Notebook: Joseph ranked second in 2027 draft rankings

JaimeLee Gouthro/Cape Breton Eagles

The 2027 NHL Draft hype for Saint John Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph continues to grow.

In The Athletic's 2027 draft rankings that were released this week, Joseph was ranked second behind Everett Silvertips defenseman Landon Dupont.

"Joseph, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 QMJHL draft, is a big, strong, athletic, pro-built at an early age center with skill and a strong skating stride," writes Scott Wheeler. "He was dominant at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in November, leading Canada Red to gold and the tournament in goals with six in five games, and has been a top player on a rebuilding under-.500 team in Saint John this year, playing to above a point per game."

Joseph finished his rookie season with 24 goals and 36 assists in 54 games. He added three assists in four playoff games.

Sea Dogs draft picks Jamie Glance and Finnegan Sears were both honourable mentions in the rankings. Both played with the USNTDP this season. Glance is committed to Boston University for the 2027-28 season while Sears is committed to Boston College.

MCCALLUM TURNS PRO

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Kale McCallum has signed with the ECHL's Trois-Rivieres Lions, it was announced this week. He made his debut on Friday, recording two shots in a 2-1 win over the Maine Mariners.

McCallum spent this past season with the NCAA's Providence College Friars where he posted five goals and nine assists in 31 games.

The 24-year-old spent parts of the previous three seasons with the UNB Reds.

McCallum, who played with the Saint John Vito's and at Rothesay Netherwood, spent the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons with the Sea Dogs before being traded to the Val-d'Or Foreurs.

Notebook: Fullerton's impressive season

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Angelo Fullerton is ending his junior career on a high note.

The 20-year-old forward has scored nine goals in his past nine games to give him 25 of the season, which is currently the Saint John Sea Dogs team lead. He's also posted 18 assists in the 59 games he has appeared in.

Fullerton spent the previous three seasons with the Cape Breton Eagles, who he and the Sea Dogs will visit for a pair of games this weekend. His previous career high for points in a season was 16. His previous high for goals was nine.

The Quispamsis native has more goals and points this season than his previous three seasons combined.

He's offensive contributions have likely exceeded expectations. Fullerton attended Sea Dogs training camp on a loan from the Eagles and was later acquired for a sixth-round pick.

Fullerton and fellow overagers Julien Wasmer and Maxime Côté were honoured before Saint John's final regular season home game this past Saturday.

ATTENDANCE IS IN

Saint John's final attendance figures are in – and they're positive.

Saint John will finish the regular season with an average attendance of 3,273 fans per game, a significant increase over last season's average of 2,811. This is Saint John's best attendance figure since the 2019-20 season when the team averaged 3,345 fans per game.

The Sea Dogs currently own the sixth best average attendance in the QMJHL. They haven't finished higher than fifth since the 2021-22 season.

Saint John had two big home crowds to end the season. Announced attendance for last Friday's game was 5,093 while Saturday's was 6,150 – which was a sell out. The Saturday crowd was the largest since the 2017-18 season (6,165).

The team is inching closer to those pre-pandemic totals, which is good news.

Knights down Tigers for Memorial Cup title

RIMOUSKI, QC – The London Knights are Memorial Cup champions.

After a tight first period, the Knights blew it open in the second en route to a 4-1 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers in Sunday's championship game. This is London's third Memorial Cup title and first since 2016.

This was London's second straight appearance in the Memorial Cup final – and they got some redemption. The Knights fell to the host Saginaw Spirit in last year's championship, falling behind early and were never able to pull themselves fully back into the game.

The Knights seemed to learn from last year's errors, leading 1-0 after one. They added three in the second period – and another that was called off due to goaltender interference – to take a commanding 4-0 lead into the third.

https://t.co/bkKt3a63eM pic.twitter.com/gyLsHeEGri

— Jamie Tozer (@station_nation) June 2, 2025

Gavin McKenna gave the Tigers some life 2:43 into the third and appeared to make it 4-2 later on – only to have the goal called back because of a missed high stick earlier in the play. The Tigers pressed, but just couldn't get through London's defense.

