Notebook: Rogers TV won't air NB Q games

Rogers TV New Brunswick Facebook

Local Rogers TV stations in the province are not expected to air New Brunswick-based QMJHL games this season.

Broadcaster Gerry Green confirmed the news on Twitter.

Disappointed to hear we @RogersTVNB will NOT be carrying the @QMJHL games from SJ, Moncton and Bathurst this season. It was a great run and I'll miss it terribly. Some hilites to remember from Feb/20.@PQMiramichi @TTSeanHatchard @MrCDobson @BruceHallihan https://t.co/AoIucswlx9

— Gerry Green (@GGreenMachine) September 8, 2021

Rogers TV was not listed as a broadcast partner in the QMJHL's media guide. The network's included were RDS, TSN, CBC, TVA Sports, Eastlink and Optik TV.

The Saint John Sea Dogs, Moncton Wildcats and Acadie-Bathurst Titan have had around 15-25 games broadcast each season since 2014-15 on Rogers TV.

It does seem that local Rogers TV stations in Ontario will continue to air OHL games. A recent London Knights pre-season game was broadcast on Rogers TV in London.

FRIDAY'S GAME
UNB and Fredericton police have released more details on Friday's campus evacuations, which forced the pre-season game between the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats, scheduled to be played at the Aitken Centre, to be cancelled.

The UNB campuses remained closed until midnight. They are now open and have returned to normal operations. We want to thank the university community for your patience and cooperation during this investigation.

— UNB (@UNB) September 11, 2021

The game will not be rescheduled. The UNB Reds, who are hosting Saint John's pre-season games this year, have announced details on what to do if you had purchased tickets to the game.

QUINN LEAVING SEA DOGS

Jon Quinn, the long-time Sea Dogs in-game announcer and director of marketing and communications, is leaving the team at the end of this week.

"While my time with the team will most likely be defined by all the yelling I did from the stands and the time (well) spent embarrassing unsuspecting fans with the promise of gift cards, that doesn't begin to scratch the surface of the opportunities I was given and the unique experiences I shared with the organization," Quinn wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

"To my office family who make magic happen 34+ times a year, you are the best at what you do," he added. "I will always cherish the time we spent together, the many successes we shared, the bad times and the good."

Quinn has been the team's in-game host and held a variety of other roles since 2014.

CHL TV prices seem pretty good

While the Canadian Hockey League has yet to make any official announcement, it appears streaming junior hockey online just became much more affordable.

All three CHL leagues will be part of CHL TV this season. This week, pricing was posted on the streaming service, with league season passes costing $109.99 while a full CHL all-access pass will cost $159.99. Those prices do not include taxes and other fees.

Each pass is good for live and archived games.

Many season ticket members across the league have been sent discount codes for the streaming service.

Last season, a monthly pass to watch QMJHL games through Neulion's QMJHL Live was $39.99 while individual games were $7.99.

The WHL used the CHL TV service last season. There were some bumps along the way, but overall it was a pretty good. The expectation is that many of the hiccups and complaints from last season were resolved over the summer.

The QMJHL has been using Neulion since the 2014-15 season. The league was expected to make the switch to Verizon - the host of CHL TV - last season, but it all fell apart late in the process. The new webcasts were expected to have a higher minimum standard in each rink, giving fans a much better broadcast experience.

Along with a new streaming platform, CHL games will also be broadcast nationally on TSN, CBC and RDS this season instead of Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Rogers TV is not expected to be broadcasting games locally in New Brunswick this season, but that has not been officially announced.

Report: CHL games moving to TSN

Are Canadian Hockey League games making their way to TSN?

According to the well connected and often accurate Toronto Sports Media website, the CHL will soon announce its leaving the Rogers-owned Sportsnet for the Bell-owned TSN.

Sources tell me today that in the days ahead the Canadian Hockey League will announce a new TV deal with @TSN_Sports ..leaving Rogers

— jonah (@yyzsportsmedia) April 14, 2021

So by all accounts Rogers divested out of the CHL tv deal. Had term left but bought out the term. More details to come as I learn more .. told @TSN_Sports will announce a three year pact with the CHL but not sure for what exactly ...

