Mikaël Lalancette of Le Soleil reported Sunday that Jim Hulton will be Saint John's new head coach while the team will also trade for Rouyn-Noranda Huskies goaltender Samuel Meloche.
Des grosses nouvelles en rafale dans ma chronique:
— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) May 31, 2026
- Jim Hulton dirigera les Sea Dogs;
- Mateo Nobert s’en va à Halifax;
- L’Armada choisira au 3e rang vendredi;
- Samuel Meloche à Saint-Jean.
Les détails:https://t.co/LeahfBGSFK
Hulton left the Charlottetown Islanders last week "to pursue new opportunities" while Meloche is projected to be one of the league's top goaltenders in 2026-27.
Solidifying coaching and goaltending are just a couple of the many questions facing the Sea Dogs this off-season. Here's a look at some of the questions that will be answered this week and in the months ahead.
Who will coach the Sea Dogs?
This is the biggest and most important question facing the Sea Dogs this off-season. As we've seen over the past decade, a roster full of stars will only go so far. The right coach (and coaching staff) is essential to making this thing click.
Ideally, a head coach would have already been in place at this point in the off-season. But, as we've seen in the past, the Sea Dogs do not rush this process. Here's when the last four head coaches were named (note that some of the dates are odd due to COVID):
Josh Dixon - hired Sept. 8, 2017Greg Gilbert - hired June 19, 2020Gordie Dwyer - hired Aug. 4, 2021Travis Crickard - promoted Aug. 5, 2022
Assuming the Hulton hiring does end up happening – what a get for Saint John. Hulton, a two-time QMJHL coach of the year, is well known for getting his teams to play two-way hockey and there is certainly a need for a coach that can get this group to commit to a system and play better defensively.
Who stays, who goes?
We know Alexander Donovan is returning for another season, which is a huge piece. The NCAA rule change has created plenty of uncertainty as players could stay in junior longer than originally expected or leave earlier than anticipated. We'll have to wait and see how everything plays out with Saint John's committed players over the next few weeks and months.
There's also the potential for trades, of course. Saint John essentially rebuilt their entire defense core last off-season. Could we see more significant changes or will the team lean more into running it back? Let's not forget that Trevor Georgie was not the club's general manager last summer.
The Sea Dogs are expected to make a few deals when the trade period opens this week.
Who else is coming in?
The Donovan signing last summer proved to be a huge addition for the Sea Dogs. Could we see another major free agent signing? Many teams around the league have been announcing the arrivals of American players.
Those big signings could be free agents or players on Saint John's current protected list. Getting Jamie Glance or Finnegan Sears to report would be huge.
Carter Meyer veut venir jouer pour les Remparts. Il a demandé sa libération au programme de développement américain, et à USA Hockey.
— Kevin Dubé (@KDubeJDQ) May 30, 2026
Mais l'obtiendra-t-il ?
Des agents surveillent de très près ce dossier.https://t.co/aZqrqCgSXk
What will draft weekend bring?
The elephant in the room is Alexis Joseph. Nobody is going to come out and say it of course, but I think must of us agree that 2026-27 will likely be his last in the QMJHL given the options that will be available to him.
Given that, it creates some urgency for the Sea Dogs. Joseph will likely be one of the best players in the league next season and trying to contend while he's here seems like the ideal thing to do. This creates the question: should the Sea Dogs look at trading picks for players that help them contend right now? This isn't something the franchise has done a lot of at the draft, but you have to consider it.
Moncton will be bringing in even more American born kids than last season. Big part of why Bleyl is staying.
— Greg Macdonald (@gmacsask) May 31, 2026
Charlottetown and Newfoundland going to keep picks. Trust their development.
Saint John all-in as likely last year with Joseph. Don’t be surprised to see more trades. https://t.co/dBfjbjYKLY
If anything, it creates more excitement and intrigue around Saint John's draft table.
Imports and overagers situation
The Sea Dogs' current pre-season roster only has two 2006-born players on it: American forward JJ Monteiro, who is expected to play college hockey in the fall, and Swedish defenseman Carl-Otto Magnusson, who is committed to play at UConn this coming season.
Saint John is expected to acquire overage forward Olivier Lemieux from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada this week.
For imports, Magnusson, goaltender Arseni Radkov and forward Olivers Murnieks could all return. Magnusson seems unlikely given that he would take up both an overager and import slot (and he was a healthy scratch for a playoff game) while Radkov is certainly questionable given the Meloche news and his NCAA plans.
In short: there is a lot of room for possibilities here.
Annual goaltending discussion
It wouldn't be an off-season without discussing Saint John's goaltending situation – but adding Meloche pretty much answers the question of who will be the team's No. 1.
Both Radkov and Rafaël Courchesne are eligible to return next season. Both were hot-and-cold at times in the second half but could be suitable No. 2 netminders. There are some complications in keeping Radkov – plus he takes up an import spot.
Saint John also has 17-year-old Jase MacPherson who is no doubt itching to earn a roster spot. He spent last season with the Kensington Wild.
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