For Medicine Hat, this is a tough one for many reasons. In normal times there would be optimism that McKenna could carry them back to the Memorial Cup next year. But with speculation that McKenna is NCAA bound, there are all kinds of uncertainty around the Tigers roster.

The WHL continues to struggle at the Memorial Cup. They have not won a national title since the Edmonton Oil Kings were victorious in 2014.

The Moncton Wildcats, who fell to the Knights in Friday's semifinal, finished in third-place with a 1-3 record. The host Rimouski Oceanic went 0-3.

Moncton's season ends with semifinal loss

Vincent Éthier / CHL

The Memorial Cup continues to elude the Moncton Wildcats.

Gardiner MacDougall and the Wildcats fell 5-2 to the London Knights in the semifinal game of the 2025 Memorial Cup on Friday, ending their hopes of a national championship. London advances to Sunday's final where they'll face the Medicine Hat Tigers.

This was the third time in franchise history that the Wildcats earned a spot in the tournament. They've come up short all three times with their closest victory being a loss in the 2006 championship game.

Maybe it was the tougher competition or something else, but the Wildcats just didn't look like themselves over the past few weeks. They struggled to produce consistent, 60-minute performances and let opponents control play for lengthy stretches.

Despite Friday's loss, it was quite the season for the Wildcats, who won the QMJHL's regular season title and Gilles-Courteau Trophy. Moncton went 53-9-2-0 during regular season play.

It was a rough tournament for the QMJHL with the league's only win coming in the game that put the Wildcats and Rimouski Oceanic against each other. The Wildcats finish with a 1-3 record while the Oceanic went 0-3.

The QMJHL won every Memorial Cup tournament from 2018 to 2023 (there were no tournaments in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic). The OHL's Saginaw Spirit won last season, defeating London in the final.

Medicine Hat will try and capture the WHL's first national title since the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.

Wildcats move on to semifinal

Vincent Éthier / CHL

The Moncton Wildcats overcame an ugly start to keep their Memorial Cup hopes alive on Wednesday.

The Wildcats were heavily outplayed in the first period but rebounded in the final 40 minutes for a 6-2 win over the Rimouski Oceanic in round robin play. The win pushes Moncton into Friday's semifinal against the London Knights while Rimouski's season ends with the loss.

St. Andrews native Gabe Smith scored a pair of goals for Moncton while singles came from Julius Sumpf, Juraj Pekarcik, Etienne Morin and Alex Mercier. Mathis Rousseau made 32 saves in the win.

The Wildcats trailed 2-1 after the first period and were outshot 17-6. But Moncton turned things around in the second period, scoring twice to take a 3-2 lead into the third.

Morin put the Wildcats up 4-2 with a goal just 4:02 into the third. They secured the win with a pair of empty net goals late in the period.

It was a far from a perfect game for Moncton, but it was certainly a better showing and result than their 3-1 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday. The Wildcats were able to get their offense going, something they've struggled with at this tournament.

The Wildcats will look to carry this momentum into Friday's semifinal against the Knights, which will obviously be their biggest game of the season. The semifinal winner will play the Tigers in Sunday's championship game.

Wildcats, Oceanic both down 0-2

Vincent Éthier / CHL

The road to a Memorial Cup title for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has gotten more challenging.

The Moncton Wildcats fell 3-1 to the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers on Monday night, falling to 0-2 at this year's tournament. The Rimouski Oceanic, meanwhile, are also 0-2 following a 3-1 loss to the OHL champion London Knights on Sunday.

The results of the past two days mean no tiebreaker game will be required this year. Here's how the next couple days will play out:

• The winner of Tuesday's London/Medicine Hat game will earn a bye to Sunday's championship game.
• The loser of Tuesday's London/Medicine Hat game will secure a spot in Friday's semifinal game.
• The winner of Wednesday's Rimouski/Moncton game will earn a spot in a Friday's semifinal game.
• The loser of Wednesday's Rimouski/Moncton game will be eliminated.

