority of the players reassigned are from Quebec, all of whom must meet education deadlines. Also, most played very few - if any - games last season because of COVID restrictions. From a development standpoint, it's probably best all spend more time at the U-18 level rather than playing sparingly in the QMJHL.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 8-1

FINAL: Charlottetown 1, Saint John 8

FREDERICTON -  Two Frederictonians combined for four goals in the Saint John Sea Dogs' 8-1 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders on Wednesday at the Aitken Centre.

Josh Lawrence scored a hat trick while Peter Reynolds netted a solo marker. Lawrence also had an assist to give him a four-point night.

Charles Savoie, Kanaga Mangala, Loik Miville and Nico Laforge also scored. Carter McCluskey registered three assists.

Noah Patenaude, in his first pre-season game of the year, made 27 saves in the first 40 minutes. Ventsislav Shingarov made 16 stops in the third period.

Charlottetown's goal came from Daniel Kline. Paolo Marabello allowed a goal on 22 shots in the first half of the game while Jacob Leblanc allowed seven goals on 28 shots in the second half.

The victory improved the Sea Dogs to 4-0 this pre-season.

Savoie opened the scoring at 3:36 of the opening frame, giving Saint John an early lead. The Sea Dogs were up 6-0 on the shot clock in the early goings but then surrendered the next eight shots.

The Islanders tied the game at 10:26 of the second period when Kline beat Patenaude down low.

The Sea Dogs retook the lead at 16:30. Miville found a streaking Lawrence who beat Leblanc at the top of the crease. 1:07 later, Mangala netted his first of the pre-season to put the Sea Dogs ahead 3-1.

Miville scored his first at 19:14. Nico Laforge was along the boards and found a wide open Miville to make it 4-1 Saint John through 40 minutes.

Lawrence scored at 5:18 of the third and then Reynolds connected at 7:34 to make it 6-1.

Lawrence completed his hat trick at 11:33. Then at 19:46, McCluskey was stopped on a breakaway but Laforge was there to put in the rebound, making it an 8-1 final.

Pre-Season Game Day 4: vs Islanders

FREDERICTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs and Charlottetown Islanders are right back at it tonight.

The two teams met last night in Cornwall where the Sea Dogs erased a very early 2-0 deficit and went on to win 7-4. Players who are battling for those final few forward positions - Carter McCluskey, Vince Elie and Nico Laforge - continued to shine offensively.

The Islanders just got training camp rolling this week so they are a bit behind where the Sea Dogs' camp is at. Saint John had much more experience in their lineup last night compared to Charlottetown.

Game time tonight at Fredericton's Aitken Centre is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Pre-season records: The Sea Dogs are 3-0-0-0 this pre-season while the Islanders are 0-1-0-0.

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Islanders met last night in Cornwall where Saint John earned a 7-4 victory. Nico Laforge and Vincent Despont each scored twice while singles came from Josh Lawrence, Carter McCluskey and Vince Elie. Michael Horth and Samuel Chabot each scored twice for Charlottetown. Olivier Brideau allowed two goals on 13 shots in the first half of the game while Ventsislav Shingarov allowed two on 15 in the second half. Jacob Leblanc allowed three goals on 14 shots in the opening half of the game for Charlottetown while Paolo Marabello allowed four on 23 in the second half.

Last meeting: See above.

2020-21 records: The Sea Dogs finished the regular season with a 15-14-3-1 record for a .515 points percentage (third Maritimes) while the Islanders went 35-5-0-0 for a .875 points percentage (first Maritimes).

2020-21 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 0-2-0-0 against the Islanders last season while Charlottetown went 2-0-0-0 against Saint John.

RECAP: Sea Dogs win 7-4

FINAL: Saint John 7, Charlottetown 4

A very good screen shot

CORNWALL, PE - A big third period pushed the Saint John Sea Dogs past the Charlottetown Islanders in pre-season action on Tuesday at Cornwall's APM Centre.

The Sea Dogs scored four goals in the third to break a 3-3 deadlock, going on to win 7-4. Nico Laforge had two goals and an assist in the period.

