Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Deadline day inching closer

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The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League trade deadline is less than 48 hours away and it seems... kind of quiet?

Will things remain quiet on Wednesday and into Thursday? We'll see. One trade that is expected to be made official by Thursday's deadline is the big deal involving the Saint John Sea Dogs and Halifax Mooseheads that will see Elliot Desnoyers moved to the Memorial Cup hosts.

Desnoyers recently spoke with Philadelphia Flyers podcaster/YouTuber Christopher Maher about his world junior experience, NHL camp and some of his goals for the year ahead. While he didn't directly mention the Sea Dogs, Desnoyers did bring up his goal of winning the Memorial Cup this year.

"I'd say my main goal, first of all, would be to win the Memorial Cup with my team," Desnoyers said. "I've been dreaming about this Cup for a long time and I think that it's fair to say that this year would be my last to try and go for it. That's mainly going to be my focus for the beginning of 2022."

The full interview can be heard below.


In Le Nouvelliste, Steve Turcotte brought up two players who the Sea Dogs may target: 20-year-old forward Simon Pinard of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and 19-year-old goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise.

Pinard currently sits 10th in QMJHL scoring while Hurtubise posted strong numbers in Victoriaville's President Cup run last season. Both would be good adds - but obviously there would need to be a corresponding roster move or two with four overagers (one being a goaltender) currently on Saint John's roster.

Elsewhere, two top teams that have been quiet so far during the trade period - the Quebec Remparts and Sherbrooke Phoenix - have been busy the past couple days. The Remparts acquired Olivier Coulombe and Conor Frenette from the Tigres while the Phoenix picked up Tyson Hinds in a big deal with the Rimouski Oceanic.

The Remparts buying and the Phoenix seemingly opting not to sell would indicate that there are six teams that should - on paper anyways - be on top of the pack in the second half: Charlottetown, Bathurst, Saint John, Quebec, Sherbrooke and Shawinigan.

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