Monday, April 24, 2023

Notebook: Oceanic fire Beausoleil

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The Rimouski Oceanic made a major move Monday, firing head coach and general manager Serge Beausoleil.

Beausoleil led the Oceanic to nearly 500 wins over his 12 years in Rimouski and won the President Cup in 2015. The Oceanic fell to the Saint John Sea Dogs in the 2012 President Cup final and then pulled off a shocking upset over the Sea Dogs in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs.

The often vocal Beausoleil also got into it with Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard earlier this season after the Sea Dogs took a late-game timeout in a blowout win.

Beausoleil was named the QMJHL's general manager of the year in 2018.

The Oceanic announced that Danny Dupont will be the club's interim general manager. The QMJHL Entry Draft is roughly six weeks away.

Beausoleil's impressive resume with the Oceanic will likely make him a wanted man around the QMJHL. There is already speculation of him taking the reins of the Quebec Remparts if Patrick Roy chooses to move on.

MORE CAMERAS INCOMING?
Le Journal de Quebec is reporting that the QMJHL may require teams provide more camera angles in their home arenas to assist with video replay.

The news comes after a couple controversial calls this post-season - most notably the Baie-Comeau Drakkar's overtime goal in Game 7 of the first round that was not allowed. The Moncton Wildcats went on to win the game and advance to the second round.
ASSIST FOR MATEIKO
At the IIHF World Under-18 Championship on Monday, Sea Dogs forward Eriks Mateiko had an assist to help Latvia earn a 1-0 victory over Norway. Mateiko, the Latvian captain, also had two shots in 20:40 of ice time.
BOUCTOUCHE GETTING JR. A TEAM
New Brunswick is getting another Maritime Hockey League club.

The MHL confirmed this weekend that the Bridgewater-based South Shore Lumberjacks will be relocating to Bouctouche in time for the 2023-24 season. The Bouctouche franchise will presumably play out of the JK Irving Centre, which has been a frequent venue for QMJHL pre-season games over the years.

Radio Canada reported that the Lumberjacks were looking at relocating to either Bouctouche, St. Stephen or back to the Halifax area. The franchise relocated from Halifax to Bridgewater in 2008-09.
The Lumberjacks finished last overall in the MHL this past season with a 10-39-2-1 record. Former Sea Dogs Kobe Burt and Zach Welsh both saw some playing time in South Shore this past season.

Bouctouche will join Fredericton, Grand Falls, Edmundston, Miramichi and Campbellton in the Eastlink North Division. The Summerside Western Capitals will be shifted into the Eastlink South Division with the Nova Scotia based teams.

FUTURE WATCH
Little late getting to this, but there was some Sea Dogs content in this year's edition of The Hockey News' Future Watch magazine.

Jeremie Poirier was ranked 89th amongst all NHL prospects while William Dufour was 94th.

Only four former Sea Dogs were listed in their organization's top-10.

Calgary Flames - 5th - Jeremie Poirier
Calgary Flames - 6th - Yan Kuznetsov
Montreal Canadiens - 6th - Joshua Roy
New York Islanders - 1st - William Dufour

MEMORIAL CUP EVENTS
Following the lead of Halifax 2019 and Saint John 2022, this year's Memorial Cup tournament in Kamloops will feature a concert series along with a number of other off-ice events.

The CHL announced recently that The Glorious Sons will kick off the event on May 25 with "The Riverside Party."


Outside of The Riverside Party presented by Simpcw Resources Group, all events hosted at the Molson Canadian Hockey House will have complimentary admission based on capacity and be easily accessible to fans throughout the tournament. This will include a free concert series highlighted by performances by DJ Shub (May 31), Gord Bamford (June 1), Dear Rouge (June 3) and several local musicians from Kamloops. 

Serving as the official entertainment venue for the entirety of the 2023 Memorial Cup, the Molson Canadian Hockey House will operate as the destination in Kamloops for concerts, viewing parties for each Memorial Cup game, speaker series, food and beverage options, official event merchandise, and more.

This year's Memorial Cup takes place May 26 - June 4.

PHOTO AWARD
Congrats to Sea Dogs photographer Michael Hawkins on his win at this year's Atlantic Journalism Awards.
TOP PLAYS
That huge Ventsislav Shingarov save was named the top play from the first round of the QMJHL playoffs.
OTHER THINGS
  • Former Sea Dogs goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise and the Terrebonne Cobras took a 3-2 series lead in the QJHL final with a 4-3 overtime victory over Condors du Cegep Beauce-Appalaches on Sunday. Hurtubise did not play in the game with Alexandre Marchand earning the win in net. Game 6 of the series is on Wednesday.
  • The River Valley Rock are Southern Senior Hockey League champions. The Rock's roster includes Sea Dogs alumni Mike Neil and Zachary Alchorn. Nick Blagden appeared in some games with the Rock earlier this season.
  • JSM Sports Entertainment, the parent company of the Sea Dogs who are led by Trevor Georgie, made a number of job postings this weekend.
  • The Gatineau newspaper Le Droit takes a look back at the Olympiques' 2011 playoff run, which ended in a six-game loss to the Sea Dogs in the President Cup final.
  • Despite some technical issues with the Slush Puppie Centre's ticketing, tickets to Games 3 and 4 of the semifinal series between Gatineau and Quebec sold out in less than an hour.
  • The Prince George Cougars, who feature former Sea Dogs bench boss Josh Dixon as an associate coach, were swept by the powerhouse Seattle Thunderbirds in the second round of the WHL playoffs. Seattle is 8-0 so far this post-season.
  • There will be a huge showdown in the WHL's Western Conference final with the Thunderbirds facing the Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers. That series begins Saturday.
  • New Glasgow native Lane Sim was taken in the third round of the OHL Draft by the Sarnia Sting - the same team his father, Jon Sim, played for in the 1990s. Lane Sim's brother, Landon, currently plays with the London Knights. Despite being from Nova Scotia, the Sim brothers were eligible for the OHL Draft because their father played in the league.
  • Randy Jones has been named the new head coach of the Saint John Vito's.
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