Defenseman Vincent Despont continued to show he has some offensive upside, scoring twice. Also scoring for Saint John was Josh Lawrence, Carter McCluskey and Vince Elie.

For a third straight pre-season game, Olivier Brideau and Ventsislav Shingarov split goaltending duties. Brideau allowed two goals on 13 shots in the first half of the game while Shingarov allowed two on 15 in the second half.

Michael Horth and Samuel Chabot each scored twice for Charlottetown, who were playing their first game of the pre-season. Jacob Leblanc allowed three goals on 14 shots in the opening half of the match while Paolo Marabello allowed four goals on 23 shots in the later half.

The victory improves the Sea Dogs to 3-0 in the pre-season.

The game got off to a chaotic start with four goals in the first 3:41 of the first period. Horth and Chabot scored at 2:10 and 2:31, respectively, to give Charlottetown a quick 2-0 advantage. But the Sea Dogs responded with McCluskey scoring at 3:18 and Lawrence at 3:41, tying things up a 2-2.

Saint John took a 3-2 lead into the dressing room. On a power play, Despont scored his second of the pre-season by putting a rebound high and over Leblanc at 12:41.

Horth scored at 17:33 of the middle frame to even the game at 3-3 heading into the third.

At 1:51 on a power play, Laforge put in a rebound to restore Saint John's lead. Then at 3:36, Laforge scored his second, beating Marabello five-hole to make it 5-3.

Elie scored his fifth of the pre-season at 5:32 to make it a 6-3 game. Late in the period at 17:35 and Saint John on a man advantage, Despont ripped his second of the match past Marabello to make it 7-3.

Chabot netted his second of the night at 18:53 to make it a 7-4 final.

Pre-Season Game Day 3: at Charlottetown

CORNWALL, PE - For the first time since Oct. 23, 2020, the Saint John Sea Dogs will cross the Confederation Bridge.

The Sea Dogs and Charlottetown Islanders met just twice last season due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. While neither team will be dressing their opening night lineup this evening, tonight's contest kicks off what should be a season long battle between the two at or near the top of the Maritimes Division.

Game time at the APM Centre in Cornwall is 7:30 p.m.

Saint John and Charlottetown meet again tomorrow night in Fredericton. After that, the two will faceoff on Oct. 1 at TD Station to begin regular season play.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/Islanders YouTube

Pre-Season Records: The Sea Dogs are 2-0-0-0 this pre-season while the Islanders have yet to play a game.

2020-21 records: The Sea Dogs finished the regular season with a 15-14-3-1 record for a .515 points percentage (third Maritimes) while the Islanders went 35-5-0-0 for a .875 points percentage (first Maritimes).

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-2 pre-season win in Moncton on Friday. Vince Elie netted a hat trick while singles came from Cam MacDonald, Brandon Casey, Jack O'Blenis and Peter Reynolds. Ventsislav Shingarov and Olivier Brideau split the win in net. The Islanders haven't played since Game 5 of the President Cup semifinals in Quebec City where they lost 2-0 to the Victoriaville Tigres. Colten Ellis made 21 stops in the loss.

Battle for final few roster spots continues

It's a big week for several players at Saint John Sea Dogs training camp.

The team will play its final three pre-season games before breaking for nearly two weeks. For several players who are battling for the final few rosters spots, this is a big few games.

Up front, the top six will likely consist of returnees Josh Lawrence, Brady Burns, Peter Reynolds, Cam MacDonald and Ryan Francis along with newcomer William Dufour. Then you've got returnees Riley Bezeau and Charles Savoie somewhere in the bottom two lines. Add in import Evgeny Sapelnikov and that leaves only four forward spots remaining.

It certainly seems like Carter McCluskey and second-round pick Vince Elie are poised to make the team. Along with performing very well in the team's scrimmages, both have recorded hat tricks in the pre-season.