— jonah (@yyzsportsmedia) April 14, 2021

Junior hockey fans have debated for decades that a move to TSN would be beneficial for the CHL. While it's hard to say if the quantity of nationally broadcasted games will increase, the CHL could certainly use the hype machine that has turned the World Junior Hockey Championship into such a marque event.

TSN has the broadcast rights to all IIHF and Hockey Canada events. It's main junior attraction has always been the world juniors but in recent years has started to amp up its coverage of the under-18s and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Having CHL games air on the same station as those events seems like a natural fit.

It may not be related, but TSN used the tag line "the future of hockey lives here" during this year's world junior.

The CHL signed a 12-year-deal with the Rogers-owned Sportsnet in 2014. Interestingly, there have been well sourced rumours that the CHL's 12-year deal with french-language TVA Sports, also inked in 2014, will soon end, shifting games back over to the Bell-owned RDS.

Notebook: Schedule getting busier

MONCTON - The schedule is picking up and it's not slowing down for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Beginning Tuesday night in Moncton, the Sea Dogs will play four games over a six day period. The following week they'll play three games.

Tuesday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Thursday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m. vs Wildcats

Sunday, April 4 at 3 p.m. vs Titan

Wednesday, April 7 at 7 p.m. at Moncton

Thursday, April 8 at 7 p.m. vs Titan

Sunday, April 11 at 4 p.m. at Moncton

Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at Bathurst

Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. vs Titan

Saturday, April 17 at 7 p.m. vs Wildcats

The Sea Dogs have had a busy but manageable pace of games over the past few weeks. In normal times you'd typically see busy weeks followed by a light week or two - but that's not happening this year. This upcoming schedule will certainly test the Dogs and the other New Brunswick teams as they inch closer to the playoffs.

Saint John and Bathurst have both played 23 games each while Moncton has played the fewest in the league at 21. Victoriaville has played 24 games, the fewest of the Quebec-based clubs.

STANDINGS

The Sea Dogs go into action Tuesday sitting third in the Maritimes Division with an 11-8-3-1 record for a .565 points percentage. They've yet to catch the Titan who sit in second with a 13-8-1-1 record for a .609 points percentage.

As the schedule above shows, the Sea Dogs play the Titan five times over the next few weeks, which will be crucial games if Saint John wants to move into second.

The top three teams in the Maritimes Division will avoid the single elimination knockout games scheduled for early May.

The Charlottetown Islanders, winners of 13 straight games, sit comfortably in first with a 28-4-0-0 record for a .875 points percentage.

Notebook: Rogers TV releases schedule

Rogers TV is set to broadcast nearly every New Brunswick based QMJHL game this month.

The station announced earlier this week that it will broadcast 10 games this month (with one of those being in French). Unfortunately for Sea Dogs fans, the two games Rogers TV will not be airing involve the team: Sunday, March 14 against Bathurst and Sunday, March 21 against Moncton.

A small number of tickets are available for purchase in all three New Brunswick markets. The Sea Dogs averaged 1,444 fans in their eight home games this fall.

ROAD WOES

The Sea Dogs will try and do something they haven't done in over a year on Tuesday night: win a road game.

Saint John is 0-4-2-1 away from home this season and have been outscored 34-22. Going back to last season, the Sea Dogs have now lost 10 straight road games with their last win coming on Feb. 16, 2020 in Halifax - a wild 9-7 win over the Mooseheads.

The Sea Dogs will play four road games this month: two in Bathurst and two in Moncton.

Rogers TV to air 27 Sea Dogs games

The Saint John Sea Dogs will once again be shown on Rogers TV in New Brunswick.

