Thursday, September 17, 2026

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.

RETURNING GOALS
An interesting stat from Cape Breton Eagles broadcaster Pat McNeil here.

Here are the amount of CHL goals scored by returning players on QMJHL opening night rosters.
As mentioned the other day, the Sea Dogs will start the season with just four players who have never appeared in a QMJHL game.

BEAULIEU IN THE W
It certainly looks like Jacob Beaulieu will start the season with the WHL's Swift Current Broncos. 

The Broncos have not made an official announcement about their opening night lineup, but Beaulieu does appear on the team's regular season roster – wearing his usual No. 24.

Beaulieu made quite the impression during the WHL's pre-season. The former Sea Dogs forward appeared in three games and had fights in two of them – one against the Saskatoon Blades and another against the Medicine Hat Tigers.

The Broncos' head coach and general manager is Travis Crickard, who previously held those roles with the Sea Dogs.

Swift Current opens the regular season on Saturday, hosting the Prince Albert Raiders. WHL games can be seen for free on YouTube.

HOCKEY EAST PICKS
Providence College was picked to finish first in their conference by Hockey East coaches.
The Friars, who featured former Sea Dogs defenseman Kale McCallum last season, will include ex-Dogs d-man Everett Baldwin this year.

Olivers Murnieks and Boston College, meanwhile, were picked to finish fourth while Cam MacDonald and the University of New Hampshire were ranked ninth in the 11-team conference.

In media polling, Providence was picked to finish second behind UMass while Boston College was third and New Hampshire ninth.

ECAC PICKS
Nate Tivey and Quinnipiac University came first in ECAC pre-season polling, earning 10 of 12 first-place votes.
The 22-year-old defenseman is entering his second season with the Bobcats. In 38 games last season, Tivey posted three goals and five assists.

RSEQ HOCKEY RETURNS
There was some major university hockey news in Canada this week.

Quebec's RSEQ conference announced the return of men's hockey for the 2027-28 season. UQTR, McGill and Concordia have been playing with the Ontario schools in the OUA.


The RSEQ (Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec), in collaboration with the participating universities, is proud to announce the return of a Quebec Division 1 men’s university hockey league beginning with the 2027–28 season.

This new league will bring together Concordia University, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), McGill University, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and Université de Sherbrooke.

The future league will build on the experience of the UQTR, McGill and Concordia programs, which currently compete in Ontario University Athletics (OUA), while welcoming UQAC, ÉTS and Université de Sherbrooke. 

The Division 1 university league strengthens the vertical development of men’s hockey within the RSEQ by completing a pathway that extends from secondary school to college and then university. This continuity will allow student-athletes to pursue their academic and athletic goals simultaneously in a structured and stimulating environment suited to their ambitions. It directly supports the RSEQ’s mission of promoting educational perseverance and academic success through sport.

This is certainly major news for the QMJHL and its players as playing options for those who want to study in French are quite limited. It will be interesting to see how this impacts UQTR and Université de Moncton, who have been able to dominate French player recruitment for years.

OTHER THINGS
  • The 2026-27 CHL season officially got underway on Thursday with the OHL's Peterborough Petes hosting the Kingston Frontenacs. The Sea Dogs and Newfoundland Regiment will meet in the QMJHL's first game (thanks to time zones) on Friday.
  • The Cape Breton Post predicts the Sea Dogs to finish second in the QMJHL's Eastern Conference behind the Cape Breton Eagles.
  • FloHockey looks at the top 2027 NHL Draft prospects to watch in the QMJHL this season. Saint John's Alexis Joseph and Jamie Glance made the list. "With two years of junior experience, primarily in the USHL with the NTDP, Glance won’t be your normal first-year player in the QMJHL. He should be an immediate contributor," writes Chris Peters.
  • The Sea Dogs will not appear on Eastlink Community TV this season. The 20-game schedule was released earlier this week.
  • Former Sea Dogs goaltender Justin Robinson appeared in one pre-season game with the BCHL's Sherwood Park Crusaders. The 20-year-old allowed five goals on 27 shots in Sherwood Park's 6-5 win over the Spruce Grove Saints on Sept. 7. Robinson appeared in 19 games with the Sea Dogs last season before his rights were traded to the Moncton Wildcats. He spent the second half with the MHL's Summerside Western Capitals.
  • Newfoundland's Benjamin Veitch has officially committed to Boston College.
  • The Eagles are throwing things back to the 90s.
  • These are nice as well.
  • Sone notable rule changes coming to the WHL this season, including "no-return" three-on-three overtime. "In the overtime period, a team in possession and control of the puck in the attacking zone may not retreat – carry, pass, or play the puck – back into the neutral zone or their own defending zone," states a league press release.

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