If McCluskey and Elie are on the team, that leaves only a couple forward spots open. Other forwards who were on the ice at Sunday's scrimmage in Quispamsis include Gavin Watt, Kananga Mangala (2021 14th-round pick), Jack O'Blenis (2021 seventh-round), Elliot Simard (2021 fifth-round), Francis Woods (2021 third-round), Nico LaForge (2020 11th-round) and Loik Miville (I think?).

The final spot on the backend is an interesting one. Assuming there are no surprises, William Villeneuve, Jeremie Poirier, Charlie DesRoches, Christopher Inniss, Nathan Drapeau and Vincent Despont will make up the team's regular group of d-men. That leaves one extra spot open.

Does the team opt to go with experience and take Brandon Casey or Benjamin Roode? Could Hunter Gartley crack the lineup again? Where is the best spot for first-round pick Natan Grenier this season? It's a tough decision - and all of this is before the possibility of Yan Kuznetsov joining.

Other defensemen who were on the ice Sunday include Nicolas Bilodeau (2021 fourth-round), Ian Dickie (2021 ninth-round) and Brady Stone (invite).

In net, Noah Patenaude, Jonathan Lemieux (trade), Olivier Brideau (2021 second-round) and Ventsislav Shingarov (trade) were all on the ice Sunday. Brideau and Shingarov have looked decent in pre-season play, but the net will very likely belong to Lemieux and Patenaude this season.

Many if not all of these players should be in action this week. The Sea Dogs take on the Charlottetown Islanders on Tuesday night in Cornwall before returning to New Brunswick to host the Isles in Fredericton on Wednesday. The team then travels to Bathurst on Saturday afternoon.

Notebook: OHL will require fans to be vaccinated

The Ontario Hockey League dropped some major news on Friday afternoon, announcing that all fans who attend games in any of the league's 17 Ontario-based markets must be fully vaccinated. The rule is effective Oct. 7 when the league's regular season kicks off.

A press release said the "expanded policy will cover all spectators and other attendees at all OHL events, including games and practices.

"Those wishing to gain access to OHL facilities of the 17 Ontario based teams will be required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and follow any other safety protocols while in the facility. Children under the age of 12 will be required to be accompanied and supervised by a fully vaccinated adult and will be required to follow all safety protocols."

The OHL, along with the QMJHL and WHL, are already requiring all players and staff to be fully vaccinated this season.

In Quebec, an Aug. 24 pre-season game in Shawinigan will be used as a test run for the province's vaccine passport system. The province has said that the passport will be required when visiting non-essential public places - such has hockey arenas - beginning Sept. 1.

In summary: get vaccinated. Most of the sports world is slowly moving towards requiring full vaccination.

PRE-SEASON NUMBERS

Through two games, Vince Elie, a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, is leading the entire QMJHL in pre-season scoring with four goals and an assist for five points. 

2021 second-round draft pick Vince Elie scores a hat-trick in his second pre-season game! pic.twitter.com/4IMNC4qNTe

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) August 21, 2021

Carter McCluskey is second in scoring with three goals. Peter Reynolds, meanwhile, has two goals and an assist while both Nico Laforge and Elliot Simard have three assists.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 7-2

FINAL: Saint John 7, Moncton 2

MONCTON - Another night, another hat trick for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

On the strength of a three-goal performance from Vince Elie, the Sea Dogs defeated the Moncton Wildcats 7-2 on Friday night at the Superior Propane Centre.

Cam MacDonald, Brandon Casey and Jack O'Blenis also scored. Ventsislav Shingarov got the start and allowed two goals on 15 shots. Olivier Brideau stopped all 21 shots he faced in the second half of the match.

Elie is the second Sea Dog to record a hat trick this pre-season after Carter McCluskey did so on Thursday.

Moncton goals came from Luke McPhee and Alex Mercier. Dawson Rowe allowed six goals on 12 shots in the first half of the game. Thomas Couture allowed a goal on 15 shots in the second half of the contest.

