Notebook: Five Sea Dogs make NHL Central Scouting final rankings

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Five Saint John Sea Dogs were listed in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Olivers Murnieks, Cameron Chartrand, William Yared and Dylan Rozzi were all ranked amongst North American skaters while Rafaël Courchesne was listed amongst North American goaltenders.

98 - Olivers Murnieks

155 - Cameron Chartrand

172 - William Yared

195 - Dylan Rozzi

27 - Rafaël Courchesne

Penn State forward Gavin McKenna was the top-ranked skater. Quebec Remparts forward Maddox Dagenais was the top-ranked skater from the QMJHL at No. 15.

Fredericton's Tynan Lawrence, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, was ranked seventh.

The full rankings can be found here.

The 2026 NHL Draft takes place June 26-27.

JOSEPH NOMINATED

Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph was nominated for two QMJHL awards.

Joseph was nominated for the Michel-Bergeron Trophy, which is awarded annually to the offensive rookie of the year, and the Paul-Dumont Trophy, which is awarded to the personality of the year.

Victoriaville Tigres forward Egor Shilov won the Michel-Bergeron Trophy while Newfound Regiment president Glenn Stanford won the Paul-Dumont Trophy.

Jonathan Huberdeau won the Paul-Dumont Trophy in 2012 while Thomas Chabot won in 2017. No Sea Dog has ever won the Michel-Bergeron Trophy.

SUMMERSIDE ELIMINATED

The Summerside Western Capitals had their Maritime Junior Hockey League playoff run come to an end last week.

The Western Capitals fell 3-2 to the Truro Bearcats in Game 7 of the North Division final on Thursday in Summerside. The Bearcats advance to the MHL final where they'll face the Edmundston Blizzard.

Summerside is hosting this year's Centennial Cup national championship. Their first game is on May 7 against the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions.

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Matthew MacLean had an assist in Game 7, giving him a goal and six helpers in 14 playoff games. Goaltender Justin Robinson only made one appearance, going 0-1.

PORTAL HAPPENINGS

All three former Sea Dogs who entered the NCAA's transfer portal have found homes for the 2026-27 season.

As previously mentioned, Charles Savoie will play for the Lake Superior State Lakers this coming season after spending the 2025-26 campaign at Lindewood. Joining Savoie in Sault Ste. Marie (the Michigan one) will be defenseman Matteo Mann, who has departed from Colorado College.

LSSU plays in the CCHA and posted an 11-22-3 overall record last season.

Goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel, meanwhile, is staying in Atlantic Hockey and will play for the Niagara Purple Eagles. Gravel spent his freshman season at Mercyhurst University who have cut men's hockey.

JONES LEAVES VITO'S

Randy Jones has left his position as head coach and general manager of the under-18 Saint John Vito's, the team announced Sunday.

This would be noteworthy at any time, but it's even more noteworthy at the moment given the vacancies on the Sea Dogs coaching staff. We'll see if anything happens here.

MEM CUP HOSTS ELIMINATED

The Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets have been eliminated in the second round of the WHL playoffs.

The Rockets fell in five games to the top-seeded Everett Silvertips. Everett, the WHL's regular season champions, finished 32 points ahead of Kelowna in the standings.

At this point, it would be surprising if the Memorial Cup host won their league championship. Remarkably, no host has won a league title since the 2008 Kitchener Rangers.

For the 16th straight season the Memorial Cup host will not win their league championship.
The Everett Silvertips eliminate the Kelowna Rockets in 5 games.

— Steve McLean (@SteveMcLean888) April 18, 2026

OTHER THINGS

• A reminder that the QMJHL's draft lottery will take place on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. Atlantic.
• Mentioned this a few weeks ago but it's now official: Sea Dogs forward Maxime Côté will play at the Université de Moncton next season.
• Former Sea Dogs defenseman Christopher Inniss made his professional debut with the ECHL's Trois-Rivieres Lions this weekend, playing in two games. The Lions' season came to a close on Saturday as they did not qualify for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
• Kale McCallum, meanwhile, recorded a goal and five assists in eight games with the Lions. McCallum joined the ECHL squad following the conclusion of Providence College's season.
• Speaking of the ECHL, former Sea Dogs forward Nick Deakin-Poot has been released by the Fort Wayne Komets.

  The #Komets have released Nick-Deakin Poot ahead of the waiver deadline. He played 101 games between his two seasons in Fort Wayne.

  — James Krause (@jkrausepro) April 17, 2026

• 22-year-old Jake Rozzi, the older brother of Sea Dogs forward Dylan Rozzi, has transferred from Ohio State to St. Lawrence via the NCAA transfer portal. Rozzi had a goal and two assists in 10 games in his second season with the Buckeyes.
• TD Station will host the Founders Cup National Lacrosse Junior Championship Aug. 16-22, which could impact where the Sea Dogs hold parts of training camp.
• This might trigger some nightmares of the five-game first round series between the Sea Dogs and Rimouski Oceanic in 2022.

  Dale Derkatch - Regina Pats GM on the @sportscage talking about the WHL going to a best-of-five 1st round playoff series next season - part of the schedule increasing by a week. I had heard this was potentially in the works. Sounds like it's happening next season.

  — Jon Keen (@JonKeenNLSports) April 14, 2026

• With Alexis Cournoyer leaving Cornell and joining Wisconsin, Mathis Rousseau has left Maine to join Cornell.

  Maine G Mathis Rousseau has committed to Cornell out of the transfer portal. pic.twitter.com/9HdIC1R5c1

  — Jane McNally (@JaneMcNally_) April 19, 2026