Rogers TV released its Quebec Major Junior Hockey League broadcast schedule for New Brunswick on Wednesday. In total, 60 games will be broadcast with each featuring at least one of the Sea Dogs, Moncton Wildcats and/or Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

27 Sea Dogs games will be aired, 18 of which will be from TD Station. The first Sea Dogs game to be broadcast will be this Friday's 7 p.m. season opener in Bathurst.

The broadcasts will no doubt be getting some added attention this season due to the attendance limitations. For those new to the broadcast/streaming game, these Rogers TV feeds are typically plugged into the league's webcasts.

Below is the full slate of Sea Dogs games scheduled to be broadcast.

Georgie talks off-season moves on Rogers

Saint John Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie was a guest on Rogers TV this week. On the show, Georgie discussed the Peter Reynolds signing; the upcoming QMJHL Entry Draft; the team's goaltending situation; and a variety of other topics.



A few takeaways:

• As Georgie has mentioned publicly in the past, the team does have "a few trades lined up" which will presumably be finalized when the league's trading period opens up ahead of the draft next month.
• On the No. 3 pick in next month's Entry Draft: "I don't suspect that we'll move that pick. I expect us to pick at three. But if something makes a lot of sense for us - not just for this year but more multiple seasons - we'll certainly look at it. But as of now I would expect to pick at three."
• The Reynolds signing seemed to solidify that the Dogs could very well remain a strong team after the "all-in" season of 2021-22. Georgie said he's hoping the team can remain competitive for the next three seasons.
• As expected, it sounds like the Sea Dogs are in the market for a veteran goaltender to split the load with Noah Patenaude this season. "I think that Noah has all the potential to be a starting goalie," said Georgie. "It's probably too early to give him that right away next season... a platoon situation makes most sense. There are a lot of goalies out there that are 19 and 20 that I think could be good mentors for Noah or share the duties. We're going to look at getting a goalie in here to share those duties with Noah and may the best goalie win."
• On COVID-19 and the possibility of a delayed or cancelled season impacting trades: "We won't be making any moves for one-year guys if there isn't clear compensation from the other team should there be a hold up to the season."

Rogers TV broadcast schedule announced

Rogers TV New Brunswick has unveiled its QMJHL broadcast schedule for the 2017-18 season.

The cable provider's broadcasts will begin this Thursday when the Sea Dogs host the Halifax Mooseheads at 7 p.m. at Harbour Station. It will be the first of 25 Sea Dogs games to air on channel 10 this season. Only six of those games will be broadcast away from Harbour Station.

Here's is the full Sea Dogs broadcast schedule:

Thursday, Sept. 21: Halifax at Saint John
Saturday, Sept. 23: Cape Breton at Saint John
Friday, Sept. 29: Saint John at Moncton
Wednesday, Oct. 4: Bathurst at Saint John
Saturday, Oct. 7: Blainville-Boisbriand at Saint John
Sunday, Oct. 15: Saint John at Moncton
Sunday, Oct. 22: Cape Breton at Saint John
Wednesday, Oct. 25: Saint John at Bathurst
Saturday, Oct. 28: Val-d'Or at Saint John
Sunday, Oct. 29: Rouyn-Noranda at Saint John
Wednesday, Dec. 6: Drummondville at Saint John
Saturday, Dec. 9: Saint John at Bathurst
Sunday, Dec. 10: Gatineau at Saint John
Friday, Dec. 15: Saint John at Moncton
Friday, Jan. 19: Bathurst at Saint John
Saturday, Jan. 20: Quebec at Saint John
Friday, Jan. 26: Saint John at Bathurst
Wednesday, Feb. 7: Cape Breton at Saint John
Friday, Feb. 9: Halifax at Saint John
Saturday, Feb. 10: Shawinigan at Saint John
Wednesday, Feb. 21: Moncton at Saint John
Saturday, March 3: Victoriaville at Saint John
Sunday, March 4: Bathurst at Saint John
Friday, March 9: Bathurst at Saint John
Saturday, March 10: Moncton at Saint John

The Sea Dogs had two preseason games aired this year - one from Bathurst and the other from Fredericton.