On Monday, the Wildcats, once again, just couldn't get things clicking properly. After a fairly 50-50 first period, Medicine Hat outshot Moncton 17-6 in the second and carried a 2-0 lead into the third. The Wildcats scored early in the third to get within one but some ill-timed penalties essentially erased any chance of a Moncton comeback.

The Wildcats have scored just three goals so far at the Memorial Cup and all have been from defensemen.

Moncton has now lost six straight games at the Memorial Cup with their last win coming in the 2006 semifinal game. They'll look to snap this skid with their season on the line on Wednesday.

Wildcats, Oceanic drop openers

Vincent Éthier / CHL

Both teams from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League have dropped their first games of the 2025 Memorial Cup.

The host Rimouski Oceanic fell 5-4 to the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday while the Moncton Wildcats lost 3-2 in overtime to the OHL's London Knights on Saturday.

Both QMJHL squads were in it until the end and have proved just how tight the teams competing in this year's much-hyped tournament could be.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs captain Eriks Mateiko and the Oceanic allowed the game-winning goal in the final three minutes of regulation. The Wildcats, meanwhile, were able to, at least, grab a point, which could be crucial later on.

Moncton was able to get the game into overtime thanks to a great goaltending performance from Mathis Rousseau. The overage netminder made 45 saves in the loss – including 16 in the third period alone.

Both teams will look to regroup and get a better result in their second games. The Oceanic take on the Knights on Sunday while the Wildcats battle the Tigers on Monday. 

A few other Saturday night news and notes...

• Here's a look at Rimouski's commemorative sweaters, continuing a Memorial Cup tradition.
• It looks like the Memorial Cup patches have been added to the back of jerseys – along the bottom. Teams have big Motorola ads on the front of their jerseys where the patch was traditionally placed.
• Saturday's game was the Memorial Cup's first three-on-three overtime game since the 2022 tournament in Saint John. That game saw the Edmonton Oil Kings edge Gardiner MacDougall and the Sea Dogs 4-3.
• In the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs, Joshua Roy scored the Laval Rocket's lone goal in a 5-1 loss to the Rochester Americans on Friday. The best-of-five series is now tied 2-2 heading into Sunday's decisive Game 5 in Laval.
• The Colorado Eagles have forced a decisive Game 5 in their series against the Abbotsford Canucks thanks to a 3-1 win on Friday. William Dufour did not play in that game. Game 5 is Monday in Colorado.
• Nicolas Guay, Vincent Sevigny and the Trois-Rivieres Lions have taken a 3-2 series lead in the ECHL's Eastern Conference final with a 3-1 win over the Florida Everblades on Saturday. Sevigny had an assist on the game's opening goal.

Memorial Cup begins Friday; AHL, ECHL playoffs continue

Embed from Getty Images 

The 2025 Memorial Cup is set to begin on Friday night in Rimouski.

The host Oceanic will take on the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers in the tournament's opening game. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. AT and the game can be seen on TSN.

The Oceanic feature the only former Saint John Sea Dogs player taking part in this year's tournament. Forward Eriks Mateiko recorded seven goals and four assists in 18 playoff games with the Oceanic, helping the club reach the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final.

Mateiko has always performed well in big moments. The Washington Capitals prospect had a breakout performance at this year's World Junior Championship and, more recently, scored the Game 7 overtime goal that sent the Oceanic to the league final.

The Tigers are headlined by 2026 NHL Draft top prospect Gavin McKenna – who Mateiko faced at this year's world juniors. Speculation continues that McKenna could be heading to the NCAA for next season.

Saturday will see the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats take on the OHL champion London Knights at 7 p.m. AT. Moncton finished the regular season ranked first in the CHL while London was second.

