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Sunday, July 20, 2025

Notebook: Sea Dogs attend USA Hockey Festival

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs
Three players with Saint John Sea Dogs connections recently took part in USA Hockey's Boys National 17 Festival in Amherst, NY.

Sea Dogs forward Matthew Krayer recorded a goal and two assists in six games with the Massachusetts District, who finished fourth at the event. Defensive prospect Brian McFadden, a seventh-round pick of Saint John in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft, was also part of that team and registered a goal in six games.

Both Krayer and McFadden recently took part in Sea Dogs development camp in Quispamsis.

Defenseman Oskar Drabczynski, a seventh-round pick of Saint John in this year's draft, registered two assists in six games with the New England District, who finished second.

According to USA Hockey, "the Boys National 17 Festival is a District team-based tournament format, but the priority is still to improve and showcase the players participating. Players will experience a competitive, age-specific environment with on-ice training (drills, small area games, competitions, etc.) and off-ice training (strength & conditioning, team building, mental skills, nutrition, classroom, etc.)."

CRICKARD NAMED TO HLINKA STAFF
Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard has been named an associate coach for Team Canada at this year's Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which will take place Aug. 11-16


Crickard recently completed his third season as the head coach of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs and was promoted to general manager in October 2024. He also spent time with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Ottawa 67’s (2013-14) and Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Kelowna Rockets (2014-19). Crickard has won three gold medals with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team at the IIHF U18 World Championship, twice as an assistant coach (2024, 2025) and once as a video coach in 2021. He also won a silver medal as the head coach of Canada Red at the 2024 U17 World Challenge. Crickard was an assistant coach for Canada’s men’s hockey team at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, finishing fourth. He was a member of Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge as a video coach (2016)—winning a silver medal—and an assistant coach in 2017.

Mathieu Turcotte will be the team's head coach. Rick Steadman of the London Knights will join Crickard behind the bench as an assistant.

Sea Dogs forward William Yared and defenseman Cameron Chartrand have both been invited to Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp later this month in Oakville.

POIRIER, KUZNETSOV RE-SIGN
Former Sea Dogs defensemen Jeremie Poirier and Yan Kuznetsov have both re-signed with the Calgary Flames, the team announced Thursday.

Kuznetsov signed a two-year, two-way deal (year one is a two-way, year two becomes a one-way) with an average annual value of $812,500 at the NHL level. From the Flames' news release:

Yan Kuznetsov, a native of Murmansk, RUS played 72 games for the Calgary Wranglers in 2024-25, posting a career-best 21 points from six goals and 15 assists while recording a team-best +21 this past season. Kuznetsov made his NHL debut during the 2023-24 season on January 9th against the Ottawa Senators.

Poirier inked a one-year, two-way deal with an AAV of $775,000 at the NHL level. From the Flames:

Jeremie Poirier, a native of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec was selected by Calgary in the third round (72nd overall) in the 2020 NHL draft. The 23-year-old suited up for 71 games for the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) last season, scoring five goals and adding 37 assists to help him record a career-best 42 points.

Both were part of Saint John's 2022 Memorial Cup championship squad.

LEBLANC JOINS KNIGHT MONSTERS
Former Sea Dogs defenseman Olivier LeBlanc has signed with the ECHL's Tahoe Knight Monsters for this coming season. The Knight Monsters are affiliated with the Vegas Golden Knights.


LeBlanc, 29, joins Knight Monsters after spending last season overseas with the Fife Flyers of the EIHL.  LeBlanc served as the team’s captain and totaled nine assists with 68 penalty minutes in 44 games played. The year prior, the 6'0", 175 lbs blueliner recorded nine assists in 38 games with Angers in France.

LeBlanc has appeared in 68 career ECHL games, playing with the Kalamazoo Wings and Florida Everblades.

The 29-year-old spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs before being dealt to Cape Breton. He also played with the UNB Reds following his junior career.

NCDC HAPPENINGS
Keeping an eye on some NCDC things.

The St. Stephen-based St. Croix Seawolves and the Blacks Harbour-based Eastern Charlotte Kingfishers will both play in the North Division of the NCDC's New England Conference. They'll be joined in that division by the Woodstock Slammers, Presque Isles Frontiers, Universel Quebec and... the Lewiston Maineiacs.


The MAINEiacs’ home arena will be The Colisee, an historic arena located in Lewiston, Maine. They will compete in the North Division within the New England Conference. The addition of the MAINEiacs will provide a track to college hockey for players from Maine and beyond in what has historically been a strong junior hockey market.

MAINEiacs Owner Nate Bostic, a former junior hockey player himself, is excited about joining the NCDC, which has seen more than 210 NCAA college commitments this season, and counting. The MAINEiacs are resurrecting the name of the former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (“QMJHL”) team which operated at the 4,000-seat Colisee from 2003 through 2011. 

“We are looking forward to building upon the legacy of high-level junior hockey in Lewiston. This community has a well-established hockey culture dating back to the 1930s, and the fan base has always been supportive of their home team,” said Bostic.

It sounds like the Maineiacs will be the main tenant at The Colisee as things are not looking good for the NAHL's Maine Nordiques.

Ed Harding, a former coach and general manager of the QMJHL's Maineiacs, has been named an assistant coach with the club. Harding was a USA scout with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar this past season.

In other news, the Kingfishers have named former Slammers assistant coach Kyle Adams the club's head coach and general manager. Adams most recently worked in the NOJHL.

Both the Seawolves and Kingfishers will hold a selection camp at St. Stephen's Garcelon Civic Center from July 25-27.

OTHER THINGS
  • Sea Dogs forward Darien Reynolds is the winner of Hockey Nova Scotia's Bill Riley Award.
  • The QMJHL website has a feature on Saint John's overagers from last season.
  • The full list of free agent invites coming to Sea Dogs training camp has been released. It's noted that Luc-Alexandre Sedawey, an 18-year-old from Quebec who played US prep school hockey last season, will not attend due to injury. It's also been confirmed that overage forward Natan Éthier will attend camp on a loan from the Shawinigan Cataractes. 
  • The Halifax Mooseheads have lost their head coach to the AHL. After one season with the Mooseheads, Andrew Lord has accepted a head coaching job with the AHL's Ontario Reign. Brad MacKenzie has since been promoted from associate coach to head coach of the Mooseheads.
  • A huge sigh of relief for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada: star forward Justin Carbonneau, a St. Louis Blue first-round pick, will return to the QMJHL for the 2025-26 season. Reports indicated he was deciding between the Armada and Boston College.
  • Dominic Pilote of the Newfoundland Regiment has committed to UMass for the 2026-27 season. 
  • Sounds like Cole Chandler of the Shawinigan Cataractes – a fifth-round pick of the Boston Bruins in this year's NHL Draft – has committed to Boston-based Northeastern University for 2026-27.
  • 20-year-old forward Maël St-Denis, who was recently traded to the Val-d'Or Foreurs, will play for Clarkson University this fall. It sounds like the Foreurs will receive some compensation for this.
  • Cool to see the Canada Games Stadium on the UNBSJ campus packed for the Halifax Wanderers U21 game against the Wrexham U19 squad last weekend.
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