Saint John jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first period. At 1:11, Elie cut through the crease and slid the puck in. Then at 5:18, MacDonald put the brakes on in the slot and fired home his first of the pre-season. Casey then got in on the action, scoring at 7:52 on a wide open net to give the Dogs a commanding lead.

After McPhee got Moncton on the board, O'Blenis beat the Moncton 'tender with a low shot five-hole to make it 4-1 at 17:52.

Saint John entered the second up 4-2 and quickly added to their advantage. Reynolds finished off a two-on-one with Nico Laforge just 41 seconds in to make it a 5-2 game.

Elie netted his second of the night at 8:36, coming down the wing and firing a high wrist shot past Rowe. Then on a power play at 14:23, Elie completed the hat trick to make it 7-2.

Shots in the game were 36-27 in favour of Moncton.

Pre-Season Game Day 2: at Moncton

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats meet again tonight.

The two teams clashed in Fredericton last night with the Sea Dogs edging the Wildcats 6-3 in a close game. Both squads should have a few different faces in their lineups tonight as the first week of training camp begins to wind down.

Game time this evening at Moncton's Superior Propane Centre is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Pre-Season Records: The Sea Dogs are 1-0-0-0 while the Wildcats are 0-1-0-0.

2020-21 records: The Sea Dogs finished the regular season with a 15-14-3-1 record for a .515 points percentage (third Maritimes) while the Wildcats finished with a record of 11-17-2-1 for a .403 points percentage (fifth Maritimes).

Last games: The Sea Dogs defeated the Wildcats 6-3 in pre-season play last night at the Aitken Centre. Carter McCluskey had a hat trick for Saint John while singles came from Vincent Despont, Peter Reynolds and Vince Elie. Joachim Matulu, Preston Lounsbury and Thomas Auger scored for Moncton. Olivier Brideau allowed two goals on 18 shots in the first half of the game for Saint John while Ventsislav Shingarov allowed a goal on 17 shots in the second half. Kiefer Thompson played the first half of the night for Moncton and allowed three goals on 14 shots. Robert Forbes allowed a couple goals on 14 shots in the final half. 

Recap: Sea Dogs win 6-3

FINAL: Moncton 3, Saint John 6

Andy Campbell/UNB Reds

FREDERICTON - A Carter McCluskey hat trick pushed the Saint John Sea Dogs past the Moncton Wildcats in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season play on Thursday night at the Aitken Centre.

Vincent Despont, Peter Reynolds and Vince Elie also scored for Saint John. Olivier Brideau allowed two goals on 18 shots in the first half of the game while Ventsislav Shingarov allowed a goal on 17 shots in the second half.

Joachim Matulu, Preston Lounsbury and Thomas Auger scored for Moncton. Kiefer Thompson played the first half of the night and allowed three goals on 14 shots. Robert Forbes allowed a couple goals on 14 shots in the later half.

At times it very much looked like the first pre-season game of the year - but it was far from the worst ever played. There was definitely some physicality on display and you could tell some players were going hard to make a good impression.

Pre-Season Game Day 1: vs Moncton

FREDERICTON - The pre-season begins tonight for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs play their first exhibition contest of the 2021-22 season this evening at Fredericton's Aitken Centre, hosting the Moncton Wildcats. While the game may not sell out, there are no capacity restrictions in place for the first time since March 2020.

A normal fan experience aligns with a more normal training camp. After only being allowed to invite a small number of players last year, roster limits are much closer to normal this time around, meaning there should be plenty of rookies and fresh faces in the lineup for both teams.

Game time tonight is 7 p.m.

TV/Radio/Webcast: None/None/None

Pre-Season Records: This is the first game of the pre-season for both clubs.

2020-21 records: The Sea Dogs finished the regular season with a 15-14-3-1 record for a .515 points percentage (third Maritimes) while the Wildcats finished with a record of 11-17-2-1 for a .403 points percentage (fifth Maritimes). 

