Rookie Challenge begins Aug. 18

Some details about this year's Rookie Challenge in Moncton have been revealed.

The event will take place Aug. 18-20 at Moncton's Superior Propane Centre and feature all six Maritimes Division teams. Similar tournaments will be held in Shawinigan, Sherbrooke and Chicoutimi and feature the Quebec clubs.

According to the Times & Transcript (paywall), a tournament pass, which will include all nine games, will cost $30. A day pass, featuring three games, will be $15.

The Wildcats announced on Wednesday that tickets go on sale to the general public next Thursday.

Season seat members pre-sale is on now for tournament passes! Tickets will go on sale to the general public next Thursday! Call us 382-5555! https://t.co/71cbKPYG1M

— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) July 5, 2017

The Saint John Sea Dogs will take on the Halifax Mooseheads at 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 18 and will then face the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. The Sea Dogs will also play on Sunday, Aug. 20 against a to-be-determined opponent.

Game times for Aug. 20 will be 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The schedule will be determined based on tournament standings from the first two days of action.

Moncton hosted the same event last season but was called the Hub City Showcase.

The Sea Dogs will play four "real" pre-season games following the rookie tournament, the first being an Aug. 23 game at Harbour Station against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Notebook: Hockey returns next weekend

The Sea Dogs return to pre-season action next weekend.

The team hosts the Charlottetown Islanders on Friday night at 7 p.m. The game will feature a packed house thanks to tickets being free of charge.

The following day, the Sea Dogs travel to PEI to face the Isles at 7 p.m. at Eastlink Centre.

Saint John wraps up exhibition action on Saturday, Sept. 17 in North Sydney against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

The regular season begins on Sept. 23 in Charlottetown. The team’s home opener will be on Sept. 30 against the Screaming Eagles.

TOP PROSPECTS

The website Tout Est Espoir ranked the top 15 QMJHL players that are eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft.

Coming in at No. 15 was Sea Dogs rookie goaltender Alex D’Orio. The 17-year-old spent last season with AAA Magog after being selected ninth overall by Saint John in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Victoriaville’s Maxime Comtois was the top ranked prospect. Charlottetown’s Pierre-Olivier Joseph, the brother of Saint John’s Mathieu Joseph, was ranked 12^th.

MATHIEU GETS A LETTER

After being sent back to midget AAA by the Sea Dogs, first-rounder Olivier Mathieu has been given an ‘A’ to wear with Magog.

Jordan Chabot est nommé capitaine des @LesCantonniers. O. Mathieu et I. Châteauneuf ses adjoints. Trois produits du hockey drummondvillois.

— Jonathan Habashi (@JonathanHabashi) September 2, 2016

FLAMES PRICES

Since a few people have been wondering what kind of ticket pricing scheme the Saint John Flames had in their final season, here it is, via the Wayback Machine:

RECAP: Sea Dogs go winless in Hub City

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs finished the inaugural Hub City Showcase with a 7-2 loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Sunday.

The loss means the Sea Dogs leave the rookie tournament with a 0-3 record, placing them in last place.

Nick Fewer and Olivier Mathieu scored Saint John's only goals on Sunday in Moncton. Alex D'Orio was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots. He was replaced by Matthew Williams who allowed three goals on 21 shots.

The Titan had a hat trick from Aaron Brisebois and singles from Keegan Gauthier, Daniil Sokolka, William Lemay-Champagne and Kynan Berger. Max Walford made 21 saves in the win.

The Sea Dogs will no doubt be disappointed about going winless at this tournament. Fortunately, it was just a rookie tournament in August.

Edson leaves Sea Dogs camp

According to American defenceman Paul Edson, American defenceman Paul Edson has left the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Edson tweeted the following on Saturday morning:

Due to recent changes within the Saint John SeaDog organization front office I have chosen to come back home and go the NCAA route.

— Paul Edson (@paul5885) August 21, 2016

The 16-year-old is presumably referring to the firing of general manager Darrell Young.

The Sea Dogs signed Edson in May. At that time, Young said in a press release that Edson is a “big, physical defenceman who makes a good first pass. He’ll begin next season eighth on our depth chart and probably play 35-40 games as he adjusts to the major junior game. We expect him to be in our top six for his draft year of 2017-18 and continue his progression into our top four the following year.”

