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.

ROY COMMENTS

Former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy had some hot takes about his old club after being selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL Draft.

Speaking with media, Roy called his new club, the Sherbrooke Phoenix, a "real junior team" while adding he did not like Saint John's practices nor the food the team had on road trips.

Joshua Roy explique qu'il souhaitait être échangé par les Sea Dogs car il n'aimait pas l'environnement là-bas. Il a cité le type de séances d'entraînement et la nourriture servie aux joueurs sur la route.
Il était content d'arriver à Sherbrooke, "une vraie équipe junior".

— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) July 24, 2021

You don't see comments like that everyday.

Roy faces the Sea Dogs for the first time since being traded on Dec. 4 in Sherbrooke. The Phoenix make their lone visit to TD Station on Jan. 8.

MACDONALD COMMITS

17-year-old forward Ben MacDonald, a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2020 American Draft, has committed to play at Harvard University.

I am excited and honored to announce my commitment to further my education and play college hockey at Harvard University. Thank you to my family, friends, teammates and coaches who made this dream a reality. #gocrimson pic.twitter.com/7TdwjbFHb5

— Ben MacDonald⁹ (@bennettmac19) August 1, 2021

Safe to say MacDonald will not be reporting to the Sea Dogs anytime soon.

FLAMES AND THE Q

The Calgary Flames have really liked QMJHL players in recent seasons - particularly those who play in the Maritimes.

All five QMJHL players selected by the Flames in the past three NHL Drafts were selected from Maritime-based clubs.

2021 3rd Round -  Cole Huckins (Bathurst)

2021 3rd Round - Cameron Whynot (Halifax)

2020 3rd Round - Jeremie Poirier (Saint John)

2020 5th Round - Ryan Francis (Cape Breton)

2019 1st Round - Jakob Pelletier (Moncton)

This list doesn't include Yan Kuznetsov, a second-round pick of Calgary in 2020, who was selected by Saint John in this year's CHL Import Draft and could be assigned to the QMJHL this season.

LEBLANC SIGNS WITH MONSTERS
Former Sea Dogs defenseman Olivier Leblanc has signed an AHL contract with the Cleveland Monsters.

Leblanc appeared in 12 games with the AHL's Belleville Senators this past season, recording two assists. 2020-21 was the 25-year-old's first season as a pro after spending the previous three years with the UNB Reds.

Leblanc spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs before being traded to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Oddly, the Monsters are affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets - the team that drafted Leblanc in 2014 but never signed him.

Former Sea Dogs forward Brett Gallant recently re-signed with the Monsters.

OTHER THINGS

• The first Red-White games of Canada's national junior team camp were held on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Sea Dogs forward William Dufour played on Red's second line with Medicine Hat's Cole Sillinger and Shawinigan's Mavrik Bourque. On Sunday, University of Michigan's Kent Johnson replaced Bourque.
• Tyler Peddle, the second overall pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, has signed with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Antigonish native hadn't committed to playing major junior hockey at draft time.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Oliver Cooper has re-signed with the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets. Cooper, in his first season as a pro, helped the Komets win the Kelly Cup.
• The Athletic has a feature on how the QMJHL played through the pandemic, which includes some details on the league's early conversations with the New Brunswick government.
• Folks, it's August. Hockey returns this month.