A look at some pre-season numbers

James West

It was a short but productive pre-season for the Saint John Sea Dogs' two overage forwards.

Marshall Lessard (three goals and three assists) and Brady Burns (two goals and four assists) each finished the pre-season with six points in three games, tying them with rookie Cole Burbidge (three goals and three assists) for the team's scoring lead.

Lessard scored in every game he appeared in, tying him with Burbidge for Saint John's goal scoring lead. Burns' four assists were second most on the team, one behind Alexis Cournoyer's five.

The Sea Dogs currently have four overagers on their roster: Burns, Lessard, defenseman Charlie DesRoches and goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise. A decision on which three players remain with the team will have to be made.

Here's a quick look at some of Saint John's pre-season numbers (which may mean nothing... or something):

• Saint John finished the pre-season with a 3-5-0-0 record, going 2-2-0-0 at the Aitken Centre and 1-3-0-0 on the road. Only six QMJHL teams played eight or more pre-season games.
• The Rimouski Oceanic had the best record in the pre-season, going 6-1-0-0.
• The Sea Dogs finished with a -4 goal differential, scoring an average of 3.50 goals per game (12th) and allowing 4.00 goals against per game (12th).
• Jacob Beaulieu led the league in pre-season penalty minutes with 32 served in seven games. He also had a league high four major penalties.
• Five of Brady Burns' six points were scored on the power play.
• Vince Elie had two game-winning goals.
• Olivier Brideau played the second most minutes of any goaltender this pre-season, posting a 3.56 goals against average and a .872 save percentage in four games. Ventsislav Shingarov had a 3.88 GAA and .895 SV% in three games. Nikolas Hurtubise did not dress for any pre-season games. The Sea Dogs previously announced that they will carry three goaltenders this season.
• Baie-Comeau's Justin Poirier, the younger brother of Jeremie Poirier, finished in a tie for the rookie lead in pre-season points (eight) and goals (five) in five games.
• Former Sea Dog Kale McCallum, now a member of the Val-d'Or Foreurs, led all defensemen in pre-season scoring with seven points. Charlie DesRoches had four points in just two games, placing him ninth.
• The Sea Dogs allowed a league high three shorthanded goals.