Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Notebook: Gauthier off to strong start

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
Mathis Gauthier has gotten his Gatineau Olympiques career off to a strong start.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman recorded a goal and four assists in his first two games with the Olympiques last week, helping last-place Gatineau earn back-to-back wins.

Gauthier's performance earned him a spot on the QMJHL's team of the week.
The 20-year-old recorded five goals and 12 assists in 36 games with Saint John before being dealt. He was traded to the Olympiques for a draft pick.

The Sea Dogs visit Gatineau on Jan. 28 and host them on Feb. 17.

NEW CAPTAINS?
All three members of Saint John's official leadership group have been traded away in recent weeks.

Captain Peter Reynolds was traded to the Halifax Mooseheads while alternates Noah Reinhart and Mathis Gauthier were traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Gatineau Olympiques, respectively.

No players have been wearing letters for the Sea Dogs in recent games. That will surely change soon.

SAINT JOHN VISIT
QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini will make his first official visit to Saint John on Thursday and will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m.

According to a Sea Dogs release, "this is Commissioner Cecchini's first visit to the Maritimes since changing the League's name from Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He will be discussing the significance of the change and the future of the League."

Sea Dogs president Trevor Georgie will also be in attendance.

Cecchini will also hold a press conference in Bathurst on Sunday morning.

ATTENDANCE UPDATE
How is the QMJHL's attendance this season? Apparently pretty okay.
There's no doubt that Saint John's numbers are a bit disappointing. The team is averaging 2,796 fans per game through 21 home games, placing them seventh in the league.

A positive: Saint John's attendance is up slightly. After 21 games last season, the team was averaging 2,610 fans per game. They finished with an average of 2,957.

SEASON SERIES
Doesn't get much closer than this.
The Sea Dogs and Islanders meet again on Jan. 17 in Saint John and Feb. 9 in Charlottetown.

MEANT TO BE
This photo of Drew Elliott was shared by the Sea Dogs prior to last Thursday's game, a good reminder that we're all old and this is not a young franchise anymore.
GROULX REPORT
16-year-old forward Olivier Groulx, acquired by the Sea Dogs from the Shawinigan Cataractes in the Vince Elie trade, was ranked 20th by HockeyProspect.com for the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft. He ended up going 22nd overall to the Cataractes.

Here's a piece of the scouting report on Groulx:

He is not a player who will wow you with his speed or dangling around players, but he is strong on the puck and plays the game the right way. He does not shy away from going into the dirty areas, he is able to maintain possession of the puck down low to make plays. He scored the majority of his goal by taking a rebound in the slot or by being around the net, ready to pounce or tip pucks. He has great working habits as he always finishes near the net following a shot or a scoring opportunity. He is able to elevate the puck quickly or manipulate it in tight areas as his puck handling is really good. As he is not a fast skater, he uses his intelligence to get ahead of the play offensively and defensively. He is always thinking and reacts rapidly in the defensive zone.

Hockey Prospect noted that the area of his game that needs improvement is his skating.

Groulx sits fourth in Quebec under-18 league scoring with 38 points (14 goals and 24 assists) in 27 games.

COLLEGE COMMIT
Defenseman Anthony Biakabutuka, who the Sea Dogs traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the Tyler Peddle deal, has committed to the NCAA's Holy Cross Crusaders.
The news isn't a huge surprise given that Biakabutuka has played US prep school hockey the past two seasons. In 10 games with Salisbury this year, the 17-year-old has five goals and seven assists.

Holy Cross, based in Worcester, Mass., plays in the Atlantic Hockey conference. 

QUICK HITS
  • The Telegraph-Journal (paywall) has a good recap of Saint John's trade period.
  • Former Sea Dogs goaltender Karel St. Laurent is working with Italy's national women's team as a goaltending advisor as the country prepares to host the 2026 Olympics.
  • A couple former Sea Dogs have committed to U Sports programs for next season: Zach Welsh with the Dalhousie Tigers and Mathis Gauthier with the McGill Redbirds.
  • The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies announced that defenseman Dyllan Gill is heading for surgery and will be out for an indefinite amount of time. Gill was a seventh-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 NHL Draft.
  • Lukas Cormier of Ste-Marie-de-Kent recently made his NHL debut with the Vegas Golden Knights. The former Charlottetown Islanders defenseman has a goal and 11 assists in 27 games with the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights this season.
  • The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is coming up on Jan. 24 in Moncton. Ticketmaster isn't showing a ton of tickets left, but not all tickets may have been released yet.
  • There will be a breakfast the morning of the Top Prospects Game that include a panel discussion featuring former Sea Dogs head coaches Gerard Gallant and Gardiner MacDougall.
  • Speaking of MacDougall, a story not getting enough attention is the UNB Reds, who are currently 20-0 with 10 regular season games remaining. The Reds came close to a perfect season in 2009-10, losing their final game and finishing 27-1. UNB's roster includes former Sea Dogs Kale McCallum and Nick Blagden.
  • The Wenatchee Wild are one of the best teams in the WHL right now but had to trade away Team Canada forwards Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie in order to refill their bank of draft picks. The Wild — formerly the Winnipeg Ice — traded away most of their picks for the next three drafts over the past couple seasons.
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