Mense added to camp roster; Hlacar staying in OHL

USHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced an addition to the club's training camp roster on Monday.

Joe Mense, an overage defenseman who played in the USHL last season, has been added. He joins forward Olivier Lemieux and defenseman Julien Lanthier as 20-year-olds currently on the camp roster.

A Port Jefferson, New York native, Mense has spent the past three seasons in the USHL, splitting time between the Sioux City Musketeers and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Last season in Cedar Rapids, the d-man posted five assists in 22 games.

In 115 USHL games split over three seasons, Mense has posted four goals and 27 assists.

He's listed at 6'2" and 214 lbs.

The Sea Dogs also announced Monday that overage forward Matthew Hlacar will not be joining the team's training camp, instead signing in the OHL. It was announced in late July that Hlacar would attend Sea Dogs camp as a free agent.

Former Kitchener Rangers F Matthew Hlacar isn't skating yet, but is at Brantford Bulldogs training camp.

— Josh Brown (@BrownRecord) August 24, 2026

Hlacar has spent the past two seasons in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers, helping the team win a league title and Memorial Cup last year. He posted six goals and six assists in 51 regular season games last season and another goal in 15 playoff matches.

Hlacar was a seventh-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2025 NHL Draft.

With these announcements, Saint John's camp roster now sits at 35 players: 18 forwards, 13 defensemen and four goaltenders.

The Sea Dogs begin pre-season play on Wednesday night when they host the Moncton Wildcats in St. Stephen. Game time is 7 p.m.

Notebook: Arkells comment on jersey choice

Arkells

Following quite a bit of feedback, the Arkells have responded to their unexpected wardrobe choice on Saturday night in Moncton.

Opening for the Jonas Brothers on the Université de Moncton campus, lead singer Max Kerman took to the stage wearing a Saint John Sea Dogs jersey – the same one he wore at Area 506 last year.

"Thought I was making friends in Moncton with the jersey. Oops. Great to see you all!," the band wrote in an Instagram post.

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A post shared by arkellsmusic (@arkellsmusic)

JOSEPH RANKED SIXTH

Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph was ranked sixth in The Athletic's pre-season rankings for the 2027 NHL Draft.

The pressure is certainly starting to heat up on Joseph as his second QMJHL season nears.

"He is a summer birthday, so with continued development he could profile as the kind of center teams covet as a cornerstone piece," writes Wheeler. "But you have to show it on the ice again and again, and he has left me wanting more a little too frequently. I thought about dropping him into Tier 3 here and will if he doesn't pick it up."

NHL.com had a story on Joseph during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Sea Dogs forward Jamie Glance, meanwhile, was ranked 22nd by The Athletic. Prospect Finnegan Sears was an honourable mention.

Sea Dogs invite Hlacar, Connors to camp

Embed from Getty Images 

The Saint John Sea Dogs have announced a couple of intriguing training camp invites.

20-year-old forward Matthew Hlacar – a recent Memorial Cup champion with the Kitchener Rangers – and 19-year-old defenseman Jayden Connors – who was this year's Maritime Junior Hockey League playoff MVP – have both been invited to Saint John's training camp next month.

Hlacar was a seventh-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2025 NHL Draft. He's spent the past two seasons with the Rangers and is more known for his physicality than his offensive numbers.

In 94 career regular season OHL games, the Binbrook, ON native posted 13 goals and seven assists. He added two goals in 29 playoff games.

It'll be interesting to see how Hlacar performs at training camp. He'll need to have a strong camp to take one of the team's overage spots. It's interesting as well to see Saint John inviting a gritty forward from Ontario – something Jim Hulton did a lot of during his time with the Charlottetown Islanders.

Connors, meanwhile, also has OHL roots. The Toronto native has appeared in four career OHL games, including three last season with the Sudbury Wolves. Connors spent most of 2025-26 campaign with the MHL champion Truro Bearcats, posting seven goals and 19 assists in 32 regular season games and another two goals and seven helpers in 17 playoff contests. 

