Notebook: Poirier signs in Germany

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Jeremie Poirier is heading overseas.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman has signed with Adler Mannheim of the DEL, Germany's highest level of professional hockey. The club announced the signing on Thursday.

The 24-year-old has spent his entire professional career in the AHL, mostly with the Calgary Wranglers. Poirier was traded to the Texas Stars this past season.

Adler verpflichten Jérémie Poirier ✍️

🔗 https://t.co/e8hZAUwENl

Der 24-jährige Kanadier wechselt aus der nordamerikanischen AHL in die @DELoffiziell und erhält bei den Adlern die Rückennummer 54.#AdlerMannheim #PENNYDEL #Eishockey #Hockey #DEL #Mannheim #MERC #Summer pic.twitter.com/t8ZnztYsCd

— Adler Mannheim (@adlermannheim) July 9, 2026

In 51 games split between the Wranglers and Stars in 2025-26, Poirier posted five goals and 11 assists. He leaves North America having recorded 22 goals and 90 assists in 214 regular season AHL games. He had another three goals and nine assists in 17 playoff contests.

Poirier was a third-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft but never got into an NHL game. He spent four seasons with Saint John and helped the club win the 2022 Memorial Cup.

SPADAFORE SIGNS WITH FLAMES

Jordan Spadafore is returning to Saint John.

The former Sea Dogs defenseman has signed with the Saint John Flames of the Beausejour Senior Hockey League for the 2026-27 season, the club announced last week. 

The 25-year-old spent parts of two seasons with the Sea Dogs. He also played with the Rimouski Oceanic and Val-d'Or Foreurs during his QMJHL career.

Spadafore played a couple seasons at Nipissing University in North Bay before turning pro in 2023-24. He spent a season with the SPHL's Evansville Thunderbolts before signing with the Milton Keynes Lightning of the National Ice Hockey League, the second-tier of pro hockey in Great Britain. He has played the past two seasons overseas.

So far, along with Spadafore, the Flames will feature former Sea Dogs Nick Blagden, Zach Alchorn and Kiefer Lyons.

Notebook: More draft rankings

QMJHL

MONCTON – Fredericton forward Tynan Lawrence tops Puck Preps' rankings for this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

Puck Preps lists the likelihood of Lawrence taking the college hockey route at 90%. He'll hear his name called at some point this weekend – it's just a matter of when.

Keeping with our 2024 QMJHL Draft Ranking unveil we present our final Top Ten of the year!

The list includes a slew of players from @lsllionsaaa @EstacadesMAAA @VikingsAAA among others! pic.twitter.com/5zM450aKhm

— Puck Preps Eastern Canada (@PuckPrepsEastCa) June 4, 2024

"If he were to report, which seems improbable since has tendered in the USHL with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, Lawrence has the all the tools to be a premiere #1 center in the QMJHL, including the smarts, skill and defensive acumen," writes Auston Robson of Puck Preps. "In my opinion, he’ll be the biggest wildcard on draft day."

Interestingly, Puck Preps lists forward Maddox Dagenais at No. 7. Dagenais, who was ranked No. 1 by QMJHL Central Scouting, is expected to be picked first overall on Friday night.

BOOTS JOINS WILDCATS

Paul Boutilier is back in the QMJHL.

The Moncton Wildcats announced Wednesday that Boutilier has joined the club's hockey operations staff as a defense consultant. 

“I am thrilled to add Paul 'Boots' Boutilier to our development staff in Moncton," said Wildcats general manager and director of hockey operations Taylor MacDougall in a news release. "His experience and work in player development is revered across the hockey world, but more importantly he is a person whose values and ideologies around player development are aligned with ours. He will play an integral role in our organization, and I couldn’t be more excited for him to begin working with our current players and prospects."

Boutilier is a former Sea Dogs assistant coach, helping the club win the 2017 President Cup. He was a defense consultant with Saint John in 2022 – where he worked with now Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall – and helped the club win the Memorial Cup.