Notebook: Third-round has been good to Sea Dogs over the years

SAINT JOHN - At the moment, the Saint John Sea Dogs won't be picking in the QMJHL Entry Draft until the third round.

That's not ideal, obviously. But here's some positive news: the Sea Dogs have picked some very good players in the third round of past drafts.

Tim Roszell's By The Numbers highlighted a few of those players. Here's the full list:

2005: Alexandre Labonte
2006: Karel St-Laurent
2008: Stephen MacAulay
2009: Scott Oke
2010: Guillaume Cloutier
2010: Devon Oliver-Dares
2011: Maxime Gravel
2013: Joey Richard
2013: Samuel Dove-McFalls
2013: Mathieu Joseph
2015: Vincent Martineau
2016: Isiah Campbell

That's a pretty good list, even though there have been some misses.

COVERAGE
If you're unable to make it to Harbour Station on Saturday, there will be viewing options.

Rogers TV New Brunswick will have live coverage of the first round across the province. If you are out of the region or not a Rogers customer, you can watch live on the network's Facebook page.

The @QMJHL draft (RD# 1) will be LIVE on #Rogerstv CH#10 OR on FACEBOOK LIVE at either https://t.co/Gxi3kyro2k OR https://t.co/wu339xX4xO pic.twitter.com/SWdp9XncGn

— Charles Olscamp (@charlesolscamp) June 1, 2017

TVA Sports will also have live coverage.

You can also follow the picks on the QMJHL website.

Rogers, Eastlink broadcast schedules released

The Rogers TV and Eastlink TV schedules for the 2016-17 season have been released.

The first Sea Dogs game to be broadcast on Rogers will be the team’s home opener on Sept. 30 against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. A total of 26 Sea Dogs games will air on Rogers this season, seven of which will be road games.

The first QMJHL game to air on Rogers this season will be on Friday, Sept. 23 when the Halifax Mooseheads visit the Moncton Wildcats.

The full Rogers TV Sea Dogs schedule can be found here.

The Sea Dogs will only appear once on Eastlink during the regular season. The team’s Nov. 11 game in Charlottetown will air on the cable station.

The full Eastlink schedule can be found here.

The national Sportsnet and TVA Sports schedules have not yet been released.

Thursday News & Notes

The Sea Dogs announced today that they’ve called up first round pick Cedric Pare.

Pare, who the Sea Dogs selected with the 10^th overall pick in last year’s QMJHL Entry Draft, has played in five games with Saint John this year, recording one assist.

The 17-year-old forward registered 16 goals and 44 points in 43 games with the Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League’s Levis Commandeurs this year. He was held pointless in three playoff games.

“We're bringing him in now to expose him to playoff hockey at this level and help him prepare for next season,” said Sea Dogs general manager Darrell Young in a press release.

The Sea Dogs said Pare will be available to play tomorrow night when the team begins their first round playoff series against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Game time is 7 p.m. at Harbour Station.

You also have to wonder if the call up is related to the health of Saint John’s forwards. The Sea Dogs were without Mathieu Joseph, Matthew Highmore and Adam Marsh last weekend due to injuries. Captain Spencer Smallman was also hurt in Friday’s game, although he did dress on Saturday.

In other news…

• The Sea Dogs enter the playoffs with a banged up team on a three-game losing streak. As if that wasn’t rough enough, they’ll have to face the CHL goaltender of the week in Reilly Pickard. According to a CHL release, last week Pickard posted “a 2-0-0-0 record with a goals-against-average of 1.80 and save percentage of .953.”
• Luke Green was ranked 57^th in Craig Button’s latest draft rankings.
• The provincial champion Saint John Vito’s feature five Sea Dogs prospects: defenseman Ian Smallwood and Alex Lafreniere along with forwards Will Kelly, Kyle Anderson and Ben Reid.
• There is speculation that former Sea Dogs defenseman Adam Bateman will join the Saint Mary’s Huskies next season.
• The OHL’s Windsor Spitfires will indeed be bidding to host the 2017 Memorial Cup.
• Saturday’s Sea Dogs-Titan game will be broadcast on Rogers TV. Here’s a nice playoff promo Rogers released: 

Rogers TV Broadcast Schedule Released

There will be plenty of Saint John Sea Dogs games shown on Rogers TV across New Brunswick this season.

