Georgie pleased with deadline moves

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

If building a championship caliber hockey team is like building a puzzle, the Saint John Sea Dogs believe they added the final pieces last week.

It's been a long build for the Sea Dogs, one that began at the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft. Last Thursday before the league's trading period closed, the Sea Dogs swung some of the biggest deals in franchise history, adding to their existing core of players.

"I think often times it's hard to see where the team is going when it's going through a tough rebuild" said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie last Friday. "We said we wanted to host the Memorial Cup and we are. We said we wanted to have a team that can have a chance to win and we think this team does have a chance.

"We're happy with what the finished product looks like."

Last Thursday, the Sea Dogs acquired forwards Philippe Daoust, Marshall Lessard, Connor Trenholm, Nicholas Blagden and Raivis Ansons. They also picked up goaltenders Nikolas Hurtubise and Thomas Couture. Earlier in the trade period they added defenseman Vincent Sevigny.

Saint John has a loaded roster, featuring a Canadian Hockey League high eight NHL prospects. The Sea Dogs have had - on paper - a talented roster for several seasons now but it hasn't translated to consistent success on the ice. The Dogs entered the holiday break with a 15-12-0-3 record, placing them 11th overall in the league.

With last Thursday's moves, Georgie believes he and the management group have put this team is a position to succeed.

"It's up to the group now. As management we've done everything we can to put them in the best position possible to win this year and now it's up to them. They have to do it."

Georgie said he and Anthony Stella, the team's assistant general manager and head scout, recently met with former Sea Dogs forward Mathieu Joseph and some other members of the Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup winning teams. Joseph said that to win, teams need "savages" and "gamers," which reinforced the type of players the Sea Dogs felt they needed to add.

"We had a really big focus on players that play different styles than our current group," Georgie said. "More to compliment them and not duplicate. If you look at players like Ansons, Lessard, Trenholm, Daoust and Blagden, those are all guys that play a 200-foot game."

THE DAOUST TRADE

The Philippe Daoust trade was a big deal for several reasons. For starters, it was literally a big deal, involving 10 pieces. It was also a very rare trade between the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats franchises.

Did the rivalry between the two New Brunswick clubs impact the deal at all?

"There was no hesitancy there," said Georgie. 

"I want to give credit to the Wildcats. They were great to deal with. It was something that came together quickly and worked towards it together. They were excellent to deal with. Ritchie (Thibeau), their general manager, and Mr. Irving and everyone was really great.

"We all kind of laughed after. A trade between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats is rare let alone a 10-piece trade."

LEMIEUX MOVED

One of Saint John's major off-season acquisitions was 20-year-old goaltender Jonathan Lemieux, who was fresh off helping the Val-d'Or Foreurs reach the President Cup final.

Lemieux struggled with the Sea Dogs in the first half, posting an 8-10 record to go along with a 3.55 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. He was traded to the Wildcats on Thursday in the Daoust deal.

"I feel bad for Joe Lemieux," Georgie said. "I don't think we supported him enough on the ice to get the best out of him. I just don't think we supported him enough as a team. I feel bad for Joe and we wish him the best. He's a really good goalie and we still had belief in him. Moncton is lucky to have him."

The Sea Dogs are averaging 33.27 shots against per game, the fifth most in the QMJHL.

DESNOYERS STAYS PUT

One of the biggest trade deadline stories last week involved a trade that didn't happen.

It had been widely reported that the Sea Dogs would acquire Elliot Desnoyers from the Halifax Mooseheads in a blockbuster deal on deadline day. But as the hours inched closer to the 1 p.m. deadline and the Dogs were busy making other moves - which included trading one of the reported pieces of the Desnoyers trade (prospect Natan Grenier) to the Wildcats - it became apparent that the deal wasn't going to happen.

Desnoyers, likely in his final season of junior hockey, remains a member of the Mooseheads - a peculiar move by a rebuilding team.

When asked about the situation, Georgie said "no comment."

A FEW OTHER THINGS

• On waiting until the final day of the trade period to pull off all of these deals: "part of it's circumstance and part of it's strategy."
• Placing Christopher Inniss on waivers was simply a numbers game. If he was a 19-year-old instead of an overager he'd likely still be on the squad, Georgie said. "It's really sad to see Chris go. He plays a great game. Plays hard. Chris is an unbelievable person - one of the best that's come through here." Inniss was claimed by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
• On the acquisition of Connor Trenholm: "Character plus. Cape Breton had no desire to trade him but we wanted to go get him. That was an important piece for us. He's a player that will play another two-and-a-half years in the league. Plays hard. Great attitude. I think he'll be a really important piece for us."
• Something to note: there are less players with significant playoff experience thanks to the cancelled 2020 playoffs and last year's shortened post-season. "We also looked for high value on the character piece and on players who had really interesting experiences," said Georgie.
• Forward Nico Laforge and defenseman Hunter Gartley are no longer listed on Saint John's online roster. Some clarity: “Hunter and Nico have and continue to do everything asked of them," said Georgie. "They work hard. They’re great teammates. By signing them to affiliate cards, it gives them the flexibility to play games in the MHL, if they aren’t projected to be in the lineup for us. They’re still Sea Dogs, living here, going to school here, practicing with the team and following all COVID protocols. This designation just gives them the flexibility to play games with Grand Falls and make sure they develop and are game ready when they’re called upon.”
• Laforge's MHL rights were recently traded to Grand Falls. The Rapids announced the signing of Gartley on Wednesday.
• The Sea Dogs signed 18-year-old free agent defenseman Zach Welsh and subsequently signed him as an affiliate player. Welsh was placed on waivers by the Sherbrooke Phoenix last week. The Halifax native has appeared in just four QMJHL games this season. He is expected to join the MHL's Edmundston Blizzard where his rights were recently traded. He is eligible to be called-up by the Sea Dogs if needed.