Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Notebook: Lyons' improvement leads to selection

QMJHL
HALIFAX - A year ago, Brock Lyons was projected to be a fourth-round pick by QMJHL Central Scouting. The Saint John Vito's forward didn't hear his name called.

A year later, he was drafted by his hometown QMJHL team in the ninth-round. The improvements he made on the ice over the past year didn't go unnoticed by the Saint John Sea Dogs' scouting staff.

"Brock was a guy that we were looking at last year but we thought that his compete level was a little inconsistent," said Sea Dogs director of scouting Nick Lepore on Saturday following the conclusion of the QMJHL Entry Draft. "We saw the talent, we saw the skill. He's got size. He really has a lot of good tools. And then this year he really surprised us with his compete levels. Very consistent. It might be due to the fact that he was overlooked last year and he had a chip on his shoulder. He was really, really good all year."

Lyons, 17, posted 25 goals and 28 assists in 36 games with the Vito's. He also appeared in three games with the Maritime Junior Hockey League's Amherst Ramblers.

"We were following him all year. Last year we were kind of saying with Brock, if he steps up his compete level, he can be a very good player and he did that this year," added Lepore.

"By no means did we just select him because he's in Saint John. We really, really like the player. I think he can mix it up at camp as well and he can really force our hand maybe into something. He's a really good player with a lot of good tools and he has a lot of offense in his game as well. He is a shooter. Having him where we got him, it was a no brainer."

IMPORT DRAFT TALK
Up next for the Sea Dogs is the CHL Import Draft, which is scheduled to take place June 30.

The Sea Dogs have two first-round picks (their own along with one acquired from Blainville-Boisbriand) and Val-d'Or's second-round pick. The Import Draft is more about who you know than where you pick – but picking higher certainly helps.

One potential wrinkle for the Sea Dogs is around the status of Olivers Murnieks for 2026-27. Where he plays next season could come down to the preference of the NHL team that drafts him later this month.

"It depends what happens with Olivers and where he's drafted," said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie when asked if he'll pick three times. "I know Boston College would like to bring him in. We'll see what happens with the NHL Draft. Our plan is that we're going to have three imports in our lineup."

Murnieks committed to Boston College earlier this season. The Sea Dogs can still pick three times if they want to without releasing the Latvian forward. College committed players are placed on a special list.

ODELL TALK
A few comments on Carter Odell, the Halifax Macs forward that the Sea Dogs selected in the sixth-round.
DRAFT VID
The Sea Dogs shared this video from draft weekend.


FINAL DRAFT NOTES
Emptying the rest of my notebook from draft weekend...
  • The Sea Dogs confirmed that the Quebec Remparts still owe them a 2027 second-round pick, which will come at a later time.
  • Don't get the impression that the Sea Dogs are too stressed or in a huge rush to add overagers. Georgie said the team will see how things play out in the Import Draft and then see who is available and what the prices are like throughout the summer.
  • Also don't believe the Sea Dogs were too interested in getting involved in the Zaac Charbonneau situation, who had previously signed a tender agreement with the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks. Would be a big get for the Gatineau Olympiques – who haven't been making a lot of noise in this area in recent years – if he reports.
  • Asked if we could see a major free agent signing this summer like the Alexander Donovan signing a year ago. Doesn't sound like it – and there are obviously fewer impact Americans just floating around out there this year.
  • Defenseman Brodie Anderson, selected by the Sea Dogs in the seventh-round, is the son of Sea Dogs US scout Mike Anderson. The elder Anderson was part of the Minutemen Flames under-15 coaching staff this past season, a team that included Brodie Anderson and Sea Dogs ninth-round pick Will Torres.
  • Georgie was by far the most physically active general manager on the draft floor, seemingly walking over to just about every team's table throughout the event. Lepore, who previously worked with the Remparts, said it reminded him of Patrick Roy.

COUTURE TURNING PRO
Former Sea Dogs goaltender Thomas Couture is turning pro.

The Acadia Axemen shared Tuesday that Couture has signed with HC Merano in Italy. According to the Axemen, "HC Merano competes in the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL), a professional league based in Central Europe featuring teams from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. Established in 2016 through the merger of Italy’s Serie A and the Inter-National League, the AlpsHL has become one of Europe’s premier developmental professional circuits."

Couture has spent the past three seasons at Acadia and was named U Sports goaltender of the year this spring. He spent the second half of the 2021-22 season with the Sea Dogs, helping the team capture the Memorial Cup.

“I am extremely excited,” Couture said in the Axemen's release. “The last couple of months were extremely nerve-racking due to the uncertainty of next season for me. I knew that I would be moving on to the pros, but I had no idea where in the world. This made the agreement feel so much better and a lot of weight has certainly been taken off my shoulders.”

OTHER THINGS
  • The Sea Dogs will not be hosting a summer development camp this year.
  • Former Sea Dogs assistant coach Mark Lee has joined the Halifax Mooseheads. No official announcement has been made nor does he appear on the Mooseheads website, but Lee was sitting at Halifax's table during the QMJHL Entry Draft. Lee departed the Sea Dogs at the same time as Travis Crickard.
  • TD Station was ranked 37th in Stadium Journey's rankings of all (most, anyways) 61 CHL arenas.
  • Moncton Wildcats defenseman Tommy Bleyl confirmed at last weekend's NHL Draft Combine that he is returning to the QMJHL for a second season. A Michigan State commit, Bleyl finished eighth in league scoring – as a rookie defenseman – with 81 points 61 games.
  • What a season this is going to be in Atlantic Canada. It looks like every team – with the exception of Charlottetown – wants to contend in 2026-27.
  • The Val-d'Or Foreurs have confirmed that Philippe Veilleux will return to the QMJHL in 2026-27. The Northeastern University commit finished second in QMJHL scoring with 96 points in 64 games. The Foreurs will include former Sea Dogs Nolann Héroux and Arseni Radkov.
  • Le Journal de Quebec reports that Maddox Dagenais will return to the Remparts in 2026-27 following reports that he received an impressive financial offer from Penn State. It has been a rollercoaster of an off-season for the Remparts, one that is unlikely to quiet down thanks to the Carter Meyer situation.
  • Nice video from the QMJHL recapping the 2025-26 season.
  • The Wildcats' Sept. 5 pre-season game against Cape Breton is scheduled to be played at the Moncton Coliseum. The team has not played in their old home since leaving for the downtown Avenir Centre.
  • The QMJHL and OHL will play eight inter-league games this coming season, which involves Blainville-Boisbriand taking on Kingston in a matchup we haven't seen previously. There won't be any games involving Moncton or Halifax as previously hoped.
  • William Villeneuve, Cedric Pare and the Toronto Marlies will face the Chicago Wolves in the AHL's Calder Cup final. The Wolves defeated the Colorado Eagles 4-3 in Game 7 of the Western Conference final on Monday. The championship series begins Friday night in Chicago.
  • The OHL will hold its first in-person draft since 2000 this weekend in Kingston.
  • USA Hockey confirmed Tuesday that Duluth, MN will host the 2027 IIHF Under-18 Men's Championship. The 10-team tournament will feature all 29 games at AMSOIL Arena, home of University of Minnesota Duluth hockey.
  • Mayor's Manor has some insights on what markets the USHL may be targeting for expansion in California, Nevada and Arizona. 
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJune 10, 2026 at 9:55 PM

    Jamie Tozer ...... I will say without a doubt and bare none you are the most informative sportswriter. Station Nation provides us with stories that no other local papers or websites would ever think of covering. So informative and interesting stories.
    Please keep up the awesome coverage!!!!!
    AND A HUGE THANK YOU!!!!

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