Game Day 1 & 2: at Newfoundland

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

ST. JOHN'S, NL - The Saint John Sea Dogs open up the 2026-27 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season this weekend at Mary Brown's Centre.

The Sea Dogs enter the season with a lot of hype around them. They are ranked seventh in the CHL Top-10 pre-season rankings and most predict the team to be a top-four club in the QMJHL. Tonight, the team will start to try and live up to that hype – and they'll do so in a building they struggled in last season.

Saint John went 0-6-2-0 against the Newfoundland Regiment last season, which included going 0-4-0-0 in St. John's. The Sea Dogs and Regiment will play tonight and tomorrow with both games starting at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic.

The Regiment are flying under the radar a bit this season thanks to Atlantic Canada being so loaded with contenders this season. That's a bit dangerous, especially when you consider the likes of Benjamin Veitch, Quinn Norman and Louis-Antoine Denault taking steps forward this season.

Stream/TV/Radio: FloHockey/None/None

2026-27 regular season records: These are the first games of the regular season for both the Sea Dogs and Regiment.

2026 pre-season records: The Sea Dogs were 2-2-0-0 for four points while the Regiment went 3-2-0-0 for six points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-3 pre-season loss to the Halifax Mooseheads on Sept. 4. Alexander Donovan, Zachary Morin and Oliver Ozogany scored for Saint John. Samuel Meloche made 19 saves in the loss. The Regiment are coming off a 5-1 pre-season win over the OHL's Saginaw Spirit on Aug. 31. Louis-Francois Belanger scored twice for Newfoundland while Benjamin Veitch, Matthew Frost and Ryan Dwyer added singles. Louis-Antoine Denault made 34 stops in the win.

Notebook: Joseph, Glance named to QMJHL Prospects Game roster

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Two Saint John Sea Dogs were among the first players to earn invites to October's QMJHL Prospects Game.

Sea Dogs forwards Alexis Joseph and Jamie Glance have both been selected to take part in the event. The roster is selected by NHL Central Scouting.

Carter Meyer and Patrick Déniger of the Quebec Remparts along with Malik L’Italien of the Halifax Mooseheads and Vladimir Shtyrkhunov of the Shawinigan Cataractes were also named to the event's roster on Thursday.

“Alexis, Jamie, Carter, Malik, Vladimir and Patrick have very bright futures ahead of them, and on October 28, they will have the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of approximately 100 National Hockey League scouts and executives,” said QMJHL vice-president of hockey operations Éric Chouinard in a news release.

This will be the second year for the event, which includes the top players available for that season's NHL Draft. Six Sea Dogs took part in last year's game: Olivers Murnieks, Zachary Morin, William Yared, Dylan Rozzi, Cameron Chartrand and Rafaël Courchesne.

This year's event will be held Oct. 28 in Gatineau.

OPENING NIGHT

The Sea Dogs have had quite a bit of success in season openers of late.

The team in 4-1-0-0 in their last five season openers. Two of those five games were on the road – and, technically, against the Newfoundland Regiment franchise (previously the Acadie-Bathurst Titan). The Sea Dogs open the 2026-27 regular season on Friday in Newfoundland.

2025: 3-2 win vs Cape Breton

2024: 3-0 loss vs Moncton

2023: 6-4 win at Bathurst

2022: 4-3 win at Bathurst

2021: 4-2 win vs Charlottetown

Zachary Morin, Olivier Duhamel and William Yared all scored in Saint John's season opener last year. Justin Robinson made 29 stops in the win.

The Sea Dogs have never opened a season in Newfoundland. They did host the St. John's Fog Devils in the club's inaugural game in 2005.

Can Sea Dogs find St. John's success?

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

There's really no way to sugarcoat it: the Saint John Sea Dogs have not played well in St. John's.

The Sea Dogs will open the 2026-27 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season at their house of horrors – the Mary Brown's Centre – on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic. The two will battle the next night in St. John's as well.

The Sea Dogs made two trips to Newfoundland last season and lost all four games. They were outscored 23-8.