Last games: The Sea Dogs and Wildcats met on May 2 at Avenir Centre where Saint John earned a 6-5 overtime victory to win the provincial silver medal. William Villeneuve, Brady Burns, Ryan Francis, Jeremie Poirier, Charles Savoie and Cam MacDonald scored for Saint John. Moncton goals came from Maxim Barbashev, Charles-Antoine Pilote, Mathis Cloutier, Alexis Daniel and Gabriel Bernier. Zachary Emond made 31 saves in the win while Dakota Lund-Cornish made 40 stops in the loss.

2020-21 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs went 8-5-0-0 against the Wildcats in the regular season while Moncton went 5-7-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: See above.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats: Forward Connor Richard.

Notes: In scrimmage action (three have been played so far), Francis Woods has two goals and five assists while Cam MacDonald has four goals and an assist... Saint John's camp roster can be found here... Moncton's camp roster can be found here... the Wildcats' top picks in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft were defenseman Etienne Morin (second round, 21st overall) and forward Alex Mercier (second round, 23rd overall)... Saint John's most recent game at the Aitken Centre was on Sept. 14, 2019 when they fell 3-2 to the Cape Breton Eagles.

Out of town:

Rouyn-Noranda at Val-d'Or - 6:00 PM EDT

Shawinigan at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EDT

Blainville-Boisbriand at Gatineau - 7:00 PM EDT

Québec at Rimouski - 7:00 PM EDT

Victoriaville at Sherbrooke - 7:00 PM EDT

Baie-Comeau at Chicoutimi - 7:30 PM EDT

Next game: The Sea Dogs and Wildcats meet again tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Moncton's Superior Propane Centre.

Notebook: QMJHL pre-season set to begin

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League pre-season play begins Thursday and teams will have varying amounts of fans in attendance.

In New Brunswick, it doesn't appear any capacity restrictions will be in place. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan declared an end to "bubble" seating on their Facebook page.

In Nova Scotia, meanwhile, both teams will at least begin pre-season action in empty arenas. The Halifax Mooseheads will play out of their practice facility in Dartmouth this month while the Cape Breton Eagles are holding their training camp in Glace Bay.

In Quebec, it appears most teams will allow a limited number of fans based on public health requirements. The Rimouski Oceanic, for example, will allow 2,093 fans into the Sun Life Financial Colisee for exhibition games.

The Gatineau Olympiques will begin pre-season play at their new practice rink, which is attached to the Slush Puppie Centre - unfortunately in front of no fans. Olympiques supporters did get some great news on Wednesday though - the team will play three pre-season contests inside the Robert Guertin Centre and allow 1,500 fans.

PATELLA TO THE BCHL

Sea Dogs prospect Davide Patella has committed to the BCHL's Merritt Centennials for the upcoming season.

A fourth-round pick of Saint John in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft, Patella has spent the past two seasons with the Laval-Montréal Rousseau Royal of the Quebec under-18 league - although he didn't appear in any regular season games last year due to the pandemic.

“We built a gym in the house so I could continue to work hard and train every day despite everything being closed, and I can’t wait to play in a new province and a league that has a great reputation for developing players,” Patella said on the Centennials' webiste.

Moving to the BCHL as a 17-year-old typically means a player has intentions of playing NCAA hockey. He was at least photographed in a Sea Dogs jersey last year.

Sea Dogs begin camp scrimmages Tuesday

The Saint John Sea Dogs are bringing training camp to the west side.

The team announced Monday that four scrimmages and a few practices will be held at the Peter Murray Arena in West Saint John. The action begins on Tuesday morning.

Training Camp 2021 begins tomorrow and practices and scrimmages are open to the public at the Peter Murray Arena.

Join us on Thursday in Fredericton for our first pre-season game of the year as we take on Moncton @ the Aitken University Centre.

🎟️ https://t.co/VGP5J9H4M9 pic.twitter.com/wDB7l4d7jx

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) August 16, 2021

The Sea Dogs are unable to hold training camp or pre-season games at TD Station due to the installation of new boards and lighting system.

As was the norm in pre-pandemic times, practices and scrimmages will be open to the public.

