Sea Dogs sign prospect Burbidge

Elite Prospects

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a bit of an unexpected announcement on Friday morning, signing 16-year-old prospect Cole Burbidge.

Burbidge, a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft, has spent this season in Rhode Island with the Mount St. Charles Academy program. The Falmouth, NS native will finish the year in the United States and join the Sea Dogs next season.

“We felt Cole was one of the top 2005’s available in last season’s draft” assistant general manager and head scout Anthony Stella said in a news release. “To have him commit to the organization is a major boost to our '05 group and the future of the team. Cole is an important piece for us moving forward.”

Burbidge presumably had NCAA options available to him. He was one of only three members of Saint John's 2021 draft class to not attend training camp last August/September.

“We really like Cole," Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie told The Chronicle Herald in July. "Our team thinks he is one of the smartest players in the draft and will be a future top centreman in the league. We have had some great conversations with him and his family about his plan for next season and we’re very supportive of it. We look forward to having him be an important part of our future.”

Burbidge was projected to be a third-round pick in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft by Central Scouting and ranked 26th overall by HockeyProspect.com - who called him one of the best playmakers available.

"Throughout the season in all of our viewings, Burbidge created chances on a shift to shift basis for his team, offering very good looks on net to his linemates thanks to his very good vision, creativity and passing ability," wrote HockeyProspect.com. "His main strength, as mentioned, is his vision and ability to create plays. He made some passes at times that his teammates were not expecting to receive at all, passes through traffic, from tight and restricted angles, when there was a lot of pressure on him. Burbidge could create plays in any of those situations.

"All in all, Burbidge has a lot of great offensive tools, rounded out with a decent defensive game, but his hockey IQ, his vision and his ability to create plays is what makes him a very good prospect for this draft. Burbidge projects as a playmaking top six centre at the next level."

Saint John's 2022-23 roster is already intriguing. Despite going all-in this season, the Sea Dogs have - on paper at least - a respectable lineup coming together. The team will have a good crop of returning players, a large prospect pool to draw from plus potential returns from players they will be forced to flip to other teams (the Sea Dogs have an abundance of players who will be overagers next season).