Saint John 3 @ Newfoundland 6 (Oct. 24 2025)

Saint John 1 @ Newfoundland 5 (Oct. 25 2025) 

Saint John 3 @ Newfoundland 7 (Feb. 11 2026)

Saint John 1 @ Newfoundland 5 (Feb. 12 2026) 

At home and away, the Sea Dogs went a combined 0-6-2-0 against Gordie Dwyer's squad last season. 

Struggling in St. John's is nothing new for the Sea Dogs. The team is 2-13-0-0 all-time in the building, which includes results against the Regiment and St. John's Fog Devils.

2005-06: 0-6-0-0 (0-4-0-0 at St. John's) 

2006-07: 3-3-0-0 (0-2-0-0 at St. John's) 

2007-08: 4-4-0-0 (2-3-0-0 at St. John's)

2025-26: 0-6-2-0 (0-4-0-0 at St. John's)

The Sea Dogs have not won a game in Newfoundland since Jan. 3, 2008.

The 2007-08 Sea Dogs team was the only one to win a game in St. John's. That team reached the QMJHL's final four. A win this weekend –  or, if you're feeling positively greedy, a sweep – could be the ultimate positive vibe to start this new season.

The Sea Dogs also travel to Newfoundland Feb. 11-12.

Dogs open season ranked 7th in CHL Top 10

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The hype surrounding the 2026-27 Saint John Sea Dogs continues to grow.

In the pre-season edition of the CHL Top-10 rankings – released on Wednesday – the Sea Dogs were ranked seventh. Only two other QMJHL teams cracked the rankings and both play in the Eastern Conference: the Cape Breton Eagles at No. 2 and the Quebec Remparts at No. 8.

The Memorial Cup host Guelph Storm were ranked first.

This is the first time the Sea Dogs have appeared in the CHL Top-10 rankings since the final weeks of 2021-22 regular season.

Here's what the CHL website said about the Sea Dogs:

Saint John’s playoff-series drought dates back to its 2017 QMJHL championship run, though the club captured the Memorial Cup as host in 2022. With an experienced core and a busy offseason, the Sea Dogs appear poised not only to end that drought, but to challenge for their first QMJHL title in a decade. Top 2027 NHL Draft prospect Alexis Joseph (24G-36A in 54 GP) leads an attack reinforced by former U.S. National Team Development Program forward Jamie Glance and CHL Import Draft picks Matyas Cancik and Oliver Ozogany. The club’s top-three scorers from last season—Joseph, Alexander Donovan (25G-28A in 63 GP) and Olivier Groulx (20G-46A in 64 GP)—all return, while former eighth-overall QMJHL pick Dylan Rozzi (20G-25A in 64 GP) is another breakout candidate. The Sea Dogs rebuilt their defense by adding former fourth-overall pick Thomas Charbonneau (2G-9A in 48 GP), Brandon Delarosbil (8G-14A in 60 GP) and veteran Julien Lanthier (3G-12A in 43 GP) to a group led by Olivier Duhamel (5G-21A in 58 GP). Buffalo Sabres fourth-rounder Samuel Meloche gives that revamped blue line an established goaltender behind it.

The Sea Dogs open the QMJHL regular season on Friday against the Newfoundland Regiment at the Mary Brown's Centre.

Saint John won't have to wait long to face another one of the CHL's most hyped teams. The Dogs will host the Eagles on Sept. 26 and visit Sydney on Oct. 2. The two will meet eight times in the regular season but only twice after the holiday trade deadline.

The Sea Dogs will face the Remparts Nov. 12 at TD Station and March 12 in Quebec City.

Opening night roster unveiled

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs unveiled their opening night roster on Wednesday.

The Sea Dogs will start the 2026-27 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season with a roster of 24 players: two goaltenders, nine defensemen and 13 forwards.

The final roster comes with no surprises. As mentioned, the team is expected to open the season at nearly full strength. Defenseman Olivier Duhamel is expected to remain on the injured list for a couple months, which is likely the reason for the team opting to keep nine defenders for the time being.

Introducing your 2026-27 #SJSeaDogs opening night roster 🐶🌊

🗞️ » https://t.co/UYfXKhdMFA
🎟️ » https://t.co/HddIyY3yaQ#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/DbXjNoMxW8

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) September 16, 2026

Only 12 of these 24 players ended last season with the Sea Dogs. The team had a busy summer bolstering its lineup – and it feels like more changes could come over the next few months.