The game will see two coaching legends go head-to-head: Gardiner MacDougall of the Wildcats and Dale Hunter of the Knights. MacDougall, often referred to as the king of the short tournament, will be looking for his second Memorial Cup title after guiding the Sea Dogs to the 2022 title.

The Knights were favoured to win last year's tournament but they fell to the host Saginaw Spirit in the championship game. The host team has won three of the last six tournaments.

Oceanic send series back to Moncton

Embed from Getty Images

Eriks Mateiko scored as the Rimouski Oceanic staved off elimination on Thursday night.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs captain was one of five Oceanic players to score in a dominant 5-1 victory over the Moncton Wildcats, keeping their Gilles-Courteau Trophy hopes alive. The Wildcats lead the QMJHL championship series 3-1.

Rimouski came flying out of the gate, scoring three goals in the first 7:08 and carrying a 4-0 lead into the first intermission. The Oceanic outshot the Wildcats 23-7 in the opening frame and were 2/5 on the power play.

The Wildcats simply didn't show up for this game. Once Rimouski got things going early, Moncton had no answer. They struggled in their own end at times and were too undisciplined. 

Mateiko's goal was his first since scoring in double overtime of Game 7 in of the QMJHL semifinals. The former Sea Dog also had six shots and was a +1.

ERIKS MATEIKO MAKES IT 5-0 RIMOUSKI

That's his first of the series! 🇱🇻 pic.twitter.com/dlGEuPIHSp

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 16, 2025

The good news for Moncton: they still carry a commanding series lead. Game 5 will take place Saturday night at Avenir Centre – a building they are 8-0 in during these playoffs.

The Wildcats are now 15-2 overall in these playoffs.

Moncton will try and win the third QMJHL championship in team history on Saturday. Both of their previous titles were clinched on home ice.

Both the Wildcats and Oceanic have already secured spots in the Memorial Cup tournament. Another team locked in their spot on Thursday with the London Knights defeating the Oshawa Generals 5-2 to win a second straight OHL championship.

In the WHL, the Medicine Hat Tigers have a 3-1 series lead over the Spokane Chiefs. Game 5 is Friday night in Spokane. 

Wildcats dominant in Game 1 win

Embed from Getty Images

MONCTON - The Moncton Wildcats dominated the first game of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final.

The Wildcats controlled the play for most of the night in a 4-1 victory over the Rimouski Oceanic at a sold out Avenir Centre. Shots ended 38-14 in favour of the Wildcats – with half of the Oceanic's shots coming in the third period.

Game 2 of the series will take place Sunday night in Moncton.

The Wildcats came ready to play. They led just 1-0 after the first period but shots were 13-3. Rimouski didn't record their first shot on net until there was 4:11 remaining in the first.

The Oceanic looked very much like a banged up and tired team that's coming off a seven-game series. We'll see if they can rebound.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs captain Eriks Mateiko had just one shot on goal for the Oceanic. He, like most of the Rimouski lineup, simply couldn't solve Moncton's strong defensive play.

Thursday stuff: Gens take Game 1

TSN

The OHL kicked off the three CHL league championships on Thursday. Some news and notes...

• The Oshawa Generals handed the London Knights their first loss of the playoffs, taking Game 1 of the OHL final 4-2. Cal Ritchie scored the winner on a power play with 3:25 remaining in the third. The Generals went 3/9 on the man advantage. Game 2 will take place Saturday.
• The WHL final between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs gets underway on Friday.
• In the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs, the Colorado Eagles are through to the next round following a 3-1 series win over the San Jose Barracuda. William Dufour did not play in any games in the series.
• The Charlotte Checkers fell 3-2 to the Providence Bruins on Wednesday. The Checkers lead that best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 taking place Friday. Riley Bezeau has not played in any games in the series.
• Spencer Smallman and the Hershey Bears must win on Friday to keep their season alive. The Bears trail the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2-1 in the best-of-five series. Smallman has one goal in three games.
• In the ECHL's Kelly Cup Playoffs, Nicolas Guay had an assist and three shots while Vincent Sevigny had two shots in the Trois-Rivieres Lions' 4-1 win over the Norfolk Admirals. The Lions lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
• Matt Murphy was held off the scoresheet in the Fort Wayne Komets' 2-1 loss to the Toledo Walleye. Toledo leads the best-of-seven series 3-2.
• The Maritime Hockey League champion Edmundston Blizzard played their first game at the Centennial Cup on Thursday, defeating the CCHL champion Rockland Nationals 4-3 in overtime. The Blizzard take on the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL on Saturday afternoon.

