Sunday, January 28, 2024

Notebook: Cajkovic traded to Pens

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic was involved in a minor NHL trade on Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild traded Cajkovic to the Pittsburg Penguins in exchange for defenseman Will Butcher.
According to the Penguins, "Cajkovic is signed through the end of the 2023-24 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $925,000 at the NHL level." The 23-year-old has yet to appear in an NHL game and has split his pro career bouncing between the AHL and ECHL,

In 20 games with the ECHL's Iowa Heartlanders this season, Cajkovic has 12 goals and six assists. He's also recorded two goals and an assist in five games with the AHL's Iowa Wild.

Cajkovic spent the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons with the Sea Dogs before playing his final year of junior with the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

REYNOLDS INJURED
Former Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds was injured in Friday's Halifax Mooseheads game.
Reynolds left the ice with an apparent arm/shoulder injury and did not return. He did not dress for Sunday's game and the Mooseheads have him listed as "week-to-week" with a return possible in mid-February.

The overage forward has a goal and seven assists in 10 games with the Mooseheads.

ONE FOR ALL FESTIVAL RETURNS
The Sea Dogs have released further details surrounding this year's One For All Festival.


The festivities begin on Thursday, February 15th as the Sea Dogs host their annual Pride Night against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada featuring performances by local drag queens. Pride Night aims to celebrate and foster inclusiveness within our game and drive positive social change for our players, coaches, families, and fans. Hockey is for everyone! 

Performers from Legends in Concert, the longest running show in Las Vegas history, will once again entertain the crowd at TD Station throughout the weekend. Saturday, February 17th will see the Bruno Mars tribute perform on the TD Stage during both intermissions, while the Freddie Mercury tribute will hit the stage on Monday, February 19th.

Single game tickets for all three games start at $9 (plus taxes and fees).

The "One For All" theme began at the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John. The team held similar theme nights last season.

RUSSIANS RETURNING?
Could the CHL start allowing Russians and Belarusians back into the CHL Import Draft? There's a chance it seems.
The change likely has to do with recruiting concerns as the CHL has no doubt lost some high caliber players to other leagues because of this rule. As the war in Ukraine continues, this will be an interesting story to follow as the CHL will face some backlash if they move forward with this.

TOP PROSPECTS GAME
Here's Sea Dogs forward Eriks Mateiko speaking to the media following Wednesday's CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton.


YOUNG
As noted below, Sea Dogs defenseman Olivier Duhamel is tied with Shawinigan's Noah McKinnon for the title of youngest player in the QMJHL.
Sea Dogs defenseman Matteo Mann, meanwhile, is the heaviest at 227 lbs.

UNB PUCKS
If you're at a UNB game this season, there are some interesting pucks available for purchase.

Most notably is the above puck featuring former Sea Dogs head coach Gardiner MacDougall and his "Lady Mo" line from the 2022 Memorial Cup. There are also pucks available featuring former Sea Dogs Kale McCallum and Nick Blagden.

HOBEY AWARD
Three New Brunswickers are in the conversation for the Hobey Baker Award, awarded annually to college hockey's best player.
Maine's Lynden Breen of Grand Bay-Westfield along with Josh and Bradly Nadeau of St-Francois-de-Madawaska were all included in the initial round of nominations. All three have been playing together on Maine's top line this season — which has proven to be one of the NCAA's top lines.

The Nadeau brothers are amongst the top scoring freshmen in college hockey this season.
OTHER THINGS
  • Mike Eagles, officially titled as Saint John's faceoff coach, joined the Sea Dogs on their Quebec road trip this weekend and was behind the bench as an assistant. Associate coach Jeff Hansen acted as Saint John's head coach with Travis Crickard away with Team Canada at the Youth Olympics.
  • Speaking of those Youth Olympics, Team Canada opened the event with an 8-0 win over host South Korea on Saturday. Fredericton native Tynan Lawrence, the bother of Josh and a top prospect for this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, had a goal.
  • Emile Chouinard of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, the team announced Saturday.
  • Former Sea Dogs forward Julien Gauthier has been one of the fastest skaters in the NHL this season.
  • The UNB Reds improved to 26-0 with weekend wins over Saint Mary's and Acadia. They have four games remaining in the regular season.
  • It'll be 90s night in Charlottetown when the Sea Dogs visit the Islanders on Feb. 9.
  • It's gotten to the point in Trois-Rivieres where there are questions about the future of Colisee Videotron, the 4,390 seat venue that has housed the ECHL's Lions since 2021. The future of the Lions is uncertain due to a sales process that has not been going smoothly. The Lions are averaging just 2,270 fans per game, the third fewest in the ECHL.
  • The AJHL remains in a messy state following last week's news of several teams opting to join the "outlaw" BCHL next season.
  • On Wednesday morning in Moncton, former Sea Dogs head coaches — who are both from PEI and won Memorial Cups with Saint John — were part of a panel discussion about player education.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)