Connors, who was considered one of the MHL's top defensemen last season, also has BCHL and OJHL experience. He's committed to the NCAA's University of New Hampshire for the 2027-28 season.

Sea Dogs training camp will begin next month ahead of the team's pre-season schedule. Saint John's first exhibition game is set for Aug. 26 in St. Stephen where they'll host the Moncton Wildcats.

Rangers win 2026 Memorial Cup

Steve Dunsmoor/CHL

For the first time since 2003, the Kitchener Rangers are Memorial Cup champions.

The Rangers defeated Landon DuPont and the Everett Silvertips 6-2 in Sunday's championship game in Kelowna. The first half of the contest was close but the Rangers blew it open with a pair of power play goals early in the third period.

It's the third Memorial Cup title for the Rangers franchise, who also won their first OHL championship since 2008.

Sam O'Reilly, who won the Memorial Cup with the London Knights last year, was named tournament MVP.

Captain Cameron Reid hoists the #MemorialCup as the @OHLRangers are crowned 2026 champions! pic.twitter.com/KVPxOkPBpY

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 1, 2026

Kitchener's coaching staff includes Brad Flynn, the son of former Sea Dogs head coach Danny Flynn.

It's the third straight Memorial Cup title for the OHL. The WHL, meanwhile, still haven't won a national championship since the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.

The QMJHL's Chicoutimi Saguenéens (1-3-0) finish the tournament third overall while the host Kelowna Rockets (0-2-1) finish fourth. The Rockets were outscored 12-2.

Next year's tournament will take place in Guelph while the QMJHL will host in 2028.

Notebook: Sea Dogs returning to St. Stephen

The Saint John Sea Dogs are returning to St. Stephen it appears.

St. Stephen's Garcelon Civic Center has shared on Facebook that the venue will host the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats in a QMJHL pre-season game on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats faced off in St. Stephen last year as well. Moncton won the game 4-1.

The Sea Dogs are 1-2-0-0 in pre-season play at the Garcelon Civic Center.

TRADE PERIODS

From Jeremy Fraser of the Cape Breton Post, here's when you could see player movement this week.

QMJHL Trade Periods for Entry Draft Week:

- Tuesday, June 2 - 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

- Thursday, June 4 - 8:30-9:30 a.m.

- Friday, June 5 - During the draft.

- Saturday, June 6 - During the draft.

Note: The times indicated are Atlantic Time. #qmjhl #lhjmq

— Jeremy Fraser (@CBPost_Jeremy) May 30, 2026

LATVIA DONE IN QUARTERS

Olivers Murnieks and Team Latvia had their IIHF World Championship come to an end in the quarterfinals on Thursday, falling 2-0 to Norway.

Murnieks did not play in the game.

The Sea Dogs forward appeared in five of Latvia's eight games and was held pointless.

Finland will take on Switzerland in the gold medal game while Canada will play Norway for bronze.

Saguenéens eliminated in Memorial Cup semi

Steve Dunsmoor/CHL

For a third straight year, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League had a disappointing showing at the Memorial Cup.

The QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Saguenéens fell 6-1 to the Everett Silvertips in Friday's semifinal. The game was tight early on but, once Everett got rolling, there was no looking back. The Silvertips scored three times in the middle frame while Landon Dupont was named player of the game with a pair of goals.

Everett, playing in their first Memorial Cup, will face the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers in Sunday's championship game. The Silvertips will try and capture the WHL's first Memorial Cup title since 2014.

The Saguenéens head home with a 1-3-0 record. Their lone win came in overtime against the winless host Kelowna Rockets.

Not having overage defenseman Jordan Tourigny, who played with the Shawinigan Cataractes at the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John, was less than ideal for Chicoutimi. Tourigny was suspended for the remainder of the tournament for this play against Kitchener.

Since the Quebec Remparts hoisted the Memorial Cup in 2023, no QMJHL team has made it past the semifinals. That Remparts win was the last of four straight Memorial Cup championships for the QMJHL.