The Sea Dogs will start the season with just two overagers (forward Olivier Lemieux and defenseman Julien Lanthier) and two imports (forwards Matyas Cancik and Oliver Ozogany), leaving the team with some roster flexibility.

Along with Cancik and Ozogany, the Sea Dogs also selected defenseman Vertti Svensk in this summer's CHL Import Draft but he remains in Finland playing pro hockey. Defenseman Lawrence Williams is the lone member of Saint John's 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft class to start the season with the club.

Cancik, Ozogany and Williams join highly touted American forward Jamie Glance as the lone players on Saint John's roster without any QMJHL experience.

The Sea Dogs open the regular season on Friday night when they visit the Newfoundland Regiment in the first of back-to-back games.

Sea Dogs appear close to full strength

It looks as though the Saint John Sea Dogs will be close to full strength when the 2026-27 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season opens on Friday.

The Buffalo Sabres announced Tuesday that Sea Dogs goaltender Samuel Meloche has been reassigned back to junior. The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Sabres in the 2025 NHL Draft and had been attending the team's rookie camp, which included seeing some action in a game against Boston Bruins rookies.

With NHL training camps shortened by the increased 84-game season, many players like Meloche probably won't get main camp invites like they once did.

Two other Sea Dogs attended NHL rookie camps last weekend: Alexander Donovan joined the Montreal Canadiens while Ryan Howard earned a Winnipeg Jets invite. Both the Habs and Jets prospects played in a tournament with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators in Gatineau over the weekend.

Neither Donovan nor Howard earned invites to their team's main camp.

On the injury front, the only Sea Dogs player expected to be out long term is defenseman Olivier Duhamel. The 18-year-old is expected to miss the first couple months of the season.

In short, the Sea Dogs will be close to full strength when they open the season in St. John's on Friday night. Game time against the Newfoundland Regiment is 6:30 p.m. Atlantic.

Of note, it looks like the team will start the season with just two overagers (forward Olivier Lemieux and defenseman Julien Lanthier) and two imports (forwards Matyas Cancik and Oliver Ozogany). The Saint John lineup that starts the season likely won't be the same as the one that finishes it.

Notebook: Single game tickets now available

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Single game tickets to every Saint John Sea Dogs home game are now on sale.

Tickets to all 32 home games went on sale Monday at noon. The team had previously announced season ticket details.

Here's a look at the total single game ticket prices – which includes the lovely service and order processing fees – for each age demographic.

Adult: $26

Senior: $25

25 and under: $21

9 and under: $17

It looks like total ticket prices (which, again, include fees and taxes) are pretty similar to what they have been in recent seasons.

One change is that it does appear fans can purchase any seat in the upper bowl this season (with the exception of most end zone seating). Last season, the top half of most upper bowl sections could not be purchased until ticket sales volume required it. 

IT'S GAME WEEK

The Sea Dogs will play regular season hockey this week.

Saint John will open the season on the road this Friday and Saturday, visiting Gordie Dwyer and the Newfoundland Regiment. The Sea Dogs struggled at Mary Brown's Centre last season, going 0-4, and will likely be playing in front of a capacity crowd on Friday.

Both teams will be well rested. The Regiment last played a pre-season game on Aug. 31 while the Sea Dogs haven't played since Sept. 4.

The Sea Dogs will play their first home games the following weekend. Saint John hosts the Moncton Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 25 and the Cape Breton Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Some Sunday stuff

MIRAMICHI, NB - We're still a few days away from the start of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season, but the Maritime Junior Hockey League campaign is already underway.

Here are a few MHL updates from the weekend – plus a few other notes.

• Some updates on Sea Dogs prospects in the MHL:
• Brock Lyons had an impressive opening weekend, posting two goals and two assists in two games with the Amherst Ramblers, placing him 12th in league scoring (and tied for first amongst rookies). He scored his first career MHL goal on Thursday and added another on Saturday.