The Sea Dogs released their projected camp roster on Friday. The team noted in Monday's press release that "while the majority of returning players will be joining training camp the first week of September, a few players will be returning late following NHL camps."

Saint John opens pre-season play on Thursday night at Fredericton's Aitken Centre, facing the Moncton Wildcats. The two teams meet again on Friday at Moncton's Superior Propane Centre.

Sea Dogs begin camp with crowded blue line

The signing of Vincent Despont adds to an already crowded blue line for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Five of Saint John's six regular defensemen from last season - Jeremie Poirier, William Villeneuve, Charlie DesRoches, Christopher Inniss and Nathan Drapeau - are all returning. The only regular defender not coming back is Kale McCallum, who was traded to the Val-d'Or Foreurs during the off-season.

Despont is expected to play a physical, shutdown style of defense, something the team certainly needs more of. Getting the team as a whole - not just its defensemen - to play better defensively will be the biggest challenge for new head coach Gordie Dwyer.

"I'd like to see some of our defensive woes be cleaned up. It's not a matter with this group if they can, it's a matter of if they're willing," said president and general manager Trevor Georgie at Dwyer's introductory press conference.

"(Gordie's) greatest impact is getting them to a point where they're willing. That will make the biggest difference."

Poirier and Villeneuve have been paired together for much of their junior careers and Drapeau and Inniss spent most of last season together. Georgie and Dwyer have made a point of saying that past roles won't matter heading into this season's training camp, so it'll be interesting to see if any changes are made.

DesRoches and Despont round out the top six - although things will get interesting if the Calgary Flames assign 19-year-old Yan Kuznetsov, who the Sea Dogs selected in this year's CHL Import Draft, to Saint John. Kuznetsov, who is eligible to play in the AHL, is the type of player who would likely lead the Sea Dogs in ice time if assigned to junior.

The team also has 19-year-old Brendan Casey, who played sparingly last year, and 17-year-old Hunter Gartley, who was injured for a large portion of the 2020-21 season, returning as well. Also in the mix are 19-year-old Benjamin Roode, a QMJHL veteran who spent much of last season with MHL Yarmouth, and 16-year-old Natan Grenier, the team's top pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

Other 2021 defensive draft picks attending camp are Nicolas Bilodeau and Ian Dickie. Undrafted 16-year-old Brady Stone was also invited to camp.

The Sea Dogs begin training camp this week before playing pre-season games against the Moncton Wildcats on Thursday and Friday.

Sea Dogs announce training camp roster

The Saint John Sea Dogs released their 2021-22 training camp roster on Friday.

The most notable addition was 18-year-old defenseman Vincent Despont, who the Sea Dogs announced the signing of earlier in the day. A Swiss and Canadian citizen, the 6'2", 190 lbs d-man spent last season with Kloten U20 in Switzerland where he registered three goals and seven assists along with 164 penalty minutes in 45 games.

Despont also took part in the IIHF World Under-18 Championship with Team Switzerland a few months ago.

“Vincent plays a gritty, hard-nosed brand of hockey,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie. “He has great character, competes hard, and leaves everything on the ice. He understands his identity as a player, which is key. We think that his style of play will be something that Saint John fans really enjoy.”

Despont has already arrived in Saint John and will hit the ice when the team opens training camp next week.

Here's a breakdown of Saint John's training camp roster, which includes 22 forwards, 13 defensemen and five goaltenders.

We're back next week with the launch of Training Camp 2021! Check out the projected camp roster 👇 pic.twitter.com/2GC3iV3FsX

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) August 13, 2021

Returning (15): Riley Bezeau, Brady Burns, Ryan Francis, Josh Lawrence, Cam MacDonald, Peter Reynolds, Charles Savoie, Brendan Casey, Charlie DesRoches, Nathan Drapeau, Hunter Gartley, Christopher Inniss, Jeremie Poirier, William Villeneuve, and Noah Patenaude.

Acquired via trade (3): William Dufour, Jonathan Lemieux, and Ventsislav Shingarov.

The Titan appear to be in trouble

Even with pandemic restrictions continuing to loosen, there is going to be financial pain felt across junior hockey this season.

