Notebook: Gallant to the KHL

Former Saint John Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant is officially off to the KHL.

Gallant was named the head coach of the Shanghai Dragons on Wednesday after several weeks of rumours, signing a two-year deal. It's the first coaching stint in the KHL for the 61-year-old.

The Dragons made the announcement with this rather awesome video.

THE MASTER IS HERE pic.twitter.com/0hAK9XYzuU

— Shanghai Dragons (@shadragons) August 13, 2025

The Dragons are formerly the Kunlun Red Star, who were based in Beijing prior to the pandemic. The club has played in Russia since 2020 and are expected to play in Saint Petersburg this year.

Gallant, who coached the Sea Dogs for three seasons from 2009 to 2012, hasn't had a full time coaching gig since the 2022-23 season when he led the New York Rangers.

Mike Kelly, shockingly, will be joining Gallant's staff as an assistant coach.

HLINKA UPDATE

Team Canada improved to 3-0 at this year's Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a 5-0 victory over Czechia on Wednesday.

The Canadians previously defeated Finland, 5-3, and Switzerland, 9-1. Canada will play the United States in Friday's semifinals. The gold and bronze medal games are set for Saturday.

Sea Dogs defenseman Cameron Chartrand has been held pointless so far at the tournament. Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard, meanwhile, is an assistant coach with the team.

NEW VENUES

Some Sea Dogs pre-season venues have changed yet again. 

The team's Aug. 23 and Aug. 28 games – both against the Newfoundland Regiment – will be held at Fredericton's Willie O'Ree Place. The two games were originally set to be played at Fredericton's Grant Harvey Centre and Lady Beaverbrook Rink, respectively.

Both games are Regiment "home" contests. Newfoundland will be holding the first portion of their training camp and entire pre-season schedule in Fredericton due to the Canada Games taking over most venues in the St. John's area.

Tickets to both games can be purchased online.

Zubek signs; two more added to pre-season roster

The Saint John Sea Dogs have officially signed defenseman Patryk Zubek.

Zubek, who was Saint John's second-round pick in this year's CHL Import Draft, was signed to a QMJHL scholarship and development agreement, the team announced Friday.

"As we continue to remodel our backend, Patryk is a big defender who we felt could bring consistent two-way play on our left side," said Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard in a release. "We know he’s excited to get started in Saint John, and we feel the same way. We’re looking forward to getting him immersed in our great community and having him play an important role on our team."

Listed at 6'3" and 207 lbs, Zubek posted eight goals and 12 assists in 31 games with Team Slovakia U18 this past season. He also played with Slovakia at the IIHF U18 World Championship where he appeared in seven games.

A citizen of both Slovakia and Poland, Zubek also recorded a goal and six assists in seven games with Barani Banská Bystrica U20 squad.

Zubek was one of three players the Sea Dogs selected in this year's Import Draft. In the first-round, the team picked Latvian forward Olivers Murnieks while in the third-round they drafted Swedish defenseman Max Vilén.

CHL teams are permitted to carry three overage players on their roster this season, up from the previous limit of two.

Pre-season schedule confirmed

The Saint John Sea Dogs will play seven pre-season games this year.

The team confirmed its exhibition schedule on Tuesday and it included a couple games that were not part of the list that was released a couple months ago.

The Sea Dogs will open pre-season play on Tuesday, Aug. 19 when they visit the Moncton Wildcats. That game was originally scheduled to be held at the UNIplex in Dieppe but it now shows as being played at the Avenir Centre.

The next night, the Sea Dogs will host the Wildcats in St. Stephen, which will be one of just two "home" pre-season games for Saint John.

The Dogs will then play three games in Fredericton – all of which, at this time, will be held at different venues.

Here's a look at Saint John's pre-season schedule, as of Aug. 5.

Tuesday, Aug. 19 at Moncton (Moncton Avenir Centre)

Wednesday, Aug. 20 vs Moncton (St. Stephen Garcelon Civic Center)

Friday, Aug. 22 at Moncton (Fredericton Aitken Centre)

Saturday, Aug. 23 at Newfoundland (Fredericton Grant Harvey Centre)

Thursday, Aug. 28 at Newfoundland (Fredericton Lady Beaverbrook Rink)

Friday, Sept. 5 vs Moncton (Woodstock AYR Motor Centre)

Saturday, Sept. 6 at Charlottetown (Charlottetown MacLaughlin Arena)

All games are 7 p.m. starts.

The Aug. 23 and Sept. 6 games were both additions to Saint John's pre-season schedule. The Aug. 28 match, meanwhile, was originally scheduled to be held at Summerside's Credit Union Place.

Fredericton's Lady Beaverbrook Rink, located at the bottom of the UNB campus, has never hosted a QMJHL pre-season game, to my knowledge. 

The Regiment currently have five pre-season games scheduled with four of them taking place in Fredericton. That includes a doubleheader against the Islanders on Aug. 22.

The seven pre-season games the Sea Dogs are scheduled to play in are the most for any Atlantic team. The Sea Dogs have played six pre-season games in each of the past two seasons.

Saint John begins regular season play at TD Station on Friday, Sept. 19 against the Cape Breton Eagles.

Peddle traded to Charlottetown

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Tyler Peddle has been traded to the Charlottetown Islanders.

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced Monday that the overage forward is off to Charlottetown in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick.

The move gives Peddle the chance to play a season with his younger brother, Brady Peddle. The younger Peddle, who is a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect, recently signed with the Islanders after spending last season with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks. Brady Peddle is committed to Michigan State for the 2026-27 season.

“Tyler is a player who plays the game the right way,” said Islanders head coach and general manager Jim Hulton in a news release. “He’s competitive, hard to play against, and brings the kind of experience and character we value.”

Peddle posted 15 goals and 14 assists in 54 games with Saint John last season. He had a hot start to the year but struggled to maintain that consistency. 

The Sea Dogs acquired Peddle from the Drummondville Voltigeurs during the 2023-24 holiday trade period. He registered 11 goals and seven assists in 28 games with Saint John in the second half of that season.

This will be Peddle's fifth season in the QMJHL. The second overall pick in the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft, he's recorded 73 goals and 64 assists in 248 career games.

Peddle was a seventh-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2023 NHL Draft but did not sign with the club. 

The Sea Dogs and Islanders meet in pre-season play on Sept. 6 in Charlottetown. They meet in the regular season for the first time on Oct. 10 at Eastlink Centre.

Chartrand named to Canada's Hlinka roster

Heather Pollock/Hockey Canada

Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Cameron Chartrand has been named to Team Canada's roster for the upcoming 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Chartrand was one of 25 players named to the team that will take part in the under-18 tournament from Aug. 11-16 in Czechia and Slovakia.

The 17-year-old is heading into his first season with the Sea Dogs. In 54 games with the Bishop Kearney Selects under-16 squad last year, Chartrand posted six goals and 46 assists. He also appeared in two games with the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

Chartrand and Sherbrooke Phoenix forward Thomas Rousseau were the only QMJHL players named to the team. Muskegon Lumberjacks forward and Fredericton native Tynan Lawrence, the younger brother for former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, was also named to the team.

Sea Dogs forward William Yared took part in the team's camp this week in Oakville, ON but did not crack the roster.

There will be one other Sea Dogs connection on this year's team: head coach and general manager Travis Crickard will be an assistant coach.

Canada's first game will be Aug. 11 against Finland. Czechia, Switzerland, Sweden, United States, Slovakia and Germany will also be taking part.