  Philippe Collette gets the overtime winner as the @BlizzardEdston defeat Rockland 4-3 to open their 2025 #CentennialCup schedule. pic.twitter.com/TKxtzO2irw

  — The MHL (@THEMHL) May 9, 2025

• The USHL final featuring Tynan Lawrence and the Muskegon Lumberjacks facing Brady Peddle and the Waterloo Black Hawks begins Friday.

Dates, format announced for first CHL USA Prospects Challenge

The inaugural CHL USA Prospects Challenge will take place this November in London and Oshawa.

The Canadian Hockey League unveiled the details of the new event on Tuesday. Games will be played Tuesday, Nov. 26 in London and Wednesday, Nov. 27 in Oshawa. Tickets will go on sale Oct. 1.

According to the news release, " the CHL USA Prospects Challenge will see the top first-year NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL’s Member Leagues – Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) – face-off against those from the U.S. National Under-18 Team in a two-game series."

News of the new event – which will replace the CHL NHL Top Prospects Game – was confirmed by the CHL in June.

This should be a fascinating event especially as the CHL/NCAA recruiting war is expected to take a major turn over the new few years. Braxton Whitehead of the Regina Pats announced his commitment to Arizona State University for the 2025-26 season even though no rules have been changed yet.

The CHL provided a few additional details about the event's future in Tuesday's news release.

Set to be a part of the calendar over the next three seasons, the CHL USA Prospects Challenge will see players from the CHL and NTDP’s U18 team compete before hundreds of NHL scouts and thousands of fans in an effort to improve their draft stock ahead of the upcoming NHL Draft. Players for the CHL team will be provided by NHL Central Scouting as selected by the NHL’s 32 clubs, and much like other national events in the CHL, the hosting duties of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge will rotate between the CHL’s three Member League markets each year.

While not confirmed, next year's event will presumably take place in QMJHL territory with the Memorial Cup being held in the WHL.

Notebook: Regular season coming soon

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

We're less than two weeks away from the start of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season.

Just one more weekend of pre-season play remains before the games get real. Saint John closes out exhibition action next Saturday, taking on the Charlottetown Islanders in Tyne Valley, PEI.

Then things get serious. The Sea Dogs will play their first two games of the regular season on home ice, hosting the Moncton Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 20 and the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday, Sept. 21.

There will be plenty of excitement around Saint John's season opener as Gardiner MacDougall returns behind a TD Station bench for the first time since leading the Sea Dogs to the 2022 Memorial Cup championship.

LAFORGE TO ONTARIO

Former Sea Dogs forward Nico Laforge has found a new home for the 2024-25 season.

The MHL's Grand Falls Rapids have traded Laforge's rights to the OJHL's Cobourg Cougars. The 20-year-old forward made his Cougars debut in the club's season opener on Friday, scoring in a 7-4 loss to the Trenton Golden Hawks. 

Nico LaForge with his first OJHL Goal! Assists to Liam Oravsky (First OJHL Point) and Duncan Schneider!#DoTheROAR pic.twitter.com/EI1EEwE7J2

— Cobourg Cougars (@CougarsHockey) September 7, 2024

Laforge has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Sea Dogs, which included 21 games during the Memorial Cup year of 2021-22. He leaves the QMJHL having posted eight goals and 17 assists in 126 career games.

The 5'7", 170 lbs Laforge was a long shot to make this year's Sea Dogs team as an overager. He did not attend training camp.

