Notebook: Who will be in Saint John?

Embed from Getty Images

Could the Saint John Sea Dogs face some familiar franchises this June?

It's certainly possible that one or more teams the Sea Dogs have faced at previous Memorial Cups could make their way to Saint John in a few months. In the OHL, the Mississauga Steelheads (formerly the St. Michael's Majors (2011)) and London Knights (2012) currently sit atop the standings based on winning percentage.

	Team	GP	Record (Points)	Win %
1	Mississauga Steelheads	35	23-8-1-3 (50)	.714
2	London Knights	32	21-10-1-0 (43)	.672
3	Kingston Frontenacs	32	20-9-3-0 (43)	.672
4	Barrie Colts	30	18-9-3-0 (39)	.650
5	Guelph Storm	32	19-10-2-1 (41)	.641

The Windsor Spitfires (2017) currently have the eighth based winning percentage. The Owen Sound Attack (2011) and Erie Otters (2017) are long shots to win the OHL championship.

In the WHL, the Winnipeg Ice (formerly the Kootenay Ice (2011)) have the best winning percentage while the Edmonton Oil Kings are third (2012) and Seattle Thunderbirds fifth (2017).

	Team	GP	Record (Points)	Win %
1	Winnipeg Ice	37	29-6-2-0 (60)	.811
2	Everett Silvertips	38	27-7-2-2 (58)	.763
3	Edmonton Oil Kings	39	27-9-2-1 (57)	.731
4	Kamloops Blazers	36	24-11-1-0 (49)	.681
5	Seattle Thunderbirds	35	21-10-4-0 (46)	.657

The one other QMJHL team the Sea Dogs have faced in Memorial Cup play, the Shawinigan Cataractes (2012), have a legitimate shot of making it as well. The Cataractes currently have the fifth best winning percentage.

DAOUST INTERVIEW

New Sea Dogs forward Philippe Daoust was a guest on Rogers TV's Sports QuaranTV to discuss his time with the AHL's Belleville Senators, his trade to Saint John and what he'll bring to his new club.

IRONMEN STREAKS

Here's something that flew under the radar earlier this season: when William Villeneuve missed Saint John's Oct. 29 game with an injury, it ended a streak of 127 consecutive games played.

The two longest ironmen streaks in Sea Dogs history? They're both still active. Jeremie Poirier has played in a franchise best 173 straight games while Josh Lawrence has played in 158 contests consecutively.

Chris DiDomenico previously held the record with 140 consecutive games, a record that stood for over 10 years.

GALIEV A RESERVE

Former Sea Dogs forward Stanislav Galiev didn't make Russia's final Olympic roster - but he'll still be making his way to Beijing.

Galiev was named one of Russia's reserve players and will travel to the Olympics and be ready to go in case of injury or illness. TSN's Darren Dreger reports that teams can bring six extra players with them to Beijing.

The 30-year-old forward has 25 goals and 17 assists in 47 games with the KHL's Dynamo Moscow this season.

ONTARIO RESTRICTIONS

The Ontario government did not deliver the greatest news for OHL clubs last week.

From The Canadian Press, via CBC, on Thursday:

The Ontario government announced today that some indoor venues, including movie theatres and gyms, will be able to operate at 50 per cent capacity starting Jan. 31.

However, large sports arenas and concert venues will be only allowed 500 people or half capacity, whichever is lower, until Feb. 21. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at a press conference Thursday that capacity will be increased to 50 per cent at that time, with limits being completely lifted March 14.

Things could change (as they often do), but it's looking like another month of nearly empty buildings for the OHL. That's rough - and not the most encouraging news as the QMJHL waits on government approvals to allow at least 50% capacity in its four jurisdictions.

Ontario University Athletics will resume its playing schedule on Feb. 9, the conference announced Friday.

Ontario's CCHL will resume game action on Feb. 2 where fomer Sea Dogs forward Yanic Crete is expected to play with the Rockland Nationals. The OJHL will resume play on Feb. 1.

OTHER THINGS

• The CHL released a 145-page document on "player wellbeing" on Friday, detailing an independent panel's findings on bullying, discrimination and harassment in junior hockey. TSN's Rick Westhead nicely breaks down what's inside the report.
• Based off an accidental tweet by the IIIHF on Monday, it appears defenseman Alex Grant, the original Sea Dog, will be named to Canada's Olympic team on Tuesday.
• QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau was a guest on TSN's Junior Hockey Magazine recently. Courteau said he remains confident that the QMJHL season will start up the week of Feb. 1 and again brought up the idea of the Memorial Cup being pushed back a week or two.
• TSN's Darren Dreger reported last week that the CHL may try and reinstate the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in late February. The game was originally planned to held on Feb. 2 in Kitchener but the CHL postponed it to a later, yet-to-be determined date.
• Nicolas Guay and Matt Murphy - both former Sea Dogs and UNB Reds - recently signed professional tryout agreements with the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks. Turns out there is a UNB connection in Abbotsford - Gary Agnew, a former Reds player and coach, is an associate coach with the AHL club.
• Former Sea Dogs goaltender Zachary Bouthillier was traded from the Maine Mariners to the Fort Wayne Komets last week. Bouthillier was 2-2-1 with a 3.60 GAA and .898 SV% in seven games with the Boston Bruins' ECHL affiliate.
• The Jan. 28 CHL on TSN game was to feature the Acadie-Bathurst Titan taking on the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Obviously that won't happen with the QMJHL on pause. In its place, TSN will broadcast the Prince Albert Raiders taking on Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats.
• The ECHL announced Friday that it will determine qualification for the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs by points percentage. COVID outbreaks and border issues have been giving the league some grief over the past month. The Newfoundland Growlers played their first game in 21 days on Friday night.
• The Eastern Canadian Basketball League, which includes the Saint John Union, has pushed its launch to next year due to COVID. The league now plans to tip off in March 2023.
• The Hershey Bears had 52,341 teddy bears tossed on the ice during the team's Teddy Bear Toss game on Saturday, which is apparently a world record. It's especially incredible when you consider the attendance was 10,514.