Rogers TV has posted their full 2015-16 QMJHL broadcast schedule online with every game featuring at least one New Brunswick team.

In total, 27 Sea Dogs games – 19 home and eight away - will be shown on Rogers. With the exception of Thursday night games, it appears all others will be shown live. UPDATE: Actually, all games will be shown live. Those 8 p.m. Thursday games will be starting at 8 p.m.

Last season’s broadcast schedule featured 19 Sea Dogs games with 15 of them being played at Harbour Station.

Here is the full schedule:

September - 3

Saturday, Sept. 12 vs Halifax – 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 13 vs Moncton – 3 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 27 at Bathurst – 3 p.m.

October - 6

Saturday, Oct. 3 vs Shawinigan – 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 10 vs Blainville-Boisbriand – 7 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 22 vs Bathurst – 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 24 vs Moncton – 7 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 25 at Moncton – 3 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 30 vs Rouyn-Noranda – 7:30 p.m.

November - 2

Thursday, Nov. 12 vs Moncton – 8 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 13 vs Cape Breton – 7:30 p.m.

Notebook: 25 Remain At Sea Dogs Camp

So who is left at Sea Dogs training camp? Via the team’s newsletter, here is who remains:

Goaltenders (2)

G Marc-Antoine Turcotte

G Alex Bishop

Defensemen (8)

D Bailey Webster

D Thomas Chabot

D Jakub Zboril (Bruins camp)

D Oliver Felixson

D Adam Bateman

D Jason Bell

D Luke Green

D Ian Smallwood

Forwards (15)

F Kyle Ward

F Dan Del Paggio

F Joe Veleno

F Nathan Noel

F Adam Marsh

F Sam Povorozniouk

F Matthew Highmore

F Samuel Dove-McFalls

F Spencer Smallman

F Julien Tessier

F Mathieu Joseph

F Matt Green

F Alex Kealey

F Dawson Theede

F Bokondji Imama

Of the 25 players on this list, nine are expected to attend NHL camps next month. Much like the beginning of the 2011-12 season, the Sea Dogs appear destined to start the year quite shorthanded, meaning some call-ups will have to be made.

HEADING BACK

Both Alex D’Orio and Cedric Pare are heading to the Quebec midget AAA ranks. D’Orio will rejoin the Magog Cantonniers while Pare will suit up with the Levis Commandeurs.

The newspaper Reflect du Lac has an article on D’Orio. Last season, the 16-year-old registered a 2.30 goals against average with a .916 save percentage in 23 games.

Pare recorded six goals and seven assists in 41 games with Levis last season.

BACK SO SOON?

By the sounds of this tweet by Cedric Pare, it sounds like the first round pick will be back in Saint John for opening night on Sept. 12.

Thanks to @SJSeaDogs for te 2 weeks!! Great experience!! See you for the opening game;)

— Cedric Pare (@CedricPare12) August 20, 2015

Pare, along with Alex D'Orio, was reassigned by the Sea Dogs on Thursday.

Forwards Spencer Smallman, Mathieu Joseph, Boko Imama, Adam Marsh, Nathan Noel and Samuel Dove-McFalls are all heading top NHL camps next month, meaning the Sea Dogs will need to add some reinforcements up front.

NOTEBOOK: Training Camp Is Coming

Saint John Sea Dogs training camp begins in just over a week.

The Sea Dogs will begin to report to the club next Sunday with the first on-ice sessions taking place on Monday, Aug. 10 at Harbour Station.

Saint John will play six pre-season games this year with the first being on Thursday, Aug. 13 against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Tickets to that game are free of charge and the general public can begin to pick them up at the arena box office beginning on Aug. 10.

