Notebook: Memorial Cup dates could change

In an interview with Global News this week, QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau mentioned that the dates for the 2022 Memorial Cup could be changed.

“We’re even prepared to modify our playoff format," Courteau said about the QMJHL's desire to complete its regular season schedule. "We’re even looking at the possibility of pushing back the start of the Memorial Cup a week or two later.”

Courteau added that he remains confident the league will be able to restart the week of Feb. 1. If the QMJHL is to play a full 68-game schedule, the regular season will very likely need to be extended - which would create the need to adjust playoff scheduling/formatting.

The Memorial Cup is currently scheduled for June 4-13.

“In terms of the Memorial Cup, all stakeholders are resolved to have it here in June,” Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie told Global. “It is still five months away and there has been no talk of cancellation.”

The Global News piece - which the league shared on its Facebook page - is worth the watch/read. 

TALKING 'BOUT PRACTICE

Courteau also told Global News that the league's three New Brunswick teams have asked for permission to practice in another province. New Brunswick's current COVID-19 restrictions only allow people to practice with their household bubble.

Radio-Canada reported Wednesday that the Sea Dogs are looking into practicing in Riviere-du-Loup while the Acadie-Bathurst Titan are looking at Mont-Joli.

Riviere-du-Loup is home to Centre Premier Tech, a 3,000-seat arena that hosted the Telus Cup in 2015.

WJC IN AUGUST?

TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting that August appears to be the target to host this year's cancelled/postponed World Junior Hockey Championship.

"There’s a lot of work being done. A lot of discussion and a lot of planning going on for the World Junior Hockey Championship, a summer version, if you will," Dreger said on a recent edition of Insider Trading. "Some are suggesting that much of the discussion has been around the month of August and finding a way to host the event in Red Deer and Alberta as the target sites in August."

Dreger and others have also reported that a summer world juniors would likely see some of the top NHL prospects opt to train for the upcoming season rather than play in the tournament. That could potentially open a roster spot for someone like William Dufour, who was cut by Team Canada. There are plenty of things to sort out before making roster projections, though.

MURPHY SIGNS WITH ABBOTSFORD

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matt Murphy has signed a professional tryout agreement with the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks.

This is the third AHL club Murphy has played with this season after previous stops with the Belleville Senators and Providence Bruins. He's spent much of the season, once again, in the ECHL with the Fort Wayne Komets where he's recorded five goals and 14 points in 21 games.

The 26-year-old helped the Komets win the Kelly Cup, the ECHL's championship, last season.

Murphy spent the second half of the 2015-16 season with the Sea Dogs, helping the club reach the President Cup semifinals.

The Canucks recently signed former Sea Dogs forward Nicolas Guay to a PTO as well. Guay and Murphy both spent time with the Sea Dogs and UNB Reds programs.

AUS PUSHES BACK RESTART
Atlantic University Sport has once again pushed back its return to play date. From the AUS last Friday:

In light of the current public health restrictions across Atlantic Canada, the AUS and its member schools are working towards a goal of resuming play by mid-February, pending provincial health authority and institutional approvals. We remain steadfast in our flexible and creative approach to exploring every possible option so that our student-athletes have the chance to compete. This may include a variety of scheduling solutions, with a focus on AUS regular season and championship competition.

“The resiliency of all AUS teams and coaches continues to inspire us,” says AUS executive director, Phil Currie. "We’re focused on finding a way for our student-athletes to safely finish their seasons and compete for AUS championships. We have several scenarios that would allow for this to happen and will be ready to move forward as soon as we have the opportunity.”

Ontario University Athletics (which includes Quebec teams in men's hockey) remains on pause while Canada West restarted as planned - but there have been some COVID interruptions.

The AUS men's hockey regular season was scheduled to end on Feb. 12 with the playoffs starting soon after. The University Cup is scheduled for March 17-20 in Halifax.

MORE DEADLINE AFTERMATH
A few more tidbits from the QMJHL's trade deadline:

• RDS caught up with 20-year-old goaltender Jonathan Lemieux to discuss his first half struggles and his trade to the Moncton Wildcats.
• The Rimouski Oceanic now own an almost laughable amount of picks for the next three QMJHL Entry Drafts. That includes three first rounders in 2023.
• Philippe Daoust vs Saint John in 2020-21: three goals and seven assists in eight games.
• Nikolas Hurtubise in the 2021 playoffs: 11-4 with a 2.54 GAA and .908 SV%. In the three games he played against Charlottetown: 2-1 with a 2.93 GAA and .873 SV%.

OTHER THINGS

• The Sea Dogs haven't played a game in the month of January since 2020. There's always next year.
• The Drakcast notes that the Baie-Comeau Drakkar did not put Raivis Ansons on the market - but Saint John's offer for the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect was too good to turn down.
• When looking up Tomas Jurco and Stanislav Galiev numbers the other day, their playoff games played totals really stood out. Playoffs and Memorial Cups combined, Jurco appeared in 64 contests (56 playoff) while Galiev played in 65 (57 playoff). That's essentially an extra season added onto their junior careers.
• The Sea Dogs franchise record for QMJHL playoff games played belongs to Nathan Beaulieu and Pierre Durepos, who both appeared in 61.
• 61 playoff games seems like a lot but it's only good for 36th best in QMJHL history. Olivier Galipeau owns the league record with 83. Matt Murphy is fourth all-time (76 games) and Stephen MacAulay seventh (75 games).
• An interesting CHL press release that flew under the radar: the league announced a multi-year education and bet monitoring services agreement with Sportradar Integrity Services, which is aimed at reducing the threat of match fixing. "For the duration of the partnership, the three CHL member leagues – the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League – will be monitored by Sportradar Integrity Services through its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), an advanced and proven bet monitoring system that has been independently assessed and verified by recognized experts in the field of sports betting and integrity," reads the release.
• The timing of this announcement is interesting. In December, Soo Greyhounds goaltender Tucker Tynan was accused online of being involved in a bookmaking operation. “The league takes such matters related to gambling and the integrity of our games very seriously and are in the process of reviewing the allegations,” the OHL said in a statement to The Sault Star.
• CHL games on TV are just not the same without Sam Cosentino. Good to see him working some NHL games on Sportsnet, though. 
• Friday night's CHL on TSN game was set to feature Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats taking on the Brandon Wheat Kings. The WHL announced Wednesday that the Wheat Kings have been put on pause for COVID reasons.