Les Silvertips d'Everett ont rendez-vous avec les Rangers de Kitchener en finale de la Coupe Memorial, dimanche soir, une troisième consécutive sans formation de la LHJMQ.

Une première depuis 2010.

Depuis 2023, la fiche de la Q est de 1-12 vs #WHL et #OHL dans le tournoi.

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) May 30, 2026

The host Rockets, meanwhile, went 0-2-1 and were outscored 12-2. While host teams have had success recently (Saginaw in 2024 and Saint John in 2022), it continues to feel like we're at a point where the format really needs to be looked at, especially if the the way teams build is changing with the new NCAA rules.

The good news for Kelowna: every game has been announced as a sell out.

Next year's tournament will take place in Guelph.

Wildcats win Game 7 to advance to QMJHL final

Daniel St Louis/Moncton Wildcats

MONCTON - For a second straight year, the Moncton Wildcats are headed to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League final.

Captain Caleb Desnoyers scored and added two assists to lift the Wildcats to a 6-2 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in Game 7 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy semifinals on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats, the top seed entering the post-season, advance to the league final where they'll face the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, the No. 2 seed. The series is expected to start on Friday night at Avenir Centre.

It was far from a perfect performance by the the Wildcats – but it was enough to get the job done. Blainville-Boisbriand opened the scoring but never led again. The visitors were able to carry the play at times but it just wasn't enough to down the 'Cats.

Tommy Bleyl scored a pair of goals while Gavin Cornforth, Alex Mercier and Gabe Smith added singles. Rudy Guimond made 26 saves in the win.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Max Vilen was held of the scoresheet but did play some key minutes on Moncton's second defensive pairing.

Ludovik Grenier and Xavier Villeneuve scored for Blainville-Boisbriand. Zach Pelletier, who made a second straight start in place of the injured William Lacelle, made 27 stops in the loss.

The loss ends the seasons for former Sea Dogs forwards Jacob Beaulieu Elliot Dubé. Beaulieu was held off the scoresheet while Dubé had one shot.

The series will certainly be remembered for some time. The four overtime game. The benches emptying after Game 2. The Armada's last second heroics in Game 6 to force a winner-take-all game back in Moncton. The Wildcats likely would have preferred a smoother semifinal series – but what a series it was.

Things certainly don't get any easier for the Wildcats. The Sagueneens finished just one point behind them in the regular season standings and the two split the season series – both winning on the road. Like Moncton, Chicoutimi was undefeated in the playoffs until the semifinals where they needed six games to eliminate the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Moncton will be playing in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final for a second straight season. For Chicoutimi, this will be their first trip to the league final since 1997.

This was the anticipated championship matchup and has the makings of a classic league final. Now we'll see if it can live up to the hype.

Armada stun Wildcats in final second to force Game 7; Sagueneens advance to final

Sebastien Gervais/Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

A Justin Carbonneau goal with 0.5 seconds remaining in regulation time has forced a Game 7 in the semifinal playoff series between the Moncton Wildcats and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

After a Bill Zonnon faceoff win in the offensive zone, Carbonneau ripped a perfectly placed shot top corner on Wildcats goaltender Rudy Guimond to give the Armada a 3-2 lead – their first and only lead of the game.

Justin Carbonneau, at the very last second!!! 😤😤😤
@ArmadaBLB wins 3-2 and forces a Game 7, tuesday in Moncton!#QPlayoffs | #Proxi | @StLouisBlues | #stlbluespic.twitter.com/Fo2972BO0y

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 3, 2026

Xavier Villeneuve had tied the game at 19:12 of the third period with goaltender Zach Pelletier – who got the start in place of the injured William Lacelle – on the bench.

In short, the Wildcats were 48 seconds away from advancing to the Gilles Courteau Trophy final. Now they're hading back to Moncton to prepare for a Game 7 on Tuesday night. It will be fascinating to see if this devastating loss impacts the Wildcats at all.

Maël Lavigne also scored for the Armada. He has scored in five of the six games in this series.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forwards Jacob Beaulieu and Elliot Dubé did not register any points in the victory. Beaulieu had one hit while Dubé had one shot.