Saint John’s other home pre-season games are on Aug. 22 and Aug. 27 against the Moncton Wildcats.

BOWERS ANNOUNCEMENT

The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy, who reported on QMJHL Entry Draft day that Shane Bowers would not report to Cape Breton, was obviously not shocked by this week’s announcement.

Kennedy had an article on Bowers this week, an article that featured this interesting paragraph:

There had been speculation that Bowers would have played for Saint John or Halifax, though right now that’s a moot point. I can say that Cape Breton attempted to trade the fourth overall pick to at least one of those teams, but the price tag was deemed too high by the potential partner.

The Eagles have said they do not intend to trade Bowers and he is expected to join the United States Hockey League’s Waterloo Black Hawks.

TRADE PERIOD

In what could be Bowers related news but also may not be – we shall see – the QMJHL’s trading period opened today.

@QMJHL Trade Period opens today (August 1) until August 18th in time to tweek the lineups before the season starts next month

— Kevin Chambers (@HCCanucklehead) August 1, 2015

Of course, overagers and imports can be traded after that deadline.

Tuesday News & Notes

Rogers TV might want to use someone other than Oliver Cooper on their promotional ads.

Some Tuesday night news and notes…

• Sea Dogs general manager Darrell Young on Blade Mann-Dixon’s reassignment to the MHL: "We want to give Blade a chance to play and develop more. Blade wasn't getting a lot of playing time in a three-goalie system. He'll have a chance to play a lot in Jr. A this season, allowing him to further his development. That will give him a better chance of returning to training camp next year and earning a roster spot."
• Sea Dogs ranked in Future Considerations' November NHL Draft rankings: No. 28 Jakub Zboril, No. 65 Thomas Chabot and No. 96 Nathan Noel.
• Movember is winding down. The Sea Dogs’ page is here.
• The Sea Dogs are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Charlottetown to battle the Islanders. The Dogs are at home on Friday hosting the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Saint John also takes on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Sunday at Harbour Station.
• Sunday’s Sea Dogs/Titan game will be broadcast by Rogers TV across New Brunswick.

On QMJHL Live and Rogers TV

Amidst numerous technical issues, QMJHL Live will remain free until the end of October.

The quality of video, when operating correctly, is undoubtedly a big improvement over Telus. But there have been plenty of glitches with the video, specifically last Saturday night when the stream from Harbour Station barely worked.

Also, there have been issues with audio, either in terms of sound level or it not being available at all.

There can’t be many who are surprised to see these problems popping up. But, they will eventually get it all right. The league, and the webcast providers, are certainly making the right move by extending the free preview.

Meanwhile, the QMJHL made its long awaited return to Rogers TV Channel 10 over the weekend as both Sea Dogs games were broadcast. Considering Rogers hasn’t broadcast New Brunswick based QMJHL games in several seasons, I’d have to say they did a pretty fantastic job. It’s also neat that the Sportsnet graphics and intro are used.

In terms of announcing, Rogers found some gems in getting Aaron Kennedy and Randy Corey to perform play-by-play and Andrew Cromwell to provide colour. That's a top notch crew.

Rogers also made the fantasies of all Sea Dogs fans come true this weekend – having a Heritage Minute commercial air during a Dogs broadcast. The Canadian anthem didn’t write itself, you know.

Thos weekend, Rogers will air Moncton Wildcats games on Friday and Saturday.

Sea Dogs Return To Rogers This Weekend

The Saint John Sea Dogs will be making their long awaited return to Rogers TV this weekend.

The Sea Dogs finally announced their full Rogers TV schedule this afternoon. 19 games in total will air featuring the Dogs with 15 of them originating from Harbour Station.

The full schedule is below:

The games can be seen on channel 10 for Rogers cable subscribers in New Brunswick.

Saint John’s home games this weekend will be broadcast. The Sea Dogs host the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday night at 7 p.m. and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Channel 10 hasn’t broadcast local QMJHL games since the 2010 President Cup final between the Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats.