Notebook: Murnieks, Latvia finish fourth at U18 worlds

Micheline Veluvolu/IIHF

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Olivers Murnieks and Team Latvia finished fourth at the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship.

The Latvians fell 4-1 to Czechia in the event's bronze medal game on Saturday. On Friday, Latvia fell 1-0 to Slovakia in the semifinals, forcing them into the third-place game.

Murnieks had one shot and was a -2 in 21:08 of ice time – which led the team. He finished the tournament with a goal and five assists in seven games.

Following Friday's game, Murnieks was named one of Latvia's top three players of the tournament.

Sweden defeated host Slovakia 4-2 in the gold medal game.

Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph and defenseman Cameron Chartrand were part of Team Canada, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Sea Dogs draft pick Jamie Glance was a member of Team USA, who also fell in the quarterfinals.

CRICKARD MEETS MEDIA

Former Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard met with the Swift Current media via Zoom this past week.

Crickard was named the Broncos new head coach and general manager last Friday.

The Southwest Booster and Swift Current Online both have stories on the hiring. CTV also posted a couple videos.

Notebook: QMJHL Cup concludes

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

Team Daigle won the QMJHL Cup last weekend.

The tournament, which features the top prospects for the upcoming QMJHL Entry Draft split into four teams, came to a close on April 26 and saw Team Daigle defeat Team Savage 3-2.

Team Daigle had a fairly loaded roster, featuring top prospects like James Scantlebury, Benjamin Veitch and Malik L'Italien.

Veitch and Emrick Nolette-Robidoux finished in a tie for the team scoring lead with four goals and three assists in four games.

Scantlebury, considered to be one of the top prospects in this year's draft, posted three goals and three assists.

Alexis Joseph, who played with Team Talbot, registered three goals and four assists, finishing in a tie for third in tournament scoring.

The QMJHL Entry Draft takes place June 6-7 in Quebec City. The Saint John Sea Dogs own the first overall pick.

SCANTLEBURY NEWS

Even after the announcement that he has signed a USHL tender agreement with the Chicago Steel, there appears to still be hope that James Scantlebury will choose the QMJHL route.

Hadi Kalakeche of Elie Prospects shared the below earlier this week.

Being told James Scantlebury tendering with the Chicago Steel is an insurance policy, in case the QMJHL Draft sees him go to a team his side doesn’t see benefiting his development.

Still being considered high in the draft, and very much interested in going the QMJHL route.

— Hadi Kalakeche (@HadiK_Scouting) April 30, 2025

We'll see how this plays out. In recent years, some players in this situation have continued down the USHL route while others opted for the QMJHL.

Notebook: Lapierre back to Bathurst

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SAINT JOHN - The Acadie-Bathurst Titan received an early Christmas gift on Wednesday.

The Washington Capitals announced that 19-year-old forward Hendrix Lapierre has been sent back to junior where he'll rejoin the Titan. Lapierre was acquired by the Titan in the off-season after recording eight goals and 23 assists in 21 games with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last year.

Lapierre recorded one goal in six games with the Capitals.

The news is a huge boost to a Titan team that has gone just 2-6-0-2 in their past 10 games after a hot start.

Lapierre appeared in just one pre-season game with the Titan, recording a goal and an assist against Saint John. Oddly, it may be some time before the Sea Dogs see the Capitals prospect in action again. The two teams have already played each other four times and will meet three times between Dec. 18-31 - when Lapierre will likely be in Edmonton with Canada's world junior team. The Sea Dogs and Titan won't meet again until Feb. 23.

FRANCIS' IMPACT

In many ways, the Sea Dogs have looked like a different team since the return of Ryan Francis. 

The Sea Dogs are 3-1 since his return. That included a 4-3 win over the Halifax Mooseheads in his season debut.

"As the game against the Mooseheads wore on, Francis was even more dominant and the rest of the team followed him," wrote Willy Palov in his Chronicle Herald column. "That intangible quality will be invaluable in Saint John where they need that kind of spark, not to mention the elite production the former Cape Breton Eagles star will provide."

Francis has two goals and three assists in four games this season.