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Max Vilen had one shot and was a +1 in the loss.

The winner of this series will take on the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the QMJHL's championship series. The Sags defeated the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 6-3 on Sunday to take the semifinal in six games. This will be Chicoutimi's first appearance in the league final since 1997.

Notebook: Gallant to the KHL

Former Saint John Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant is officially off to the KHL.

Gallant was named the head coach of the Shanghai Dragons on Wednesday after several weeks of rumours, signing a two-year deal. It's the first coaching stint in the KHL for the 61-year-old.

The Dragons made the announcement with this rather awesome video.

THE MASTER IS HERE pic.twitter.com/0hAK9XYzuU

— Shanghai Dragons (@shadragons) August 13, 2025

The Dragons are formerly the Kunlun Red Star, who were based in Beijing prior to the pandemic. The club has played in Russia since 2020 and are expected to play in Saint Petersburg this year.

Gallant, who coached the Sea Dogs for three seasons from 2009 to 2012, hasn't had a full time coaching gig since the 2022-23 season when he led the New York Rangers.

Mike Kelly, shockingly, will be joining Gallant's staff as an assistant coach.

HLINKA UPDATE

Team Canada improved to 3-0 at this year's Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a 5-0 victory over Czechia on Wednesday.

The Canadians previously defeated Finland, 5-3, and Switzerland, 9-1. Canada will play the United States in Friday's semifinals. The gold and bronze medal games are set for Saturday.

Sea Dogs defenseman Cameron Chartrand has been held pointless so far at the tournament. Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard, meanwhile, is an assistant coach with the team.

NEW VENUES

Some Sea Dogs pre-season venues have changed yet again. 

The team's Aug. 23 and Aug. 28 games – both against the Newfoundland Regiment – will be held at Fredericton's Willie O'Ree Place. The two games were originally set to be played at Fredericton's Grant Harvey Centre and Lady Beaverbrook Rink, respectively.

Both games are Regiment "home" contests. Newfoundland will be holding the first portion of their training camp and entire pre-season schedule in Fredericton due to the Canada Games taking over most venues in the St. John's area.

Tickets to both games can be purchased online.

Notebook: First round nearly completed

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Moncton Wildcats can book a trip to the second round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs with a win on Monday night against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

The Wildcats took a 3-2 series lead with a 3-2 overtime win on Friday in Baie-Comeau. It's been an extremely tight series with three of the five games requiring overtime.

The Wildcats/Drakkar series is the only first round matchup remaining. Gatineau, Rouyn-Noranda, Drummondville and Rimouski all earned trips to the second on Friday with Game 5 victories over Saint John, Shawinigan, Victoriaville and Chicoutimi, respectively.

There were a couple upsets in round one. The Tigres finished 25 points ahead of the Voltigeurs and most predicted Victoriaville to take the series. The Volts kept those receipts.

Et bien… #GoRouges pic.twitter.com/YUy6FnjeFj

— Voltigeurs de Drummondville (@VoltigeursDRU) April 8, 2023

The Oceanic, meanwhile, technically upset the Sagueneens although they were seperated by just one point in the standings. Rimouski is quite familiar with first round upsets as the Saint John Sea Dogs found out last year.

2020-21 : 0,385 vs 0,662 vs SHA
2021-22 : 23 points d'écart vs SNB
2022-23 : 1 point d'écart vs CHI https://t.co/8hoY4zQXBY

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) April 8, 2023

In the Western Conference's second round, Sherbrooke will take on Drummondville and Gatineau will face Rouyn-Noranda. Quebec, Halifax and Rimouski have all advanced on the Eastern Conference side but are awaiting the outcome of the Wildcats/Drakkar series to see who they play.

FINAL NUMBERS

The Sea Dogs were outscored 30-5 in their five game first round playoff series against the Gatineau Olympiques.

Peter Reynolds finished with a team high three points (all assists). Nicolas Bilodeau, Brady Burns and Noah Reinhart each had a goal and an assist.

