Notebook: It's game week

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The time has come.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season begins this week and it will feature the Saint John Sea Dogs playing two home games. The Sea Dogs will host the Cape Breton Eagles both Friday and Saturday night at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs were 12-20-0-0 on home ice last season, a record they'll look to improve this season.

The team has a number of events planned for inside and outside the arena this weekend.

The QMJHL's regular season will officially begin on Thursday when the defending league champion Moncton Wildcats visit the Newfoundland Regiment. It will be the first QMJHL game to be played in St. John's since 2008.

BALDWIN SCORES

Sea Dogs defenseman Everett Baldwin scored in the Tampa Bay Lightning's 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday at the Tampa-hosted Prospect Tournament.

Prep last year, NHL rookie tourney the next. Nice to see Everett Baldwin get on the board for Tampa in their game vs Carolina pic.twitter.com/ENnalfrdac

— Robert Chalmers (@IvanIvanlvan) September 15, 2025

The Lightning finished the three-game tournament with a 2-1 record, recording wins over the Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.

SCOUTING CHANGES

The Sea Dogs announced a number of changes to their scouting department recently.

• Nicolas Lepore has been promoted to director of scouting; Marc-André Roussel to senior advisor and head Quebec scout; and Tim Smith to head Atlantic scout.
• Charles Lassonde and Maxime Hamelin have been hired as Quebec regional scouts; Ryan English as an Atlantic regional scout; and Mike Anderson as a U.S. regional scout.
• Anderson, notably, had been general manager of the Boston Junior Bruins program since 2008 and played at the University of Connecticut from 1997 to 2001, serving as team captain in his final year.
• Contracts have been extended for Quebec regional scouts Sean Mundey and Chris Hatzitolios along with U.S. regional scout Bob Beveridge, Ontario scout Tyler Brown and special assignment scout Wayne Mundey.

You can see the updated scouting staff on the Sea Dogs' website.

FIGHT VIDEO

Some good video from Saint John's final pre-season game in Charlottetown – which included a couple fights involving Zachary Morin and Jacob Beaulieu.

STOESSER LANDS IN BCHL

Overage goaltender Rhett Stoesser has signed with the BCHL's Cowichan Valley Capitals.

Stoesser was added to Saint John's pre-season roster as a free agent invite in early August but was released by the club on Aug. 23. He appeared in one pre-season game with Saint John, stopping 21 of 22 shots in just over 30 minutes of action.

The Alberta native has spent the past three seasons in the WHL.

“It was more the opportunity that he became available.” said Capitals head coach and general manager Cam Keith in a news release. “It was one of those situations that you [couldn’t look past], he’s a three year WHL experienced goalie, and we believe he’s a guy that can be a difference maker in this league.”

The Capitals begin BCHL regular season play on Friday when they visit the Surrey Eagles.

OTHER THINGS

• The QMJHL website looks at three questions facing the Sea Dogs heading into the regular season.
• TD Station has extended its box office hours this week – which is probably a good thing given how few tickets have been sold for this weekend's home games.

  TD Station box office hours have been extended this week!
  
  Season Ticket Members who requested printed tickets can pick them up starting tomorrow at 10 a.m.
  
  Single-game tickets can also be purchased online 24/7 at https://t.co/69DboWnrDC.#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/hWUWay0qE9

  — Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) September 15, 2025

• The Sea Dogs won't play a single Tuesday game this season – but they will play 11 Thursday matches, with nine of those being road games (and another being one of the Fredericton "home" games).
• Strong starts to the Maritime Junior Hockey League season for former Sea Dogs forwards Coen Miller (two goals and two assists in two games) of the Summerside Western Capitals and Ben Cross (one goal and three assists in two games) of the Chaleur Lightning.
• Sea Dogs draft picks Jamie Glance (under-18) and Finnegan Sears (under-17) of the USNTDP have both gotten their seasons underway. Glance, a 2027-28 Boston University commit, has a goal in two games while Sears, a 2027-28 Boston College commit, has a goal and an assist in two contests.