Notebook: Some alumni news

Embed from Getty Images

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Matthew Highmore signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Ottawa Senators earlier this week.

The 28-year-old spent most the season with the AHL's Belleville Senators where he recorded nine goals and 22 assists in 43 games. He also appeared in seven games with Ottawa where he posted a pair of assists.

“Matthew and our coaching staffs in both Belleville and Ottawa have mutual familiarity,” said Senators general manager Steve Staios in a news release. “He routinely brings energy, is a strong penalty killer and has demonstrated good offensive prowess in the AHL.”

According to the Sens, the contract carries a value of $775,000 in the NHL and $400,000 in the AHL.

This was Highmore's first season with the Ottawa organization. He previously spent time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues.

MORE ALUMNI NEWS

• Joe Veleno news:

  UPDATE: The #RedWings have extended qualifying offers to Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Jonatan Berggren and Joe Veleno.
  
  The #RedWings did not extend a qualifying offer to Jared McIsaac.

  — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 30, 2024

• Yan Kuznetsov news:

  The #Flames have provided qualifying offers to seven players:
  
  • Adam Klapka (RW)
  • Yan Kuznetsov (D)
  • Nikita Okhotiuk (D)
  • Jakob Pelletier (LW)
  • Cole Schwindt (C)
  • Ilya Solovyov (D)
  • Dustin Wolf (G) pic.twitter.com/ZdbCMP8hvp

  — Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 30, 2024

• Former Sea Dogs goaltender Jonathan Lemieux has signed a one-year AHL contract extension with the Abbotsford Canucks. Lemieux was on an AHL deal with the club last year but was loaned to the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings.
• Former Sea Dogs who appear to be hitting free agency on Monday include Mike Hoffman (San Jose) and Bokondji Imama (Ottawa).
• Postmedia caught up with former Sea Dogs defenseman Jeremie Poirier to discuss his younger brother, Justin, who was picked in the fifth round of the NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.
• The Charlottetown Islanders website has a story on former Sea Dogs forward Oliver Cooper and what he's up to these days. Cooper will be playing with an ICEHL club in Austria next season.
• Former Sea Dogs on ECHL season ending rosters: Nicolas Blachman (Iowa), Kelly Bent (Orlando) and Nicolas Guay (Trois-Rivieres).

Spirit win 2024 Memorial Cup

CHL X

The Saginaw Spirit are Memorial Cup champions.

The host Spirit upset the favoured London Knights 4-3 in Sunday night's tournament finale to win their first championship of any kind. It's the first time a team from Michigan has hoisted the trophy and the first time an American squad has won since the 2008 Spokane Chiefs.

The Spirit dominated the first half of the game and built a 3-0 lead. The Knights scored their first goal of the game at 9:45 of the second period – which was just their second shot on goal.

The Knights, somewhat predictably, gained some momentum from that goal and scored twice in the third period to tie things at 3-3. Just when it looked like the game was heading to overtime, Saginaw's Josh Bloom scored the winner with 22 seconds remaining to secure the Memorial Cup title.

JOSH BLOOM WITH THE BIGGEST GOAL IN FRANCHISE HISTORY 🚨

THE OA SCORES THE TOURNAMENT-WINNING GOAL WITH 21 SECONDS LEFT TO LEAD SAGINAW TO VICTORY 📽️#MemorialCup | @SpiritHockey | @Canucks pic.twitter.com/wI2rvY7kD7

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) June 3, 2024

The Spirit join the 2012 Shawinigan Cataractes (who also beat the Knights in the final), 2017 Windsor Spitfires and 2022 Saint John Sea Dogs as recent host teams to lift the Memorial Cup after not winning their league title. The 2005 Knights remain the last host team to win both their league and the Memorial Cup.

Saginaw is the first OHL club to win the Memorial Cup since the 2017 Spitfires. The QMJHL had won the last four tournaments.

The 2025 Memorial Cup will be held in Rimouski next spring.

