Notebook: Some home opener video

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

If you missed Saturday's Saint John Sea Dogs home opener, the QMJHL has uploaded the pre-game ceremony, which saw the 2022 Memorial Cup championship banner raised into the TD Station rafters.

The Sea Dogs have also shared the video that was shown during the ceremony.

Some of our favourite moments from the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia, on the ice and in the community.

Thank you Saint John, for making last year one to remember.#CityofChampions pic.twitter.com/tpwAAjoMGu

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) October 3, 2022

BIG CROWD

4,954 fans attended Saturday's Sea Dogs game at TD Station, making it the most attended home opener in Saint John since 2017 (5,309).

Saturday's crowd would have been Saint John's fourth largest all of last season. The team averaged 2,643 fans per game last season, although three home games were impacted by COVID capacity restrictions.

The Sea Dogs are no doubt hoping to ride the wave of enthusiasm generated during the Memorial Cup even as the team begins to rebuild.

SATURDAY ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHL president Dan MacKeznie was in attendance for a press conference at the ball hockey pad Saturday afternoon. The CHL made a couple announcements.

Ahead of tonight’s banner raising In Saint John, CHL president Dan MacKenzie has announced the #MemorialCup Legacy Scholarship that will include two scholarships being awarded each year for a five-year period! pic.twitter.com/nysh2TPd1y

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) October 1, 2022

Giving back to the community 👏🏻

An $11,000 donation has been made to the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund, a program in support of veterans and their families, from the proceeds of the theme jerseys worn by the @SJSeaDogs at the #MemorialCup to commemorate the HMCS Brunswicker! pic.twitter.com/CGOWXNOKVh

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) October 1, 2022

BLUE MILE UPDATE

Via the Sea Dogs' Instagram story Saturday, The Blue Mile inside the TD Station pedway got another update.

NOEL RE-SIGNS

Former Sea Dogs forward Nathan Noel is returning for another season with his hometown ECHL club.

The Newfoundland Growlers announced last week that Noel has re-signed with the team for the 2022-23 season.

The Newfoundland Growlers have re-signed St. John's native Nathan Noel for the 2022-23 ECHL season.

🎟🎟 : https://t.co/9akvp20BlN#STANDonGUARD

— Newfoundland Growlers (@NLGrowlers) September 28, 2022

The 25-year-old appeared in 28 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs affiliate last season, recording four goals and nine assists. He was held pointless in two playoff games. 

Noel has been playing professionally since the 2017-18 season, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL. This will be his second season with the Growlers.

The St. John's native spent four seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the club win the President Cup in 2017.

BEAULIEU SIGNS WITH DUCKS
Former Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Anaheim Ducks.

NEWS: We have signed Nathan Beaulieu to a one-year contract. #FlyTogether https://t.co/uYUWqOYwmU

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) October 1, 2022

Beaulieu recorded four assists in 24 games with the Winnipeg Jets last season before being placed on long-term injured reserve. He was later traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins but never appeared in a game.

The 29-year-old spent four seasons in Saint John, helping the club win President Cup championships in 2011 and 2012 along with the Memorial Cup in 2011.

Beaulieu is one of the Sea Dogs' most travelled NHL alumni, playing with Montreal, Buffalo, Winnipeg, Pittsburgh (sort of) and now Anaheim.

NIAGARA WANTS TO CUP
We know the 2023 Memorial Cup tournament will be held in Kamloops. But which Ontario Hockey League city will host the event in 2024?

St. Catharines is apparently interested.

Niagara #IceDogs Owner and General Manager Darren Dedobbelaer confirms that #Niagara will be aggressive in bidding to host the #CHL Memorial Cup when it comes back to the Ontario Hockey League for the 2023-24 season.#GoDogsGo | #HockeyTwitter | #OHL pic.twitter.com/Kv4MzEtSUV

— Brandon Caputo (@Caputz13_AGM) September 27, 2022

Thanks to COVID, the OHL hasn't hosted a Memorial Cup since Windsor in 2017.

Oshawa and Sault Ste. Marie were rumoured to be interested in hosting the 2021 tournament, which was cancelled by COVID.

OTHER THINGS

• The Sea Dogs play two home games this weekend: Friday against the Charlottetown Islanders and Saturday against the Victoriaville Tigres. The team plays a three-in-three in Quebec (Sherbrooke, Quebec City and Victoriaville) the following weekend.
• Where was Gardiner MacDougall on Saturday? MacDougall's UNB Reds were in Toronto this past weekend where they picked up a couple pre-season wins over the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold (formerly Ryerson University). The Reds begin AUS regular season play this Friday in Fredericton, hosting the UPEI Panthers.
• Like Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, the ice at Sydney's Centre 200 was also lost due to power outages from Hurricane Fiona.
• La Nouvelle Union reports on the Tigres' 2-2-0-0 start to the season. The team now heads to the Maritimes where they'll visit Halifax on Friday and Saint John on Saturday.
• Christian Vermette is leaving the Quebec Remparts to take a scouting job with the Edmonton Oilers, le Soleil reports. Vermette was Saint John's head scout for four seasons, beginning in 2010-11. He credits former Sea Dogs head coach Ross Yates for getting him in contact with the Oilers.
• There will be five QMJHL games this Monday afternoon (Thanksgiving), including the Acadie-Bathurst Titan visiting the Charlottetown Islanders.
• Josh Lawrence, who recorded 101 points last season with Saint John, is off to a bit of a slow start with his new club. The 20-year-old has just one assist in four games with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
• The Sherbrooke Phoenix are off to a 4-0 start. Former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy, who is expected to contend for league MVP honours this season, has two goals and an assist in two games since returning from Montreal Canadiens camp.
• Eyes on the Isles has a story on the impressive training camp William Dufour is having.
• Flames Nation writes about Jeremie Poirier being assigned to the AHL's Calgary Wranglers. Poirier joins Yan Kuznetsov, who had already been sent down, at Wranglers camp.
• Went to a Flin Flon Bombers game on Sunday night. Probably the most horns and sirens I've seen/heard at a hockey game, which is really saying something when you follow the QMJHL on a daily basis.