A Beverly, Mass. native, the d-man has spent the past two seasons with St. John’s Prep. Last year he recorded four goals and eight assists in 23 games.

Edson did not play in any of Saint John’s games at the Hub City Showcase.

Pre-Season Game Day 3: vs Titan

The Saint John Sea Dogs (0-2-0-0) play their final game of the Hub City Showcase this afternoon at 1 p.m. against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (0-1-1-0).

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/None/YouTube

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 7-3 loss to the Moncton Wildcats last night. Nick Fewer, Olivier Mathieu and Alexander Vdovenko scored for Saint John while Matthew Williams made 33 saves in the loss. The Titan are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads yesterday. Cole Rafuse and James Roy scored for Bathurst while Danil Timchenko made 26 stops in the loss.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 6-1-2-0 against the Titan last season while Bathurst went 3-5-0-1 against Saint John.

Last meeting: April 1 in Saint John where the Sea Dogs eliminated the Titan from the playoffs with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 5 of the first round. Sam Povorozniouk, Luke Green, Matt Murphy and Thomas Chabot scored for Saint John while Bathurst goals came from Jeffery Truchon-Viel, Daniil Miromanov and Mark Simpson. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 21 saves in the win while Reilly Pickard made 42 in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Titan (rookies): None

Player to watch: Defenceman Noah Dobson was Bathurst’s first round pick this year. The Summerside native played with EC Salzburg’s Under-18 team last season, recording three goals and 13 assists in 24 games. He also had one goal and one assist in 11 games with EC Salzburg II.

Three Things to Know

1. Cole Rafuse and James Roy lead the Titan in scoring with two goals each.

2. Saint John’s top import pick, forward Alexander Vdovenko has a team high two points – one goal and one assist – in two games.

3. The Sea Dogs have scored just four goals, which is the fewest at the Hub City Showcase. Bathurst has scored five.

RECAP: Sea Dogs fall again in Hub City

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped their second game of the Hub City Showcase on Saturday.

Nick Fewer, Olivier Mathieu and Alexander Vdovenko scored Saint John's lone goals in a 7-3 loss to the Moncton Wildcats at the Superior Propane Centre. The loss drops the Sea Dogs to 0-2 at the rookie tournament after falling 4-1 to the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday.

Saint John will play their final game of the tournament tomorrow at either 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

Casey Fox opened the scoring for the Wildcats 5:36 into the third period. Christophe Bohemier doubled Moncton's lead at 16:13.

In the second period, a puck deflected off Sea Dogs defenceman Simon Elsliger and past goaltender Matthew Williams. The goal, scored at 8:22, was awarded to Jacob Hudson to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

Saint John finally got on the board at 15:57 when Fewer scored by backhanding a shot past Wildcats goaltender Dominik Tmej.



While shorthanded at 18:40, Derek Dicaire scored to reclaim Moncton's three-goal lead. The 'Cats then made it 5-1 when Bohemier netted his second of the match at 2:30 of the third.

The Sea Dogs responded quickly from Bohemer's goal as Mathieu, Saint John's top pick in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft, scored his first QMJHL pre-season goal at 3:14. Then, with 7:01 to play, Vdovenko scored to get Saint John within two.

But just as the Sea Dogs got back into it, the Wildcats quickly extended their lead to secure the victory. Samuel Meisenheimer scored at 15:44 and then Bohemier completed his hat trick at 17:58 to make it a 7-3 final.

Williams made 33 stops in the loss while Tmej made 30 in the win.

Photo: Hub City Showcase Twitter

Sea Dogs release main training camp roster

20 returning players will highlight the Saint John Sea Dogs’ training camp roster.

The Sea Dogs released their main camp roster on Friday. It features 29 players in total – although some players currently participating in the Hub City Showcase are expected to join.

Players will begin to report on Sunday and hit the ice on Monday afternoon at Harbour Station. Saint John’s first “regular” pre-season game is on Wednesday night in Bathurst.

The full roster can be found on the team’s website.

Aside from the returning players, some of the more notable names include 5’06” forward John Warren (a former London Knight), returning 6’07” forward Alexander Kealey (who played with EC Salzburg last year) and American defenceman Jack Greenberg.