  Brock with a beauty!! pic.twitter.com/KpKufDHFUL

  — Amherst JrA Ramblers (@AmherstRamblers) September 12, 2026

• I was in Miramichi on Sunday where Eliot Tozer netted his first career MHL goal with the Timberwolves – a game that saw the Grand Falls Rapids erase a 4-1 deficit in a 5-4 overtime victory. Tozer also posted an assist on Saturday.
• Samuel Pitcher saw action in two of the West Kent Steamers' three games. Pitcher came on in relief Friday, allowing a goal on 10 shots in 20 minutes of play. On Saturday, Pitcher got his first start and allowed five goals on 48 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Valley Wildcats. The Steamers are off to a 0-3 start.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Jonah Leard is wearing the captain's 'C' for Grand Falls.
• As mentioned, former Sea Dogs forwards Dylan and Matthew Krayer have joined the USHL's Tri-City Storm. The two were listed on the Storm's top line for a pre-season game last week.
• Sea Dogs prospect Finnegan Sears has a goal and two assists in two games – both against the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks – with the USNTDP under-18 squad. Sears has been on the team's top line.

  Sears bringing us to 3-2 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LYrvFOUOy2

  — USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) September 12, 2026

• The USHL's regular season begins Wednesday with the Fall Classic, which is being held in Chicago this year.

Three Sea Dogs get NHL rookie camp invites

Three Saint John Sea Dogs will attend National Hockey League rookie camps this weekend.

Goaltender Samuel Meloche, a fourth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2025 NHL Draft, is off to Sabres camp. Forwards Alexander Donovan and Ryan Howard will attend Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets rookie camps, respectively, on a free agent basis.

The Sabres will host the Boston Bruins prospects for a pair of games on Sunday and Monday.

The Times Herald reports that Meloche will likely start one of Buffalo's games against Boston. The Times Herald also reports that Meloche expects to join Northeastern University next fall.

“It’s great for everyone, especially goaltenders, because as we know, it takes longer to develop,” Meloche said. “… It’s advantageous for everyone that you don’t have to rush to sign your contract and turn pro early. You can (have) a couple more years to develop and keep growing your game.”

The Canadiens and Jets will both participate in the NHL Prospect Challenge in Gatineau this weekend. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators will also take part.

The Jets and Habs will meet on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, Winnipeg will play Toronto while Montreal will face Ottawa.

Sea Dogs prospect Brian McFadden, meanwhile, will take part in Washington Capitals rookie camp. McFadden, who is playing with the USHL's Chicago Steel this season, was a fifth-round pick of the Caps in this year's NHL Draft.

Former Sea Dogs forward Eriks Mateiko will also participate in Capitals rookie camp. A 2024 draft pick of Washington, Mateiko missed a large chunk of last season with an Achilles injury. 

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Max Vilen, who the team traded to the Moncton Wildcats last season, will attend Tampa Bay Lightning rookie camp. Vilen was a seventh-round pick of Tampa Bay in this summer's NHL Draft.

Videos: Beaulieu fights again in WHL pre-season

Two games, two fights for Jacob Beaulieu.

Making his second appearance of the Western Hockey League pre-season, Beaulieu dropped the gloves with Luke Warrener of the Medicine Hat Tigers early in the second period. The Broncos went on to win the game 4-3 in a shootout.

Beaulieu, a 20-year-old free agent invite at Swift Current Broncos training camp, is listed at 5'9", 175 lbs while Warrener, 17, is 6'4", 201 lbs.

ROCK 'EM SOCK 'EM IN CO-OP PLACE!!! 🥊💥

Luke Warrener and Jacob Beaulieu go at it in a heavyweight pre-season tilt! 🐅 pic.twitter.com/8asEDJ0Xa1

— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) September 12, 2026

A friendly exchange to start off the 2nd period! 🤝🏼💥 pic.twitter.com/CYLqHgj6Dk

— Swift Current Broncos (@SCBroncos) September 12, 2026

In his previous pre-season appearance, Beaulieu dropped the gloves with Triston Mitchell-McElhone of the Saskatoon Blades just 22 seconds into the Sept. 4 game.

Swift Current's head coach and general manager is Travis Crickard, who previously held those roles with the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Beaulieu spent parts of four seasons in Saint John before being dealt to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during this year's holiday trade period. In 210 career QMJHL games, Beaulieu posted 16 goals and 10 assists – along with 249 penalty minutes.

