Notebook: Rare 3-in-3 for Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will play their only three-in-three of the entire season this weekend.

Traditionally, if the Sea Dogs were to be playing a three-in-three, it would likely take place on the road in Quebec. But times have changed. This three-in-three will be all home games with the third contest being played in a non-QMJHL venue.

The Sea Dogs will host the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday and the Cape Breton Eagles on Saturday with both of those games being played at TD Station. On Sunday, the Sea Dogs and Eagles will travel to Fredericton to play in the first regular season QMJHL game to take place in the city.

Tickets to Sunday's game are still available – but they are limited. 

The Sea Dogs will play three games at Fredericton's Aitken Centre this season. They'll also take on the Gatineau Olympiques on Thursday, Jan. 8 and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Sunday, Feb. 1.

NEW MASKS

Both Sea Dogs goaltenders recently debuted new masks, becoming the first netminders to sport the club's new logo.

Here's a look at Rafaël Courchesne's new mask. He had been wearing a green mask from his time with the Saint-Hyacinthe Gaulois.

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

And here's Justin Robinson's new look. He had been wearing his mask from last season which featured Saint John's 20th anniversary logo.

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

GUELPH LANDS MEMORIAL CUP

The Guelph Storm will host the 2027 Memorial Cup, the CHL announced last week.

The Storm have played in six Memorial Cup tournaments – most recently in 2019 in Halifax – and hosted the event in 2002. The Storm franchise has yet to win the trophy.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the 2027 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota to Guelph,” said CHL president Dan MacKenzie in a news release. “The Storm put forward an outstanding bid that showcased not only their organizational strength, but also the passion, vision, and community spirit that make the Royal City such a special junior hockey market. With the Memorial Cup returning to Guelph in the same year the city marks its bicentennial, fans can expect an unforgettable event that celebrates Guelph’s history and the tournament’s rich tradition, while providing a world-class experience for players, fans, and partners alike.”

Kelowna will host the 2026 Memorial Cup. The QMJHL will host in 2028.

Notebook: Bezeau, Checkers fall in final

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Riley Bezeau and the Charlotte Checkers came up short in the Calder Cup final.

The Checkers fell in six games to the Abbotsford Canucks in a series that concluded on June 23. The Canucks took Game 6, 3-2, in Charlotte to win their first Calder Cup.

Bezeau appeared in just one game in the final. He finishes the playoffs with three goals in five games.

The 23-year-old completed his third season of professional hockey. He appeared in 24 regular season AHL games with the Checkers and five ECHL contests with the Savannah Ghost Pirates.

Bezeau spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the team win the Memorial Cup in 2022.

JOSEPH INTERVIEW

First overall pick Alexis Joseph was a recent guest on the QMJHL's Around the Maritimes podcast. The interview begins at the 33-minute mark below.

The future Sea Dogs forward talks about his playing style, his time playing under-18 hockey, draft weekend, who he models his game after, his Canadiens fandom, goals for his rookie season, Atlantic Canada and more.

MACPHERSON MEDIA

A couple features on Jase MacPherson, the Kensington Wild goaltender who the Sea Dogs selected in the second-round of this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

The Eastern Graphic has a story on MacPherson getting picked by Saint John.

“I think that’s probably the best team I could have gone to. I have a good opportunity to crack that squad next year,” MacPherson said.

The 16-year-old was also selected by the Summerside Western Capitals in the recent MHL Draft. Justin Harrison, Summerside's director of scouting, provided his thoughts on MacPherson to the Journal Pioneer. 

"He’s a great goalie. He’s a big kid. He’s going to have a really good shot at the Quebec league," said Harrison. "We fully expect him to go and be very successful with the Sea Dogs. With the new rules opening up with the NCAA, there are so many moving parts with the Quebec league now, so if he’s not there it’s great to have a guy who is close to home and we know is a fantastic goalie. If he plays for Summerside, that’s going to be awesome.”

Deakin-Poot joining Sea Dogs?

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Are the Saint John Sea Dogs bringing in another Ontario forward?

Long-time Guelph Storm reporter Tony Saxon tweeted on Monday that there are rumblings of forward Nick Deakin-Poot joining the Sea Dogs.

Hearing Nick Deakin-Poot is heading to the St. John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL.

— Tony Saxon (@SaxonOnTheStorm) October 2, 2017

Deakin-Poot, a third-round pick of the Storm in 2015, has spent the past two seasons with the club but has not produced a whole lot offensively. In 112 career OHL games, the centre has 10 goals and 21 points.

The Georgetown, Ont. native has appeared in two games with Guelph this season, recording one assist. He is also listed on the active roster for the Brampton Jr. B 99ers of the GOJHL.

The Sea Dogs have added a number of Ontario-born players over the past few weeks as they try to retool their roster without giving up assets. The signings include Kevin Gursoy, Robbie Burt and Samuel Duchesne.

If Deakin-Poot signs with the Dogs, he would immediately crack the list of top names in team history.

Notebook: Mapping the QMJHL

Via the website Icethetics, here’s a map of the QMJHL. Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d’Or are pretty much on another planet.

UP NEXT

The Sea Dogs have this weekend off from pre-season action but will return next weekend with a pair of games. Next Friday, Saint John hosts the Charlottetown Islanders at Harbour Station at 7:30 p.m. The two teams the meet at Eastlink Link the next night at 7:00 p.m.

Saint John is 2-1-0-1 in exhibition play and have outscored opponents 13-9.

The Sea Dogs begin the regular season on Friday, September 12 in Charlottetown.

TESSIER

Confirmed: Julien Tessier ( @JulTessier17 ) will be part of the roster for the Sea Dogs - Congrats and all the best this season!
— Kevin Chambers (@HPCanucklehead) August 27, 2014

Tessier was chosen by Saint John with the 15^th overall pick in this year’s QMJHL Entry Draft. The 16-year old forward has looked good in pre-season action, recording a goal and five shots in three games.

THE DRAFT

According to reports, next year’s QMJHL Entry Draft will be held in Sherbrooke. The Phoenix also hosted last year’s draft and was, apparently, quite successful.

UNION TALK

TSN’ Rick Westhead had a big time article on the possibility of a CHL players union becoming reality. He specifically mentioned former Sea Dog Nicholas Pard in his piece.

From the article:

Dias confirmed that some players in Quebec have been asked to sign union cards by Nicholas Pard, who played three seasons with the Saint John Sea Dogs in Quebec's major junior league. It is unclear how many players signed union cards. Pard is now playing pro hockey in Europe, Dias said.

Pard has spent the past three seasons in France.

Today's Front Pages

Via the website Newseum, here are what the front pages of the newspapers in Edmonton and Guelph look like this morning. Click to enlarge.