Notebook: Crickard takes silver at U17

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard is back with the team after helping Team Canada Red win silver at the U17 World Challenge in Sarnia.

Canada Red won both of their preliminary round games and earned a bye to the semifinals where they defeated the United States 7-3. In the gold medal game, Red fell 3-1 to Team Canada White.

Along with Crickard, Red's roster included Sea Dogs draft pick Cameron Chartrand, who posted two assists in four games. The 16-year-old defenseman is committed to Boston College, but the recent NCAA rule change has certainly increased hope that he may report to Saint John. Chartrand is currently playing US prep school hockey with the Bishop Kearney Selects.

Eastern Canadian players stat lines at the U17 World Hockey Challenge:

Tynan Lawrence 5GP- 3G 3A
Chad Lygitsakos 4GP- 3G
Cameron Chartrand 4GP- 2A
Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte 5GP- 2A
Maddox Dagenais 4GP- 1A
Romain L’Italien 5GP-
Jayden Plouffe 5GP-

— Austin Robson (@ARobScouting) November 10, 2024

HENRY SIGNS
Sea Dogs draft pick Joshua Henry has committed to Lindenwood University for the 2027-28 season.

Lindenwood is one of the lesser known NCAA Division I schools, playing as an independent in the St. Louis suburbs. 

It's not often a player from the Maritime Hockey League commits to a Division I program. He has three assists in 12 games with the Fredericton Red Wings this season.

Henry, a 16-year-old defenseman, was a sixth-round pick of Saint John in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft. He played at Rothesay Netherwood last year.

DRAPEAU TO BCHL

While more and more players are departing the BCHL for the CHL, former Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Drapeau is heading the other way.

The defenseman – who will turn 20 on Dec. 28 – has signed with the West Kelowna Warriors after appearing in 11 games with the Val-d'Or Foreurs this year.

"Nathan brings experience and poise to our back end," said Warriors head coach and general manager Simon Ferguson in a news release. "He’s a Memorial Cup champion who can quarterback our power play and play in all situations. He’s a highly-coveted player and we expect him to play a big role for us.”

Drapeau spent two seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the club win the Memorial Cup in 2022.

He has spent the past two seasons in Val-d'Or. He did not play when the Foreurs visited Saint John a couple weeks ago.

EXPANSION TALK

Talk of the QMJHL expanding to 20 teams within the next few years continues to be a hot topic.

QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini has not been shy about the possibility of the league returning to the United States. He spoke with The Hockey News and Saltwire recently, and it sounds like the league is looking all over New England for potential landing spots.

The most obvious locations continue to be two markets that are very familiar to long-time Saint John hockey fans: Portland, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire. Portland currently has an ECHL franchise (which obviously complicates things) while Manchester has been without a hockey team for a few years now.

Well-connected New England source tells me Manchester and Portland are the cities to watch re QMJHL expansion

— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) November 15, 2024

The QMJHL – and CHL as a whole – would be wise to get into New England before the USHL eventually spreads east.

PINK IN THE RINK
The Sea Dogs will be holding their "Pink in the Rink" Weekend next week when the club hosts the Charlottetown Islanders on Nov. 22 and Nov. 23.

According to a news release, "Sea Dogs players will once again be wearing special, limited-edition pink jerseys during the game which will be available for purchase through in-arena raffles and online auction."

Pink jerseys loading... 🩷🏒

Use code "PINK" for discounted tickets to Pink in the Rink Weekend, November 22 & 23! $5 from every ticket purchased going to Breasts Ahoy.

🎟️ » https://t.co/dCVjFxpZIl#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/Y4fvXOuBig

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) November 13, 2024

Friday will be Saint John's first home game since Nov. 3.

OTHER THINGS

• The Sea Dogs return to action on Saturday, visiting the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at 7 p.m.
• Sea Dogs captain Eriks Mateiko now has 13 goals in 19 games this season. He had 23 in 49 games last year.
• Wildcats goaltender Jacob Steinman has committed to Bowling Green University for the 2025-26 season. He's believed to be the first QMJHL player to commit to an NCAA school while playing in the league. Bowling Green is coached by Dennis Williams, who led Canada to world junior gold in 2023.
• TSN picked up the Midco Sports broadcast of the Denver/North Dakota game on Friday. There haven't been any regular season CHL games on TSN this year and last year there were none. Something just isn't right here.