The Broncos play their final game of the pre-season on Saturday against the Tigers. They open the regular season next Saturday against the Prince Albert Raiders.

MHL season underway for Sea Dogs connections

The Maritime Junior Hockey League season got underway on Thursday.

As usual, the MHL will feature a number of players with Saint John Sea Dogs connections – whether they be former players or draft picks.

Here are a few players to keep an eye on. Players with an * are draft picks/prospects.

Amherst - Coen Miller, Darien Reynolds, Brock Lyons* and Jeremie Richard

Grand Falls - Jonah Leard and Reid Calder

Miramichi - Eliot Tozer*

Summerside - Matthew MacLean

Valley - Felix Pronovost*

West Kent - Sam Pitcher*

There are also two former Sea Dogs coaches leading MHL teams this season. Greg Leland is the head coach of the Campbellton Tigers while Jeff Cowan will lead the Grand Falls Rapids.

Prospects Brock Lyons and Eliot Tozer – both forwards who spent most of last season with the Saint John Vito's – will be interesting to follow given the long looks they got at Sea Dogs camp. They could certainly be called up at some point this year.

Lyons scored his first career MHL goal in Amherst's 3-2 loss in Pictou County on Thursday. Coen Miller had the Ramblers' other goal (and a fight as well).

First goal in the MHL for Brock Lyons!! pic.twitter.com/ifo3WGZDHj

— Amherst JrA Ramblers (@AmherstRamblers) September 11, 2026

The league's other 10 teams begin play this weekend. The MHL can be watched on FloHockey.

Sea Dogs' final pre-season game cancelled

The Saint John Sea Dogs' pre-season schedule came to an abrupt end on Thursday.

The Sea Dogs's final exhibition game, scheduled for Friday night at Dartmouth's RBC Centre, has been cancelled for what the Halifax Mooseheads are calling "roster limitations." The game will not be rescheduled.

From the Mooseheads' news release:

The Halifax Mooseheads and Saint John Sea Dogs preseason game scheduled for Friday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth has been cancelled due to roster limitations. The game will not be rescheduled.

Fans who purchased tickets for the game do not need to take any action. Refunds will be automatically processed to the credit card used for the original purchase within 48 hours.

We apologize for any inconvenience this cancellation may cause and appreciate your understanding.

The limitations are presumably due to several players being away at NHL camps plus a few injuries.

This is a bit of an odd one, but there's not much point in figuring out affiliates and callups for a game that doesn't really mean anything. Pre-season games are often cancelled and not rescheduled for a variety of reasons (hurricanes, illness, UNB campuses being evacuated that one time, etc.).

The cancellation means the Sea Dogs finish the pre-season with a 2-2-0-0 record. They were outscored 16-13.

The Sea Dogs begin the regular season next Friday in St. John's. That game will take place two weeks since the team played a pre-season game.

Notebook: Donovan invited to Habs rookie camp

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Alexander Donovan will attend Montreal Canadiens rookie camp.

The Canadiens announced their rookie camp roster last week. Donovan will attend as a free agent invite, joining former Sea Dogs defenseman Kale McCallum and goaltender Arseni Radkov.

According to a news release, the camp "will be held at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard and Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau, from September 11-15. Habs prospects will play two games against the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators at the Slush Puppie Centre on September 12 and 13 as part of the 2026 NHL Prospect Challenge."

Donovan, 19, is entering his second season with the Sea Dogs. Last year, the Connecticut native recorded 25 goals and 28 assists in 63 regular season games. He had another goal and an assist in four playoff games.

COMING UP

The start of the QMJHL regular season is now less than two weeks away.

The Sea Dogs will open the year Sept. 18-19 with a pair of games in St. John's against the Newfoundland Regiment. Saint John went winless at Mary Brown's Centre last season.

Saint John will host the Moncton Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 25 in the team's home opener at TD Station.

Before all that though, the Sea Dogs have one pre-season game left to play. Saint John, 2-2-0-0 in exhibition play, will take on the Halifax Mooseheads, 4-1-0-0, on Friday at Dartmouth's RBC Centre. These two met last Friday in Saint John where Halifax posted a 7-3 win.

TD Station going cashless

TD Station is going cashless, the venue announced Thursday.