In net, Ventsislav Shingarov has recorded a league high 185 saves despite being pulled after 40 minutes twice in the series. Gatineau averaged 46 shots per game.

Gatineau's Zach Dean (six goals and seven assists) and Riley Kidney (two goals and nine assists) currently sit atop the playoff scoring leader board. Alexis Gendron has scored a league best eight goals.

Zachary Dean ties Maxime Talbot and Claude Giroux for 3rd most points (13) in a best-of-seven series, and Giroux for 2nd most in series to end in 5.

Olivier Nadeau scores for 4th time in series, tacking on an assist in each game in April. 217 points in 217 combined QMJHL GP. https://t.co/OVi4YIzqn5

— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) April 8, 2023

2018 Memorial Cup bid guidelines coming

By Friday, the CHL is expected to unveil the bidding guidelines for the 2018 Memorial Cup.

The CHL confirmed last week that the 2018 tournament, which will be the 100^th Memorial Cup championship, can be bid on by any of the 60 CHL clubs.

Despite rumours that have circulated over the past couple years, the format for the tournament will remain the same with a host team and the champions of the QMJHL, OHL and WHL.

Interested clubs must submit their intent to bid by Sept. 1, 2016. The CHL will make its decision in the first week of February, 2017.

The 2017 Memorial Cup will be held in Windsor.

The Sea Dogs have stated their intentions to bid on the 2019 tournament, which will be the next Memorial Cup the QMJHL hosts.

In other news…

• It appears the Kitchener Rangers, who hosted back in 2008, are interested in bidding on the 2018 Memorial Cup.
• It might have been a rough year for the CHL Import Draft.
• Gerard Gallant is back on PEI.
• Bleedin’ Blue has an article on former Sea Dogs forward Sam Povorozniouk.
• 17-year-old forward Craig Ryan, who had 15 goals and 19 assists in 37 games with the Cape Breton West Islanders last season, has been invited to Sea Dogs training camp.

Isles Update: Mulgrave's @Cryan_7 will be attending the @SJSeaDogs camp this summer. #TheFactoryOfGuts pic.twitter.com/Ypf0HRUbSG

— CB West Islanders (@CBWestIslanders) July 9, 2016

Sea Dogs Sign Bruins Prospect

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a significant free agent signing announcement this morning.

The club announced that they have signed Boston Bruins prospect Mitchell Dempsey. The 19-year old left-winger is taking part in Bruins development camp this week.

Dempsey played in just eight games in the OHL last season – two with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and six with the Kitchener Rangers – where he registered one assist and 10 penalty minutes.

“He's shown flashes of massive potential,” Greyhounds general manager Kyle Dubas told the Sault Star in October of 2013 when Dempsey was released by the club. “It's there, but it's up to Mitchell to bring it out and it wasn't going to happen here.”

The Sea Dogs are hoping a change of scenery will work wonders for the 6'4", 217 lbs. Cambridge, Ontario native.

"Sometimes people need a change of scenery and need the opportunity to reset their careers, and that is what we are offering Mitchell," said Sea Dogs General Manager Darrell Young in a release. "I've met with his family, his agent and members of the Boston Bruins organization. Everyone is in agreement that this is the best place for Mitchell to play.

"The Bruins still believe he is a legitimate NHL prospect. In Saint John, he will have the opportunity to be mentored by assistant coach Jeff Cowan. Jeff played the same way that Mitchell needs to play in order to play at the next level. In Saint John, he will have the opportunity to step in and contribute immediately."

Dempsey also played in 15 games with the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Kitchener Dutchmen, registering five assists.

In 78 career OHL games, Dempsey had two goals and nine assists. He was a first-round pick of the Plymouth Rangers in the 2011 OHL Draft.

Excited to get the ball rolling with @SeaDogsHockey and couldnt be more grateful for this oppurtunity #NB
— Mitch dempsey (@mitchdempsey95) July 7, 2014

Dempsey, a seventh-round pick of the Bruins in the 2013 NHL Draft, is expected to take part in Sea Dogs training camp next month.