The mess of last season and the lost 2020 playoffs will expedite a lot of money problems for many teams. In the QMJHL, it's hard not to immediately think of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan when this topic comes up.

The Northern Light (paywall) reported Monday that the owners of the Titan will decide the team's future following the first half. The club has lost more than $500,000 in each of the past two seasons.

From The Northern Light:

"We probably have to make a decision by Christmastime on the future of the team," said Titan president Serge Thériault. "Because, you don't move a team or sell a team in a few weeks, that's a process.

"It's a short period of time, but at the end of the day, we've been at it for eight years also and we haven't seen the improvement at the gate."

L'Acadie Nouvelle has also been reporting on the Titan's troubles over the past couple months.

Thériault said the team needs around 2,500 fans per game to be sustainable. HockeyDB numbers show that the Titan have not reached that average since 2002-03 and have not surpassed the 2,000 fans per game mark since 2007-08.

Reaching the 2,500 fans per game average is possible... but it's hard to feel overly optimistic given the team's attendance numbers over the past decade. While new owners could keep the team in Bathurst, it's hard to picture it given the size of the region and its economic state. The CHL continues to outgrow small markets like Bathurst, which is sad to see.

There are a couple things working in the Titan's favour at least. Demand for live events could be up given last season's situation plus the team should be quite good, headlined by Hendrix Lapierre, Riley Kidney, Cole Huckins and others.

The Titan were sold to a local ownership group in 2013 after many years of relocation rumours and speculation. The team announced last October that the organization had "reduced the number of shareholders to 12 from the previous number of 28."

Notebook: Dixon joins Cougars staff

Former Saint John Sea Dogs head coach Josh Dixon is back in the Canadian Hockey League.

The Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars announced Friday that Dixon has joined the team's staff as an associate coach. 

“Josh has the criteria we were looking for in our search. He has head coaching experience and checks off a lot of boxes,” said Cougars general manager and head coach Mark Lamb in a news release. “We have worked together in the past and I know he’ll be a great fit for our organization.”

Dixon has WHL experience. He was an assistant coach with the Regina Pats for three seasons before joining Lamb's Swift Current Broncos, where he acted as an associate coach, for the 2014-15 season.

“It’s an honour to join the Prince George Cougars and have the opportunity to work with Mark again,” said Dixon. “I look forward to working with a young, talented team that’s on the rise and helping them compete for a championship.”

The Cougars have not made a playoff appearance since 2017 and have not advanced past the first round since 2007.

Dixon was head coach of the Sea Dogs for two-and-a-half seasons, posting a record of 39-108-12-6 in 165 regular season games. He was fired on Dec. 2, 2019.

PEI CONNECTIONS

Just like Gerard Gallant, Gordie Dwyer started his coaching career with the MHL's Summerside Western Capitals.

“I talked to Turk quite a bit and his experience coaching here with how he and Mike (Kelly) did things,” Dwyer told The Guardian this past week. “Turk had some good things to say about it.”

Dwyer spent two seasons with the Capitals as head coach and director of player personnel, winning an MHL title in 2011. He went on to coach the PEI Rocket the following season.

Dwyer named Sea Dogs head coach

Gordie Dwyer is the new head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Dalhousie, NB native was introduced as the team's new bench boss at a press conference Wednesday morning at TD Station. Dwyer, a former QMJHL and NHL player, has major junior coaching experience with the PEI Rocket/Charlottetown Islanders and Shawinigan Cataractes.

Reports began surfacing last week that Greg Gilbert would not return to Saint John's head coaching role for the 2021-22 season. While those reports were new, the decision to bring in a fresh head coach came through an evaluation of the organization throughout the off-season.

While the Sea Dogs never publicly said they were looking for a new head coach, there was plenty of interest in the position according to team president and general manager Trevor Georgie.

What made Dwyer stand out among other candidates? Georgie repeatedly noted that Dwyer's communications skills along with his intensity and engagement levels made him the ideal fit for the role. His familiarity with the QMJHL and the Maritimes didn't hurt either.