At Friday's Saint John Sea Dogs pre-season game, signs about the change were placed at the front of concession line entrances.

Here's what TD Station shared on Facebook about the change:

TD STATION IS GOING CASHLESS!

We’re making things easier, faster, and more convenient for our guests! TD Station will be moving to a cashless payment system for food, beverage, and most purchases throughout the venue.

There will still be a few locations where cash will be accepted:

• Box Office: Cash will be accepted for tickets, gift cards, and our new **Food & Beverage Gift Cards.
• Sea Dogs Store: Cash will continue to be accepted.
• 50/50: Cash will continue to be accepted.
• Parking: Cash will continue to be accepted at select parking locations for now.
• Food & Beverage Gift Cards: We’ll be rolling out TD Station Food & Beverage Gift Cards, which can be purchased directly at the TD Station Box Office. These will be a great option for guests who prefer to use cash while enjoying food and beverages at the venue.

We appreciate your understanding as we make this transition and look forward to providing an even smoother experience at TD Station!

The move, unsurprisingly, brought quite a bit of negative feedback on social media. A number of people did point out, though, that many venues that are TD Station's size have been cashless for quite some time. Halifax's Scotiabank Centre, for example, is cashless.

Venues started going cashless just before the pandemic and the trend certainly picked up when live events returned.

While this will likely be a disturbance to some fans, it's becoming an industry norm, just like digital ticketing.

As written about a number of times in recent years, TD Station has really been falling behind venues like Scotiabank Centre and Moncton's Avenir Centre. Even Sydney's Centre 200 has gotten upgrades in recent years that give the fan experience more "bells and whistles" than TD Station. Hopefully some more modernizations to the fan experience are coming soon.

Sea Dogs claim Roop from Oceanic

Embed from Getty Images 

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced a roster move on Saturday, claiming forward Logan Roop off waivers from the Rimouski Oceanic.

A Brookfield, NS native, Roop has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Oceanic. In 62 games last season, Roop posted nine goals, seven assists and 56 penalty minutes.

The 19-year-old has appeared in 89 career QMJHL games, recording 10 goals and nine assists. He also appeared in five playoff games during Rimouski's 2025 run.

The #SJSeaDogs have claimed forward Logan Roop off waivers from the @oceanicrimouski.#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/8vbC57JDro

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) September 5, 2026

Roop adds some size to Saint John's lineup. He's listed at 6'4" and 201 lbs. He'll likely be a bottom six, depth forward for the Dogs, assuming he sticks around.

The move doesn't come as a huge surprise given that Saint John's latest round of cuts left the team with just 12 forwards. The Sea Dogs played all 12 of them in Friday's pre-season loss to the Halifax Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs play their final game of the pre-season on Friday when they take on the Mooseheads in Dartmouth.

Saint John begins regular season play on Sept. 18 in St. John's.

Videos: Beaulieu fights 22 seconds into WHL pre-season debut

Welcome to the Western Hockey League, Jacob Beaulieu.

Just 22 seconds into his first pre-season game with the WHL's Swift Current Broncos, Beaulieu dropped the gloves with Triston Mitchell-McElhone of the Saskatoon Blades – and what a tilt it was.

It only took 22 seconds for Jacob Beaulieu to make his presence felt in Swift Current. 👊🐴 pic.twitter.com/g0D2QyBhk6

— Swift Current Broncos (@SCBroncos) September 5, 2026

Heck of a tilt at the Broncos pre-season game today! Jacob Beaulieu and former Legionnaire Triston Mitchell-McElhone. pic.twitter.com/zBobcEHkPB

— Shawn Mullin 🇨🇦 (@shawnmullin) September 5, 2026

Beaulieu, an overage forward, was named to Swift Current's pre-season roster earlier this week. A fight in his debut felt inevitable.

Swift Current's head coach and general manager is Travis Crickard, who previously held those roles with the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Beaulieu spent parts of four seasons in Saint John. He was a seventh-round pick of the team in the 2022 QMJHL Entry Draft. 

The Sea Dogs traded Beaulieu to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during last season's holiday trade period. He appeared in 32 regular season games with the Armada and another 17 playoff contests.

