Sunday, February 19, 2023

Notebook: Canada Games hockey begins

Bimal Grewal/Canada Winter Games
If the last Canada Winter Games are any indication, there will be some serious talent on the ice across Prince Edward Island this week.

The top-10 scorers from the 2019 Canada Winter Games have become very familiar names.
The 2023 edition of the male hockey tournament gets underway Sunday and many of the top prospects for upcoming CHL drafts will be suiting up. Each province and territory has a team, so QMJHL followers will want to keep a close eye on Quebec and the four Atlantic teams. HockeyProspect.com has a preview of those five squads.

One non-Quebec/Atlantic player to pay attention to is Yukon's Gavin McKenna, the first overall pick in last year's WHL draft. In 11 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers this season, McKenna has eight assists while still only 15-years-old.

Saint John Sea Dogs assistant coach Mark Lee will be the head coach for Newfoundland and Labrador while Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard is listed as an assistant.

NON-MARITIME NUMBERS
Friday night's game against the Sherbrooke Phoenix was Saint John's last match of the regular season against an opponent from outside the Maritimes Division.

The Sea Dogs will finish the season with an 8-16-0-0 record against teams from outside the Maritimes. They went 2-6-0-0 against East Division teams; 4-4-0-0 against West Division clubs; and 2-6-0-0 against Central Division teams.

The Sea Dogs could, of course, face a non-Maritimes team in the first round of the playoffs if they qualify.

ROY VS SAINT JOHN
Friday's game was likely Joshua Roy's last against his old club - and he went out with a bang.

Roy had a three goals and two assists in Friday's 8-2 Phoenix win at TD Station. The 19-year-old Montreal Canadiens prospect will likely graduate to pro hockey next season.

Roy will finish his QMJHL career with four goals and four assists in four games against the club that drafted him first overall in the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Feb. 17, 2023 at Saint John: 3 goals and 2 assists
Oct. 14, 2022 vs Saint John: 1 goals and 2 assists
April 19, 2022 at Saint John: 1 assist
Dec. 2, 2021 vs Saint John: 1 assist

DROVER JOINING RIDGEBACKS
Sea Dogs forward Alex Drover has committed to the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks for next season.

"I am thrilled to be joining Ontario Tech and the Ridgeback family," said Drover in a Ridgebacks press release. "Being able to be part of a growing school and hockey team is truly something special. I have heard so many great things about the culture, academics and athletics of the university and the community of Oshawa. I am eager to begin the next chapter of my academic and athletic career next fall."

The overage forward has played in the QMJHL, Western Hockey League and Maritime Hockey League this season.

Ontario Tech has become a popular spot for Maritime-based players. This past season, the Ridgebacks featured former Sea Dogs Pierre-Luc Lurette and James White.

PICARD STILL PRODUCING
The Victoria Times Colonist has a story on the excellent season former Sea Dogs forward Olivier Picard is having in the BCHL.

Heading into play Sunday, Picard leads the Victoria Grizzlies in scoring with 22 goals and 41 points in 40 games. He sits eighth in the BCHL in goals.

“[Picard] checked every box and that’s the reason we recruited him in the off-season,” Grizzlies general manager and head coach Rylan Ferster told the Times Colonist.

“He has brought so much to us in terms of culture and foundation.”

FLAMES PROBLEMS
Things could certainly be going better for Jonathan Huberdeau and the Calgary Flames.

Huberdeau has 10 goals and 38 points in 53 games in his first season with the Flames, well off the 115-point pace he had last year with the Florida Panthers. The Flames currently sit just outside the last wild card spot in the Western Conference with a 26-19-11 record.

Huberdeau's agent, the often outspoken Allan Walsh, sent the below tweet Thursday night.
Huberdeau was asked about Walsh's tweet by Calgary media on Friday.
Huberdeau had two assists in Calgary's 3-2 overtime win over Gerard Gallant's New York Rangers on Saturday night.
OTHER THINGS
  • Amidst the St. Louis Blues' roster shuffling this week was the recalling of former Sea Dogs forward Matthew Highmore, who has been having a great season in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds. Highmore has not played an NHL game yet this year.
  • La Tribune writes about Joshua Roy making his yearly return to Saint John.
  • Brothers Bradley and Josh Nadeau of St-Francois-de-Madawaska continue to lead the BCHL in scoring with 79 and 76 points each, respectively. Both are committed to the University of Maine for next season.
  • Lynden Breen of Grand Bay-Westfield currently leads Maine in scoring this season with 16 goals and 26 points in 31 games. The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft.
  • In the Cape Breton Post, Patrick McNeil writes about the Eagles' six-game Quebec road trip and why the team has structured its schedule this way.
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