New Dogs, new numbers

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

There were a couple of notable numbers on the ice for the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday.

The most obvious was Oliver Ozogany, who became the first player in Sea Dogs history to wear No. 98. It's the highest number ever worn by a Sea Dog, surpassing Stanislav Galiev who wore No. 97 throughout his junior career.

The other notable number was Jamie Glance's No. 17. Glance became just the third player to wear the number and the first to sport it since Mike Thomas, who wore 17 for his five seasons in Saint John. Thomas, who is now a player mentor with the Sea Dogs, ended his junior career by captaining Saint John to the 2011 Memorial Cup championship.

Jean-Philippe Roy-Vallières, who played 29 games with Saint John in 2005-06, is the other Sea Dog to wear No. 17.

With 17 back in use, the only numbers that appear to be unofficially retired are Jonathan Huberdeau's No. 11 and Alex Grant's No. 20. Oskar Drabczynski did wear 20 for two games last season, presumably due to the Under Armour jersey supply situation.

Recap: Sea Dogs win 4-2

FINAL: Saint John 4, Newfoundland 2

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

ST. JOHN'S, NL - What a start for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs scored three power play goals in a 4-2 season opening victory over the Newfoundland Regiment on Friday at Mary Brown's Centre. It's the first time the Sea Dogs have ever defeated the Regiment after going 0-6-2-0 against the club last season. 

Friday's victory also marked the first Sea Dogs win in Newfoundland since Jan. 3, 2008.

Dylan Rozzi got things started by scoring two power play goals in the opening frame. Ryan Howard and Alexander Donovan also had Saint John goals. Samuel Meloche, in his Sea Dogs debut, carried a shutout into the third period and made 25 saves in the victory.

Matthew Frost and Dmitry Kubantsev scored for the Regiment. Louis-Antoine Denault, who went 6-0 against the Sea Dogs last season, made 35 stops in the loss.

Saint John looked quite good for much of this game. The team looked better defensively than last season and generated some strong offensive chances. The Dogs definitely could have added a few more goals in this game.

The Sea Dogs were very good on special teams, going 3/5 on the power play and a perfect 4/4 on the penalty kill.

It's just one game, but this is certainly a promising start to the Jim Hulton era. But... the Sea Dogs have also had some strong starts in recent seasons. The big test awaits: can this level of play be sustained – and improved.

Sea Dogs announce leadership group

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Olivier Groulx will once again captain the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Groulx enters his second season as Sea Dogs captain. He appeared in all 64 regular season games for the club last year along with all four playoff contests.

Joining Groulx on the team's leadership group – which was announced on Friday – will be alternate captains Alexander Donovan, Alexis Joseph, Julien Lanthier and Olivier Duhamel.

Duhamel wore an 'A' for 23 games with the Sea Dogs last season while this will be the first time Donovan and Joseph wear letters. Joseph and Donovan are both entering their second QMJHL seasons.

Lanthier, an overage defenseman, enters his first season with the Sea Dogs. He wore an 'A' in three games with the Shawinigan Cataractes last season.

The Sea Dogs began regular season play on Friday night in St. John's, visiting the Newfoundland Regiment. Along with Groulx wearing the 'C,' Joseph, Donovan and Lanthier each had an 'A.'

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/Sea Dogs Audio Network

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.