In 210 career QMJHL games, Beaulieu posted 16 goals and 10 assists. He also had 249 penalty minutes – and was known more for his physical presence than offensive abilities.

The Broncos play the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday.

Recap: Sea Dogs lose 7-3

FINAL: Halifax 7, Saint John 3

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - With two weeks to go until the regular season begins, the Saint John Sea Dogs have plenty to work on.

That was evident on Friday night at TD Station as the Sea Dogs struggled in a 7-3 pre-season loss to the Halifax Mooseheads. Both teams dressed close-to-final rosters.

Saint John especially struggled defensively, allowing the Mooseheads to score seven times on 26 shots. Several Halifax goals were one-time shots by a Moosehead that was left wide open.

On offense, the Sea Dogs were able to generate 42 shots on goal but couldn't find enough finish. Halifax goaltender Jack Fichthorn was excellent in the first half of game, making 21 stops before leaving late in the second period.

Malik L'Italien scored twice for Halifax while singles came from Quinn Kennedy, Nathan Langlois, Mateo Nobert, Oleg Kulebiakin and Shawn Carrier. Fichthorn allowed two goals while Carson Mertz allowed a goal on 19 shots.

Saint John had goals from Alexander Donovan, Zachary Morin and Oliver Ozogany. Samuel Meloche, in his first game of the pre-season, allowed seven goals on 26 shots.

Pre-Season Game Day 4: vs Mooseheads

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs make their return to TD Station tonight.

While this will officially be Saint John's third home game of the pre-season, it will be their first inside their actual home. The Sea Dogs played "home" games in St. Stephen and Woodstock last week.

Tonight will see the Sea Dogs take on the Halifax Mooseheads for the first time in exhibition play. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs are 2-1-0-0 this pre-season and are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Rimouski Oceanic last Sunday.

Saint John's roster is now down to 24 players following reassignments earlier this week.

Radio/TV/Stream: None/None/Sea Dogs YouTube (probably?)

Pre-Season Records: Saint John is 2-1-0-0 for four points this pre-season while Halifax is 3-1-0-0 for six points.

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Rimouski Oceanic in Woodstock on Sunday. Jamie Glance scored Saint John's lone goal on a penalty shot. Rafaël Courchesne allowed three goals on 10 shots while Sam Pitcher stopped all 12 shots he faced. The Mooseheads are coming off a 3-2 win over the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday. Mateo Nobert scored twice for Halifax while Daniel Walters added a single. Carson Mertz made 37 stops in the win.

Murnieks officially joins Boston College

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's officially official: Olivers Murnieks will play college hockey this fall.

The Boston College Eagles officially named Murnieks a member of the team's freshmen class on Thursday. 

Our next freshman is Olivers Mūrnieks!

Olivers spent last season playing the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL! pic.twitter.com/0gCXTPKLVH

— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) September 3, 2026

The Eagles begin play a month from now, visiting the USNTDP in Plymouth. The team's first NCAA game is Oct. 9 at home against Alaska.

Murnieks does have junior hockey eligibility remaining. Given that he was left off the Saint John Sea Dogs' training camp roster, it was expected that the Latvian would be playing NCAA hockey this fall.

The 18-year-old committed to Boston College in January. Murnieks was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in June's NHL Draft and, since then, it has looked like he'd be heading to the NCAA rather than back to the QMJHL.

"But we’re excited to see what he does," said Jerry Forton, Buffalo's assistant general manager, in July. "It was a big step for the Boston College staff – who we put a lot of faith in, we’re very close with – to bring him in this fall."

Murnieks was selected by Saint John in the first-round, sixth overall of the 2025 CHL Import Draft. He appeared in just 31 games with the Sea Dogs due to injuries last season, posting seven goals and 13 assists.

Murnieks played for Latvia at the IIHF World Junior Championship for a second straight year this past winter, recording a goal and three assists in five games. He also played in this year's men's IIHF World Championship.

It looks like the Sea Dogs will start the season with two imports on their roster: Czech forward Matyas Cancik and Slovakian forward Oliver Ozogany, who were both selected in this year's CHL Import Draft. The team also picked Finnish defender Vertti Svensk, who appears set to start the season in Finland.

