Talking 'bout games played

HALIFAX - Something to consider about the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's upcoming schedule reduction: it just became harder to break a lot of team and league records.

The QMJHL will be moving to a 64-game schedule next season, a reduction of four games from the 68-game schedule the league has had since 2008.

The most obvious record that will become more challenging: games played. 

The Saint John Sea Dogs franchise record for games played belongs to Spencer Smallman, who played 293 games over five seasons. Players entering the league next season could reach a maximum of 320 games if they play five seasons. Smallman's record could still be broken, but there is less room for error now.

One Sea Dogs record that likely won't be broken anytime soon: games played in a single season. Saint John played three 70-game seasons when the franchise was born and a number of players — some big names at that — played full seasons.

Only two Sea Dogs have played in all 57 games with the team this year: Pavel Simek and Nicolas Bilodeau.

On the topic of games played, it's worth noting that Brody Fournier could become a statistical oddity this year. Because of the uneven amount of games Saint John and Halifax had played at the time of his acquisition, Fournier could end up playing in 70 games this regular season. He's appeared in 59 with 11 games left to play.

The league record for games played in a single season? One of the players listed above: Jonathan Laberge, who played in 76 games in 2007-08 split between Cape Breton and Bathurst.