"He's someone that seems to really, when's he's into something, really throws everything he has into it," said Georgie.

"You need people that are all in. I got the sense that he's beyond all in if he's taking this role. I like that."

With training camp and pre-season just a couple weeks away, Dwyer will quickly be pushed into his new role. Georgie said he wants Dwyer to take time to properly assess the team, adding that previous roles players were used in won't matter with a new bench boss coming in.

Sea Dogs to name head coach Wednesday

KHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs will officially name their new head coach at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Mikael Lalancette reports that Dalhousie, NB native Gordie Dwyer is expected to fill the position.

#LHJMQ: Il faut s'attendre à ce que Gordie Dwyer soit nommé entraîneur-chef des Sea Dogs.

Une belle feuille de route dans le hockey : 108 matchs comme joueur dans la LNH, entraîneur chef du Rocket et des Islanders à l'ÎPÉ, des Cataractes, en Suisse, dans la KHL + Hockey Canada.

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) August 3, 2021

The Sea Dogs, oddly, have not formerly announced that Greg Gilbert, who coached the Sea Dogs last season, will not return to the club. He's not listed on the team's website and Lalancette reported last week that Gilbert will no longer be the team's head coach.

Dwyer, 43, began his coaching career with the MHL's Summerside Western Capitals - a team the Sea Dogs have certainly had good luck with when it comes to coaching alumni. Dwyer was head coach of the PEI Rocket/Charlottetown Islanders for four seasons and most recently worked with the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Dwyer has also served as a head coach in the KHL for a few seasons and has coached several Hockey Canada teams.

As a player, Dwyer spent four seasons in the QMJHL before turning pro. He appeared in 108 career NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens. He spent his last pro season in Sweden in 2008-09.

The move further solidifies Saint John's intentions for the upcoming season: they are all in. The Sea Dogs' playing style didn't change a ton under Gilbert, so it'll be interesting to see if this hire is the spark this group needs.

Notebook: QMJHL will require vaccination

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

CBC New Brunswick reported last week that the QMJHL "will require all its players and staff who are in contact with players to get both their shots before the puck drops."

Karl Jahnke, chief marketing officer for the league, confirmed that players who are not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to be play.

The move follows similar guidelines set by the OHL.

"So far we've had one player that won't be able to meet those guidelines," Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie told CBC.

"We have one billet family that won't be able to meet the guidelines, and we have one staff member that may not be able to meet those guidelines. We have a few challenges, a few hurdles, but that's to be expected any time the league is mandating something like that."

Georgie noted an issue that's likely to impact a few teams - Belarusian forward Evgeny Sapelnikov, the team's second-round pick in this year's CHL Import Draft, does not have easy access to vaccines that are approved by the league (which are presumably the same vaccines approved by Health Canada).

BURBIDGE TO RHODE ISLAND

Forward Cole Burbidge, a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, will reportedly be joining the Mount Saint Charles Academy program in Rhode Island for the 2021-22 season.

Another good player from Maritimes heading to Mount St. Charles. 6-foot-1 F Cole Burbidge joining U16s. 2nd round pick of @SJSeaDogs in this year's Q draft

— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) August 1, 2021

Burbidge, a Windsor, NS native spent last season with the Mount Academy Saints program in PEI.

Joining Mount Saint Charles certainly increases the odds of Burbidge taking the NCAA route - but we'll see what happens this year and next. If he were to make the Sea Dogs this season he'd likely be near the bottom of Saint John's forward depth chart.

Simon Hughes attended Mount Saint Charles last season before joining the Sea Dogs.

REYNOLDS ONE OF THE BEST LEFT

Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds was listed as one of FCHockey's top undrafted players for the 2021 NHL Draft.

“I really believed that Peter Reynolds would get selected, and probably in the top 100,” FCHockey scout Viktor Bergman said in the article. “That surprised me the most."

Reynolds has since received a free agent invite to Columbus Blue Jackets camp.