Notebook: Dixon takes over Gryphons

University of Guelph

Josh Dixon has been named head coach of the University of Guelph men's hockey team.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs head coach joins the Gryphons after spending the past two seasons as an associate coach with the WHL's Prince George Cougars.

"It is an honour to join the University of Guelph Gryphons and such an impressive athletics department with an established tradition of success, both in student-athlete development and experience in addition to championship achievement at both the provincial and national levels," said Dixon in a news release. "I look forward to the opportunity to lead the men's hockey program back to national prominence and be a part of the excellent culture the Gryphons have created."

Dixon has previous coaching experience at the university level, working with Carleton, Calgary and Mount Royal as an assistant coach.

Dixon spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs before being fired during the 2019-20 season. His numbers in Saint John were less than impressive as he worked with a young and rebuilding team.

The Gryphons have been a strong program over the past decade or so but have had a couple of off years coming out of the pandemic. 

HEAD COACH HIRES

Speaking of head coaches, some hires have been made around the QMJHL.

The biggest is in Quebec City where the rebuilding Remparts will be led by veteran QMJHL coach Eric Veilleux, the team announced Thursday. Veilleux was the long-time head coach of the Shawinigan Cataractes and has also worked as a head coach with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Halifax Mooseheads. He has spent the past four seasons as an assistant with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch.

Two long-time assistant coaches in the QMJHL have been given head coaching opportunities. Benoit Desrosiers will lead the Gatineau Olympiques while Mathieu Turcotte will run the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada bench.

The hires leave the Halifax Mooseheads, Cape Breton Eagles, Sherbrooke Phoenix and Rimouski Oceanic as teams without head coaches at the moment. The Eagles are reportedly close to making an announcement.

#BREAKING: The Cape Breton Eagles have a coach picked and are finishing up the hiring process now. Announcement expected early next week.@capebretonpost #Eagles #CapeBreton #QMJHL

— Luke Dyment (@lwdyment) July 6, 2023

WILDCATS ANNOUNCEMENT

The Moncton Wildcats will be making a "special announcement" at the Avenir Centre on Tuesday.

The Wildcats will be making a “special announcement” on Tuesday, July 11th, at the Avenir Centre. A press conference is scheduled for 10am. #DefendTheDen pic.twitter.com/Kd2Dz9TOHY

— 🎙Wildcast Podcast 🎧 (@MonctonWildcast) July 7, 2023

Is this, at long last, an official 2025 Memorial Cup bid announcement?

The Wildcats will host the 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in January.

LEONARD VIDEO

An interesting interview with former Sea Dogs forward Liam Leonard, who talks about his time in the QMJHL. Leonard also gave his thoughts on the QMJHL's new rules to reduce fighting.

Leonard, 23, spent this past season in the Newfoundland senior circuit with the Clarenville Caribous.

CAJKOVIC TRADED

Former Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic was traded to the Minnesota Wild by the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, a move that was part of the Pat Maroon deal.

The 23-year-old spent most of last season in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears where he recorded 10 goals and 17 assists in 41 games. He also appeared in two games with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch.

A third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Slovakian has yet to appear in an NHL game.

The first overall pick in the 2018 CHL Import Draft, Cajkovic spent two seasons with the Sea Dogs before being dealt to the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

EMOND IN LAVAL

Former Sea Dogs goaltender Zachary Emond has signed a one-year, two-way AHL deal with the Laval Rocket, the top affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens.

The 23-year-old has bounced between the AHL and ECHL over the past couple seasons. Last season, Emond recorded a 3-1-0 record to go along with a 2.22 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in four games with the ECHL's Wichita Thunder.

Emond spent part of the 2020-21 COVID season with the Sea Dogs after being acquired from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Former Sea Dogs forward Ryan Francis, who spent most of last season with the ECHL's Trois-Rivieres Lions, has reportedly yet to sign with the Rocket. Francis appeared in four games with Laval last year.

NEXT DRAFT

No QMJHL players were picked in the first round of this year's NHL Draft. Could that happen again next year?

It's obviously quite early to tell, but a few QMJHL players are already getting noticed as potential first rounders. Chicoutimi forward Maxim Masse was ranked 11th by Daily Faceoff, 30th by The Athletic and included in Flo Hockey's players to watch.

Baie-Comeau's Justin Poirier and Cape Breton's Tomas Lavoie are also making some early noise.

NEW POD EP

On the season finale of The Hockey News on the Q, Will MacLaren and I recap the QMJHL players picked at the NHL Draft, coaching hires, Tampa Bay Lightning prospects and more.

.@willmacwriter and @station_nation recap the 2023 NHL draft and the 12 @QMJHL players who were selected, discuss more league news and look at Lightning prospects: https://t.co/rGtwSMybdT

— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) July 5, 2023

OTHER STUFF

• We've officially reached the real part of the off-season. Saint John's first pre-season game is Aug. 22, which isn't all that far away.
• If Twitter continues to fall off a cliff, you can follow SN on Threads: @station_nation
• Former Sea Dogs forward Matthew Highmore, who recently signed with the Ottawa Senators, is taking part in the third-round of the Nova Scotia men's amateur golf championship this weekend.
• The East Coast Basketball League, which included the Saint John Union, sounded like a real mess, at least according to the Moncton Motion.