Voltigeurs eliminated from Memorial Cup

Eric Young / CHL

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's run of Memorial Cup championships has come to a close.

The QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs had their Memorial Cup hopes come to an end on Tuesday, falling 5-3 to the Western Hockey League's Moose Jaw Warriors. The Volts leave Saginaw with an 0-3 record, becoming the first QMJHL team to go winless and not reach at least the tournament semifinal since the 2010 Moncton Wildcats in Brandon.

Moose Jaw scored the game-winner while shorthanded with 1:34 remaining in the third period. Shots ended 52-28 in favour of Drummondville with 26 of the Volts' shots coming in the third.

QMJHL teams have won the past four Memorial Cups, a stretch that began with the 2018 Acadie-Bathurst Titan and continued with the 2019 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, 2022 Saint John Sea Dogs and 2023 Quebec Remparts. There were no tournaments held in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic.

History says it's not often teams recover from bad starts at the Memorial Cup – and the Voltigeurs were victims of that. Drummondville dropped their opener 4-0 to the powerhouse London Knights and then blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads in a 4-3 loss to the host Saginaw Spirit.

Drummondville's lineup included former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Noah Reinhart and Quispamsis native Sam Oliver. The two played together on the team's third line.

Moose Jaw, 1-2, will play in Friday's semifinal game against the loser of Wednesday's London/Saginaw game. The winner of Wednesday's tilt earns a bye through to Sunday's final.

The last OHL team to win the Memorial Cup was the 2017 Windsor Spitfires. No WHL team has won the trophy since the 2014 Edmonton Oil Kings.

Notebook: Beaten by the champs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs can at least say they were eliminated from this year's QMJHL playoffs by the eventual champions.

The Drummondville Voltigeurs took down the Sea Dogs in a four game sweep in the opening round en route to a league championship. It's the third time in franchise history that the Sea Dogs were eliminated from post-season play by the league champion.

2010: Moncton Wildcats (league final)

2013: Halifax Mooseheads (first round)

2024: Drummondville Voltigeurs (first round)

Saint John, although they did win the 2022 Memorial Cup tournament, has not won a playoff series since the 2017 QMJHL final.

ROUGH PLAYOFFS

In terms of entertainment, this was a rough post-season in the QMJHL. There was only one Game 7 and, remarkably, only two series went six games or longer. There were eight sweeps.

What an incredibly disappointing #QPlayoffs from an entertainment standpoint. Only two of 15 series make it past Game 5 👎

— David McKnight (@mcknight_david) May 15, 2024

The situation is probably a one off but, even before this year, there was a valid conversation to be had about adjusting the league's playoff format, whether that be returning to the 1vs 16 setup or simply reducing the amount of teams that get in.

It wasn't a great year of playoff hockey across the CHL, as Ken Campbell of The Hockey News points out. There are high hopes for this year's Memorial Cup given how each champion earned their spot via sweep in the league final.

Field set for 2024 Memorial Cup

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The field is now set for the 2024 Memorial Cup.

The London Knights and Moose Jaw Warriors secured their spots in the tournament on Wednesday night, joining the QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs and host Saginaw Spirit. The tournament begins next Friday in Michigan.

All four championship series ended in sweeps, which is a CHL first. Drummondville and London had fairly easy times with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and Oshawa Generals, respectively, while Moose Jaw had a few close games with the Portland Winterhawks.

🗓️ Plan accordingly! #MemorialCup

📺💻📱TSN | RDS | NHL Network (🇺🇸) | #CHLTV (🌍) pic.twitter.com/vF65CknKdZ

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 16, 2024

Both Saginaw and Moose Jaw will be making their Memorial Cup debuts. This was the first WHL championship for the Warriors despite their franchise dating back 40 years.

Drummondville will be making their fourth appearance and first since 2009.

London, meanwhile, has been no stranger to this tournament over the past 20 years. The Knights will be playing in their sixth Memorial Cup since 2005 and will be looking for a third title. They'll likely be favourites going into this given how they handled the OHL with relative ease this season – which included eliminating Saginaw in the third round of the playoffs.