As the Sea Dogs noted in a press release, seven of Saint John’s top 10 scorers from last season will be returning to the club. The Dogs will also feature eight NHL Draft picks.

Photo: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

PRE-SEASON GAME DAY 2: vs Wildcats

The Saint John Sea Dogs (0-1-0-0) continue pre-season play tonight against the Moncton Wildcats (1-0-0-0) at 7 p.m. at the Superior Propane Centre.

TV/Radio/Webcast: Rogers TV/None/YouTube

Last games: The Sea Dogs are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads yesterday in Moncton. Cedric Pare scored Saint John’s lone goal in a game that saw the team record just 16 shots. Alex D’Orio made 42 saves in the loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 7-4 victory over the Screaming Eagles last night. Jeremy McKenna and Mika Cyr each scored twice while singles came from Christophe Bohemier, Casey Fox and Adam Capannelli. Matthew Waite made 27 saves in the victory.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 3-5-1-0 against the Wildcats last season while Moncton went 6-3-0-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: March 12 at Harbour Station where the Sea Dogs defeated the Wildcats 4-1. Thomas Chabot, Nathan Noel, Sam Povorozniouk and Bokondji Imama scored for Saint John while Cameron Askew netted Moncton’s lone goal. Alex Bishop made 29 saves in the win. Blade Mann-Dixon and Keven Bouchard allowed four goals on 34 shots.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Wildcats (rookies): None

Player to watch: Forward Jeremy McKenna, who scored two goals for the Wildcats on Friday, spent last season with EC Salzburg’s under-18 team. Prior to that he played with the Notre Dame Hounds.

Three Things to Know

1. The full Wildcats roster can be found here.

2. Simon Le Coultre, a Swiss defenseman, was Moncton’s top pick in the CHL Import Draft this year.

3. The Wildcats haven’t made a first round pick since 2011. Their top pick this year came in the third round, selecting Noah Massie.

RECAP: Sea Dogs drop pre-season opener

MONCTON - The Saint John Sea Dogs dropped their first game of the Hub City Showcase on Friday afternoon.

The Sea Dogs recorded just 16 shots on goal - which included only two in the third period - in a 4-1 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads at Moncton's Superior Propane Centre.

Cedric Pare, a first round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft, scored 38 seconds into the game - and that proved to be Saint John's lone goal of the contest.

The Mooseheads scored two goals early in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. The highly touted Jared McIsaac scored 51 seconds in and then Ilya Putintsev doubled the Mooseheads' lead at 1:26.

In the third, Ben Higgins scored at 5:14 to make it 3-1 Moose. Raphael Lavoie added further insurance at 15:34 to make it a 4-1 final.

Alex D'Orio, another 2015 first round pick of the Sea Dogs, made 42 saves in the loss. Alexis Gravel played 40 minutes for the Mooseheads and made 13 saves. Kirklin Allen played the third period and made two stops.

It was a penalty filled affair - especially in the third period - with Saint John picking up 64 total penalty minutes while Halifax earned 37.

The Sea Dogs are back in action at the inaugural rookie tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Wildcats.

Pre-Season Game Day 1: vs Mooseheads

The Saint John Sea Dogs (0-0-0-0) begin pre-season play this afternoon at 4 p.m. against the Halifax Mooseheads (0-0-0-0) at the inaugural Hub City Showcase in Moncton.

Last games: Saint John’s last game was Game 5 of the QMJHL semifinals in Shawinigan, where they fell 6-3. Thomas Chabot, Joe Veleno and Matt Murphy scored for the Sea Dogs while Marc-Antoine Turcotte and Alex Bishop allowed five goals on 27 shots. Halifax’s last game was a 5-2 loss in Charlottetown on March 19. Morgan Nauss and Joel Bishop scored for the Mooseheads. Eric Brassard made 32 saves in the loss.

2015-16 head-to-head: The Sea Dogs were 6-2-0-0 against the Mooseheads last season while Halifax went 2-5-1-0 against Saint John.