Notebook: Beaulieu on Swift Current pre-season roster

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

A familiar name is on the Swift Current Broncos' pre-season roster.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Jacob Beaulieu was among the 34 players named to Swift Current's roster for the Western Hockey League's pre-season. The Broncos head coach and general manager is Travis Crickard, who obviously knows Beaulieu quite well.

Beaulieu, an overager, spent parts of four seasons in Saint John. He was a seventh-round pick of the team in the 2022 QMJHL Entry Draft.

The Sea Dogs traded Beaulieu to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during last season's holiday trade period. He appeared in 32 regular season games with the Armada and another 17 playoff contests

In 210 career QMJHL games, Beaulieu posted 16 goals and 10 assists. He also had 249 penalty minutes – and was known more for his physical presence.

The Broncos continue pre-season play on Friday when they host Saskatoon Blades.

VILEN RETURING TO WILDCATS

The Sea Dogs will be seeing a lot of Max Vilen this season.

The Moncton Wildcats announced on social media that Vilen will return to the club for another season, occupying both an overage and import slot. The Wildcats acquired Vilen from the Sea Dogs during last season's holiday trade period.

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Vilen recorded a goal and 12 assists in 27 games with the Wildcats in the second half. He added three goals and nine assists in 21 playoff games.

Over the summer, the Swedish defenseman was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh-round of the NHL Draft.

Vilen was selected in the third-round of the 2025 CHL Import Draft by Saint John. He posted two goals and 12 assists in 27 games with the Sea Dogs in the first half.

Sea Dogs acquire Delarosbil; three more released

Sherbrooke Phoenix

The Saint John Sea Dogs defense core is starting to take shape.

The Sea Dogs acquired 18-year-old defenseman Brandon Delarosbil from the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Wednesday. In exchange, Saint John dealt defenseman Vincent Croteau, the team's 2027 first-round pick and Drummondville’s 2028 second-round pick.

Later in the day, the team released free agent defensemen Jayden Connors and Joe Mense from the training camp roster. Forward Felix Pronovost was also released.

The Sea Dogs now have 24 players on their camp roster, which includes 12 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.

The nine defensemen are Delarosbil, Thomas Charbonneau, Cameron Chartrand, Bo Damphousse, Oskar Drabczynski, Olivier Duhamel, Jesse Dunlap, Julien Lanthier and Lawrence Williams. Duhamel is expected to start the season on the injured list.

Delarosbil, a second-round pick of the Phoenix in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft, posted eight goals and 14 assists in 60 games with Sherbrooke last season, his first full year in the league. He's committed to the NCAA's University of Nebraska-Omaha following his junior career.

“Brandon is a player that we have coveted for a while,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He has offensive tools and instincts, and he competes. He fits with our age group and will grow with our core over the next two seasons.”

Mense, an overager, appeared in all three of Saint John's pre-season games. Pronovost also appeared in all three exhibition games. Connors, who was the Maritime Junior Hockey League's playoff MVP this past season, did not appear in any pre-season games but did play in intra-squad contests.

The Sea Dogs are back in action on Friday night when they host the Halifax Mooseheads in pre-season play at TD Station. Game time is 7 p.m.

It's September

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

September is here – which means regular season hockey is near.

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open up the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season on Friday, Sept. 18 when they visit the Newfoundland Regiment at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic. They'll also face the Regiment the following night.

The Sea Dogs will play their first home game of the season on Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Moncton Wildcats. The next day – note the 4 p.m. puck drop – they'll host the Cape Breton Eagles.

A few other early season scheduling notes:

• The Sea Dogs were 0-6-2-0 against the Regiment last season, which included going 0-4 at Mary Brown's Centre. They've not won in St. John's since the Fog Devils days.
• There's going to be a lot of talk about how good the competition will be amongst the Atlantic-based teams this season. The Sea Dogs will see all five of them within the first eight games of the season.
• Saint John will play eight of their first 11 games at TD Station. That includes a stretch of six straight home games in October.
• In case you were wondering, the opening week of the QMJHL season is sponsored by Nissan.

The Sea Dogs still have two pre-season games remaining before putting their focus on the regular season. The team will host the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night at TD Station and visit the Moose next Friday, Sept. 11 at Dartmouth's RBC Centre.

Tickets for Friday's game are general admission.