Notebook: Jay joins Titan

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs will have a new equipment manager next season.

Tyler Jay, who has been Saint John's head equipment manager since the 2019-20 season, has joined the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, the team announced Monday. 

“We are excited to bring Tyler into our organization” Titan general manager and head coach Gordie Dwyer said in a news release. “His experience working with elite junior players at the club and national team levels will help to prepare our players for the season and the next level.”

Jay will be reunited Dwyer, who was Saint John's head coach during the 2021-22 season. Jay worked as an assistant equipment manager with the Charlottetown Islanders when Dwyer was the club's head coach.

Jay was also part of Saint John's staff during the 2016-17 season, helping the club win the President Cup.

BROADCAST INFO

On Monday, the QMJHL officially announced broadcast details for this year's Entry Draft.

From the league:

The 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft presented by Fenplast will take place on June 7 and 8 at Moncton’s Avenir Centre.

The first round will begin this Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Atlantic and will broadcast live on Eastlink and TVA Sports.

Rounds 2 to 14 will take place on Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern / 9:30 a.m. Atlantic, and fans will be able to catch them on both Eastlink and CHL TV.

This is the first time the QMJHL has held its first round on a Friday night. Traditionally all rounds have been held on Saturday.

The draft is free to attend.

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: Labbé commits to BCHL

Quebec AAA League Twitter

According to the BCHL website, Saint John Sea Dogs prospect Kyan Labbé has committed to the Nanaimo Clippers.

Labbé previously committed to the NCAA's Union College for the 2026-27 season, so the move to the BCHL does not come as a huge surprise. BCHL players remain eligible to play college hockey.

The 16-year-old goaltender was a fourth-round pick of Saint John in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

Labbé is coming off an impressive second season with the Magog Cantonniers, helping the team capture both the Quebec under-18 title and the Telus Cup national championship.

The BCHL website also shows that 17-year-old defenseman Anthony Biakabutuka, a 10th-round pick of Saint John in 2022, has committed to the Clippers. Biakabutuka is committed to the NCAA's College of the Holy Cross.

ANSONS, LATVIA DONE

The IIHF World Championship has come to an end for former Sea Dogs forward Raivis Ansons and Team Latvia.

Latvia failed to qualify for the elimination round following a 4-3 record in the preliminary round, placing them fifth in Group B. Three of the team's wins came in extra time.

Ansons, who split this past season between the AHL and ECHL, had an assist in five worlds games. He saw less ice time as the tournament went on, playing just 5:20 in the team's 6-3 loss to the United States on Tuesday.

This was Ansons first trip to the World Championship. He's played previously for Latvia at the under-20 and under-18 levels.

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.

Memorial Cup hosts moving on in OHL

The 2024 Memorial Cup hosts are still alive.

The Saginaw Spirit secured a spot in the OHL's Western Conference Final with a 3-1 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in Game 7 of their second round series on Tuesday. The win pushes the Spirit into the league's final four where they'll face the top-seeded London Knights.

Saginaw led 1-0 after one but the Soo tied it up in the second period. The Spirit heavily outshot the Greyhounds in the third and finally retook the lead midway through the period before securing the win with an empty netter. Shots were 14-5 in favour of Saginaw in the third and 34-17 overall.

CALEM MANGONE DOES IT AGAIN 🫡

The Soo native makes no mistake from Michael Misa's pass to re-take the lead for the @SpiritHockey in Game 7 📽️#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsSOO pic.twitter.com/SN8tmV181g

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 24, 2024

Soo seemed to have all the momentum entering Game 7. The Greyhounds posted a statement 5-0 win in Game 6 on Sunday while the Spirit were missing a couple regulars for Game 7.

The Spirit finished with 102 points in the regular season, just two points back of the Knights. The two split the four-game season series.

Winning and hosting the Memorial Cup has been a difficult task over the past 20 years. The host team has not won a league championship since the Kitchener Rangers in 2008. No host has won a league title and the Memorial Cup since the loaded Knights of 2005.

The OHL's Eastern Conference Final will feature the North Bay Battalion taking on the Oshawa Generals.

The third round of the QMJHL playoffs begin Thursday in Baie-Comeau with the Drakkar hosting the Cape Breton Eagles. The other series begins Friday with the Drummondville Voltigeurs hosting nearby rivals the Victoriaville Tigres.

Over in the WHL, the third round will feature the Moose Jaw Warriors taking on the Saskatoon Blades in the east and the Prince George Cougars facing the Portland Winterhawks in the west.

A few other news and notes...

• At the Telus Cup in Sydney, Sea Dogs prospect Kyan Labbé and the Magog Cantonniers are off to a 2-0 start. Labbé, who recently committed to the NCAA's Union College, made 26 saves in Magog's 5-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings on Monday and followed that up with 27 saves in a 6-1 win over the Markham Waxers on Tuesday.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Cole Foston had a goal in the Miramichi Timberwolves' 5-1 victory over the Summerside Western Capitals on Monday, evening the Maritime Hockey League final at 1-1.
• Charlie Coyle is the lone former Sea Dog playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. Coyle has been held pointless through two games as his Boston Bruins are tied 1-1 in their first round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• Team Canada begins the IIHF Under-18 World Championship on Thursday when they take on Sweden. Canada's head coach is Gardiner MacDougall while Travis Crickard is an assistant. Canada has played two pre-tournament games, beating Finland 5-1 on Saturday and Norway 4-3 on Tuesday.

Notebook: Veterans finish hot

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Veteran players carried the Saint John Sea Dogs in the last five games of the regular season.

Overage forwards Brody Fournier and Drew Elliott each had strong offensive outputs to end the year while Tyler Peddle turned it on as well. Here's what all three produced in Saint John's final five games.

Tyler Peddle: six goals and three assists

Drew Elliott: four goals and one assist

Brody Fournier: six goals and three assists

Fournier enters the playoffs with goals in five straight games.

The Sea Dogs won three of their final six games and lost another in a shootout to clinch a playoff spot. 20-year-old goaltender Patrick Leaver played the entirety of those games.

It's worth noting that Coen Miller had quite an end to his regular season as well, posting a goal and seven assists in his past five games.

HOME RECORD

After much talk about Saint John's home woes all year, the Sea Dogs finish the regular season with an 11-17-3-3 record at TD Station.

It's the sixth fewest wins the Sea Dogs have had on home ice in one season in team history. The record low is eight which was set in 2017-18 and the COVID year of 2020-21.

Only the last-place Val-d'Or Foreurs had fewer home wins than Saint John this season. Val-d'Or had a 10-21-3-0 record on home ice.

PLAYOFF FOES

The Sea Dogs will face the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the playoffs for the first time.

With Drummondville crossed off the list, the only teams the Sea Dogs haven't faced in post-season play are the Sherbrooke Phoenix and Quebec Remparts. It's worth noting that Saint John has never played the Charlottetown Islanders either but did play the PEI Rocket twice.

2024 Memorial Cup awarded to Saginaw

The 2024 Memorial Cup is heading to Michigan.

The Canadian Hockey League announced Wednesday that the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit will host next year's championship tournament. It's the first time the event will be held in Michigan and its first trip south of the border since 1998 in Spokane.

“We are thrilled to bring the Memorial Cup to the state of Michigan for the first time in the event’s history,” said CHL president Dan MacKenzie in a news release. “The Spirit and City of Saginaw submitted a remarkable bid and we have no doubt that they will do an outstanding job of hosting our CHL championship next year.”

And the 2024 #MemorialCup presented by @KiaCanada goes to 🥁... pic.twitter.com/CLyLWTOEYo

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 29, 2023

The Spirit have been around since 2002 but have never won an OHL title. They did, however, have the third best record in the league at the time of the 2020 COVID shutdown.

Saginaw is headlined by 16-year-old Michael Misa, who made his OHL debut this past season after being granted exceptional player status. And what an exceptional rookie season he had. From the CHL news release:

Led by General Manager Dave Drinkill and Head Coach Chris Lazary, the Saginaw Spirit finished the 2022-23 season with a 36-27-3-2 record and will face off against the in-state rival Flint Firebirds in the first round of the OHL Playoffs beginning tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. EST / 4:05 p.m. PST on CHL TV. On the ice, the Spirit are highlighted by Exceptional Status forward Michael Misa, whose 56 points (22G, 34A) this past season were the most by an OHL rookie. The first pick of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection also averaged 1.24 points-per-game this season — the highest of any OHL Exceptional Status player and ahead of John Tavares’ 1.18 points-per-game average with the Oshawa Generals in 2005-06.

Of the four teams who bid to host the 2024 Memorial Cup, Saginaw is the only one that qualified for this year's OHL playoffs. The Kingston Frontenacs, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Niagara IceDogs also submitted bids.

Notebook: The final week is here

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Folks, we made it.

The final week of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's regular season has arrived. It wasn't the smoothest ride with a pretty significant bump in the middle (thank you, COVID!) but here we are. A little later than originally planned, but we made it.

The Sea Dogs have three regular season games remaining. On Thursday and Friday night the team will host the last-place Cape Breton Eagles in the final regular season games at TD Station. Both contests start at 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs will honour their three overage players on Thursday night. Then on Friday, Saint John resident Maestro Fresh Wes will perform as part of the team's first ever Throwback Night.

Saint John will close out the regular season with a Sunday afternoon match in Moncton. Game time for that one is 4 p.m. All 18 teams will be in action on Sunday.

DUFOUR SIGNS

If you missed it last week, Sea Dogs forward William Dufour has signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the New York Islanders.

Congratulations to William Dufour on signing a three-year, entry level contract with the New York Islanders! 👏 🖊 pic.twitter.com/lHZdWYb3PH

— x - Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) April 21, 2022

Dufour was a fifth-round pick of the Islanders in the 2020 NHL Draft. The Quebec City native will likely play professionally in the Islanders system next season.

Sea Dogs make roster moves

The Saint John Sea Dogs announced a number of roster moves on Thursday, including the acquisition of two players and the cutting of three.

The team has acquired the CHL rights to forward Zach Grzelewski and defenceman Chase Stewart. Both players were in the OHL last season.

Grzelewski, 19, spent last season with the Flint Firebirds where he recorded eight goals and 15 assists in 56 games. He spent time with the London Knights the two seasons before last.

“Zach has been a high-scoring forward through minor hockey up to junior ‘A’,” said Sea Dogs head coach Danny Flynn in a news release. “He was one of Flint’s top scorers despite missing some time last year. We think he has the potential to be a top-six forward for us.”

In 2013-14, Grzelewski had 43 goals and 36 assists in 53 games with the SIJHL’s Thunder Bay North Stars, finishing second in team scoring behind current Sea Dogs forward Daniel Del Paggio.

Stewart, also 19, played in 45 games with the Saginaw Spirit last season where he registered one goal and four assists. He played in 48 games with the Spirit in 2014-15 – and 10 games with the Thunder Bay North Stars.

“Chase is a steady, physical defenceman with two years of OHL experience,” said Flynn. “He also attended camp with the Arizona Coyotes last year. As a team, we’re always looking to improve. We think he can help us.”

Both players are expected to arrive in Saint John in the coming days.

The Sea Dogs also announced today that forwards Isiah Campbell and Nathan Cyr-Trottier along with goaltender Derek Fournier have been released from training camp.

24 forwards, 16 defencemen and four goalies remain at Sea Dogs camp.