Catching up

Finally back from a lovely trip out west. Not so lovely? The temperatures upon my return. Anyways, let's catch up on a few things that were missed during my travels.

• As Mikael Lalancette has reported, Quebec Remparts scout Nicolas Lepore is expected to be named Saint John's new head scout. He'll work under Travis Crickard, who took on the general manager role following the firing of Anthony Stella.
• From the info I've gathered, following Stella's firing, assistant general manager Justin Landry resigned. The team has since let go of head scout Marc-Olivier Heredia and scout Trevor Scott. 
• Old news now, but former Sea Dogs forward Noah Reinhart was traded by the Cape Breton Eagles to the Val-d'Or Foreurs on Oct. 21. The overager has a goal and an assist in two games with Val-d'Or.
• Also on Oct. 21, the Eagles traded the rights of overage forward Charles-Antoine Lavallee to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Lavallee, who had been playing with the Maritime Hockey League's Amherst Ramblers, has posted two goals and an assist in two games with the Sags. Lavallee attended Sea Dogs training camp on loan from the Eagles.
• The Sea Dogs officially announced on Oct, 17 that forward Dennis Lominac had been released. The 18-year-old forward was held pointless in seven games with Saint John. His name was removed from the team's roster soon after the signing of Zachary Morin.
• Lominac has since joined the Maritime Hockey League's Summerside Western Capitals. Lominac was named to the Eastlink South Division team of the week after posting two goals and four assists in two games.

  SIGNED! We are excited to announce the signing of 06 F Dennis Lominac. The Commerce Township, MI native suited up with the Sarnia Sting in the OHL last year and started this season with the Saint John Sea Dogs. Welcome to #CapsArmy Dennis! pic.twitter.com/hX5mVeK0IX

  — Summerside Capitals (@SsideCapitals) October 24, 2024

• As expected, Quebec City will host the 2025 QMJHL Entry Draft from June 6-7. Like this past year's event in Moncton, the first round will be held on the Friday night.
• The UNB Reds finally lost a game, falling 4-3 in overtime to the rival StFX X-Men on Friday. According to the Reds news release, "Friday's loss was UNB's first since March 7th, 2023, ending a 57-game winning streak, including regular season, post-season and exhibition games."
• Former Sea Dogs forward Peter Reynolds, in his rookie season with UNB, is currently tied for the Atlantic University Sport scoring lead with 13 points in eight games. He's also scored a league leading seven goals.

  AUS goal scoring leaders:
  
  1. Peter Reynolds
  2. Drew Elliott
  T3. Brady Burns
  T3. Cam MacDonald pic.twitter.com/90BNWQywft

  — Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) October 29, 2024

• Radio Canada has a brief update on the future of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Team supporters have reached out to the league regarding rumours of a sale and relocation to St. John's.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Marcus Cuomo recently spoke to Saltwire about the possibility of the QMJHL returning to St. John's.
• Some random takeaways from my trip:
• Wow, the new AHL venues in Henderson and Palm Desert and something else. The days of AHL teams popping up in available 3,000 seat rinks wherever they can find them are over.
• Really cool seeing how diverse some of the crowds were compared to what we see in this part of North America. There's no doubt we're going to start seeing more and more players with similar backgrounds to Auston Matthews.
• One thing that stood out from all the AHL venues I visited: season ticket members are treated really, really well. Exclusive pre-game events, exclusive giveaways each game, seat upgrades only for members and, yes, free parking in some cases.
• Are we sleeping on the Boise, Idaho hockey market? Couldn't believe the crowd and atmosphere for a Wednesday night game. 
• The Utah Hockey Club game day experience honestly didn't even feel real. What an interesting experience. I have no idea how they are going to fix the arena sightlines without essentially gutting much of the inside, but that's why I'm writing this and not working as an engineer.