All three league champions will have over a week to prepare for the Memorial Cup. Saginaw hasn't played since May 5.

The QMJHL has won the past four Memorial Cups. The OHL last won it in 2017 (Windsor Spitfires) while no WHL team has won since 2014 (Edmonton Oil Kings).

League finals set; Memorial Cup host out early again

OHL

Winning the Memorial Cup as the host team? That's hard. Winning your league as the Memorial Cup host team? That's proven to be even harder.

The Saginaw Spirit, the host of this year's Memorial Cup tournament, were eliminated from the Ontario Hockey League playoffs in the third round by the London Knights. The Spirit's last game was on May 5 and they won't play again until May 24 when they host the Western Hockey League champions.

Remarkably, Saginaw's elimination means no Memorial Cup host team has won their respective league since the 2008 Kitchener Rangers. No host team has won both the Memorial Cup and their respective league since the 2005 London Knights, considered one of the greatest junior teams of all-time.

Here is how each Memorial Cup host has done in their league playoffs since the last host champion (Kitchener) in 2008.... pic.twitter.com/W0Xx0JglIM

— Steve McLean (@SteveMcLean888) May 5, 2024

Since 2008, three host teams have managed to lift the Memorial Cup on home ice: the 2012 Shawinigan Cataractes, the 2017 Windsor Spitfires and the 2022 Saint John Sea Dogs (the Sea Dogs were, oddly, involved in all three of those tournaments).

It's fair to say that this is officially a trend – and can the Rimouski Oceanic stop it by winning the Gilles Courteau Trophy next year?

For the 14th straight CHL season the Memorial Cup host will not win their league title. Last time the host did win their league was Kitchener in 2008.
The longest stretch before this one was 7 seasons on two different occasions, 1988-1994 & 1998-2004.

— Steve McLean (@SteveMcLean888) May 5, 2024

With Saginaw out in the third round, all three league championships will have a berth in the Memorial Cup on the line.

Notebook: Tigres stay alive

Alexandre Garneau/Victoriaville Tigres

The Victoriaville Tigres staved off elimination on Wednesday night.

Benjamin Vigneault scored just 1:35 into overtime to give the Tigres are a 3-2 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs and avoiding a sweep. The Volts will try once again to earn a spot in the QMJHL final in Friday's Game 5, which will take place in Drummondville.

95 seconds into overtime! ⏲️

Benjamin Vigneault's point shot keeps @TigresVicto in their series with Drummondville! #RoadtoMemorialCup

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) May 2, 2024

The Drakkar/Eagles series resumes Thursday in Baie-Comeau following a nasty Game 4 that ended in an 8-2 Drakkar win. Eagles forward Cam MacDonald and Drakkar goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel recieved match penalties on separate plays – but no players will be suspended for Game 5, according to reports.

Il n’y aura pas de suspension liée au match Drakkar vs Eagles d’hier. #lesoleil

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) May 1, 2024

The Drakkar can clinch a spot in the league final with a win while an Eagles victory would send the series back to Sydney for Game 6 on Saturday.

JOB OPENINGS

There are some high profile job openings in the Maritimes Division right now.

The Halifax Mooseheads are looking for a new head coach after firing Jim Midgley after just one season. Midgley is a former Sea Dogs assistant coach and Rothesay Netherwood head coach.

The Moncton Wildcats, meanwhile, are looking for a new head coach after parting ways with Dan Lacroix. That move was long expected – but what wasn't expected was Moncton also starting the search for a new general manager. The team announced on April 18 that general manager Ritchie Thibeau "has accepted a senior position with J.D Irving effective May 6 and will be leaving the team."

Both the Mooseheads and Wildcats were swept in the first round of the playoffs and underperformed in the second half. The two teams are heading in different directions though with Halifax likely starting a rebuild and Moncton entering its contention window.