Last meeting: Feb. 27 in Halifax where the Sea Dogs defeated the Mooseheads 5-1. Matthew Highmore, Sam Povorozniouk, Mathieu Joseph, Jakub Zboril and Joe Veleno scored for Saint John while Halifax’s lone goal came from Arnaud Durandeau. Marc-Antoine Turcotte made 28 saves in the win. Eric Brassard made 33 stops in the loss.

Ex-Sea Dogs on the Mooseheads (rookies): None

Player to watch: The Mooseheads feature Benoit-Olivier Groulx, the top pick in this year’s QMJHL Entry Draft. Groulx had 21 goals and 30 assists in 41 games with AAA Gatineau last season.

Three Things to Know

1. This is the first edition of the Hub City Showcase, which features rookie teams from all six Maritimes Division clubs facing each other in QMJHL pre-season matches. The standings from the first two days will be used to determine the schedule for Sunday.

2. Along with Groulx, the Mooseheads feature two other highly touted QMJHL prospects – defenceman Jared McIsaac and goaltender Alexis Gravel.

3. Saint John’s roster features three first round picks: forwards Cedric Pare and Olivier Mathieu along with goaltender Alex D’Orio.

Rookie camp roster reduced

With their first pre-season game less than 24 hours away, the Saint John Sea Dogs have made some roster moves.

The team announced Thursday afternoon that 12 players have been released from the club’s rookie camp. They are:

F Sam Allison

F Pierre Bourgoin

F Jordan Ehrensperger

F John Farrell

F Michael Joseph

F Brett Magee

F Craig Ryan

F Matthew Steinburg

D Ben MacDonald

D Callum O'Brien

D Tyler Smith

D Louis-Joseph Vachon

26 players - 14 forwards, 10 defencemen and two goaltenders – remain at the camp.

All six Maritimes Division teams are taking part in the inaugural Hub City Showcase event this weekend in Moncton. The Sea Dogs will take on the Halifax Mooseheads at 4 p.m. on Friday in their first match of the tournament. 

Saint John plays the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Sea Dogs will also play on Sunday at a time and against a team that will be determined based on tournament standings.

Photo: @SJSeaDogs

More Hub City Showcase details released

Further details on the inaugural Hub City Showcase have emerged.

A website has been launched, HubCityShowcase.com, which will eventually have details on the tournament.

According to the Times & Transcript (paywall), tickets for the pre-season tournament, which will take place Aug. 19-21 at Moncton’s Superior Propane Centre, will go on sale Aug. 2. An adult tournament pass will cost $30 while a day pass will cost $15.

All six Maritimes Division teams will be playing in the tournament, which will feature mostly 16- and 17-year-old players will little or no QMJHL experience.

The Q News has the full schedule.

Pre-season schedule released

The QMJHL released its 2016 pre-season schedule on Thursday.

The Saint John Sea Dogs are currently scheduled to play nine pre-season games, six of which will take place between Aug. 19-28. With the QMJHL beginning its regular season later this year, the remaining three exhibition matches will happen Sept. 9-17

The Sea Dogs will take part in the first ever “Hub City Showcase” in Moncton, according to the Times & Transcript (paywall). The newspaper reports that each team in the tournament will play three games with the third game being determined based on the tournament standings.

Here’s the schedule for the tournament, which will take place Aug. 19-21 at Moncton’s Superior Propane Centre:

Aug. 19 at 1 p.m. – Charlottetown vs Bathurst

Aug. 19 at 4 p.m. – Halifax vs Saint John

Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. – Moncton vs Cape Breton

Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. – Bathurst vs Halifax

Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. – Cape Breton vs Charlottetown

Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. – Moncton vs Saint John

Aug. 21 at 10 a.m. – Playoff

Aug. 21 at 1 p.m. – Playoff

Aug. 21 at 4 p.m. – Playoff

More details on the event will be released next week, according to the Wildcats website.

It appears similar tournaments involving Quebec based teams will be taking place in Shawinigan, Chicoutimi and Rockland, ON that same weekend.

The Sea Dogs won’t be going to any unusual locations other than North Sydney, where they’ll play their final pre-season game on Sept. 17. Via the QMJHL website, here is Saint John’s full pre-season schedule (which doesn't include the third Hub City Showcase game on Aug. 21):

The Sea Dogs begin regular season play on Sept. 23 in Charlottetown.