Sea Dogs set to play three-in-three

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs are set to venture into Quebec for the first time this season as they look to put a tough weekend behind them.

The Sea Dogs dropped back-to-back games at TD Station this past weekend, falling 4-1 to the Cape Breton Eagles on Saturday and 3-1 to the Val-d'Or Foreurs on Sunday.

Saturday's loss ended a five-game winning streak for Saint John. They now own a record of 6-3-1-1 for 14 points, placing them fifth in the Eastern Conference and ninth overall in the QMJHL.

The Sea Dogs have yet to face two of the three teams they'll play on this road trip. They have only played the Drummondville Voltigeurs, winning 4-3 in a shootout on Oct. 12

Here's a look at this weekend's three-in-three.

Friday at Gatineau (6-3-2-1, 15 points, 4th Western, 7th QMJHL)

Saturday at Blainville-Boisbriand (3-8-1-0, 7 points, 8th Western, 17th QMJHL)

Sunday at Drummondville (3-6-0-2, 8 points, 7th Western, 16th QMJHL)

On paper, this trip is built pretty well for Saint John, facing the toughest opponent (again, on paper) first. It's worth noting that Drummondville has played just two home games so far this year.

The Sea Dogs are 2-1-0-0 against Western Conference opponents this season. Their lone loss was Sunday against Val-d'Or.

It will be interesting to see how the Sea Dogs perform this weekend and what changes they may make after a challenging weekend. Certainly something to keep an eye on is the team's offense, which has scored just three even strength goals over the past three games. Saint John has really been relying on a strong power play for much of this early season.

The Sea Dogs have a road heavy few weeks ahead of them. Following this three-game trip, they return home to host the Moncton Wildcats on Halloween before immediately hitting the road to visit the Eagles the next day, which will not be an easy turnaround. The following weekend, the Sea Dogs visit the Halifax Mooseheads and Charlottetown Islanders.

Notebook: Theme schedule announced

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs released their theme night schedule for the 2026-27 season earlier this week.

There are a few notable new themes, like Dia De Los Muertos (a popular theme in southern US markets), Hockey Benders takeover and Cirque de Sea Dogs.

The usual theme games are also returning, like Sea Dogs fight cancer, military appreciation, teddy bear toss and so on. 

Saint John will also have a 4 p.m. home game on Halloween. The Sea Dogs last played on Halloween in 2024 and had a season low crowd that night.

JOSEPH FIGHT

Here's better video of Alexis Joseph's third period fight on Friday in Cape Breton – the first of his QMJHL career.

The fight took place after Eagles defenseman Aiden McCullough put a hit on Sea Dogs forward Olivier Lemieux. Lemieux has not played since the hit.

Late goals have been costly for Sea Dogs

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

SAINT JOHN - Just four games into the regular season, there is certainly one trend the Saint John Sea Dogs will no doubt want to correct.

Third period goals against have proved costly for the Sea Dogs so far. In all three of their losses, the team allowed goals in the final half of the third period, goals that proved to be pivotal in the game's outcome.

Sept. 19 - 4-2 loss at Newfoundland: allowed game-tying goal at 11:50 of the third period and the game-winning goal at 16:12. Regiment added an empty netter at 19:31.

Sept. 25 - 4-3 SOL vs Moncton: allowed Moncton to take a 3-2 lead at 13:29 of the third period on a power play. Saint John tied the game with 1:15 to go before falling in a shootout.

Sept. 26 - 5-4 OTL vs Cape Breton: allowed game-tying goal at 13:20 of the third period on a power play. Eagles went on to win the game in overtime.

The Sea Dogs have been outscored 7-3 in third periods this season. They've outscored opponents 6-3 in first periods and 4-3 in seconds, respectively.

All three of Saint John's losses have been close games. The team is 1-1-1-1 after four games, which is certainly not bad – but this weekend's losses sting given how they played out. 

Notebook: Crickard, Beaulieu win wild WHL debut

Swift Current Broncos

It was quite a Western Hockey League coaching debut for Travis Crickard and the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday.

The Broncos defeated the Prince Albert Raiders 5-2 in a game that was highlighted by an old school line brawl in the second period. Former Sea Dogs forward Jacob Beaulieu, also making his WHL regular season debut, was involved.

Haven't seen a legit 5 on 5 in awhile. #WHL
Swift Current Vs Prince Albert 09.19.26 #HFH pic.twitter.com/Yz7W8mpN0E

— Hockey Fight History (@HistoryOfFights) September 20, 2026

Crickard, the former head coach and general manager of the Sea Dogs, took over as Broncos head coach and general manager during the off-season.

Beaulieu was a free agent invite to Broncos training camp. The overage forward was also named part of the team's leadership group for the 2026-27 season.

The Broncos don't play again until Friday when they face the Moose Jaw Warriors.

SATURDAY FIGHTS

The Sea Dogs and Newfoundland Regiment had two fights within the first few minutes of the second period on Saturday.

The first saw a couple of Newfoundlanders drop the gloves as soon-to-turn-17-year-old Benjamin Veitch took on 19-year-old Jabez Seymour. 

Soon after, Matyas Cancik, in just his second career QMJHL game, took on 19-year-old Ryan Dwyer.

Both games this weekend were physical at times – which is often the case against Gordie Dwyer teams. It will be interesting to see if the Sea Dogs continue to lean into that style against other opponents.

Notebook: Single game tickets now available

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Single game tickets to every Saint John Sea Dogs home game are now on sale.

Tickets to all 32 home games went on sale Monday at noon. The team had previously announced season ticket details.

Here's a look at the total single game ticket prices – which includes the lovely service and order processing fees – for each age demographic.

Adult: $26

Senior: $25

25 and under: $21

9 and under: $17

It looks like total ticket prices (which, again, include fees and taxes) are pretty similar to what they have been in recent seasons.

One change is that it does appear fans can purchase any seat in the upper bowl this season (with the exception of most end zone seating). Last season, the top half of most upper bowl sections could not be purchased until ticket sales volume required it. 

IT'S GAME WEEK

The Sea Dogs will play regular season hockey this week.

Saint John will open the season on the road this Friday and Saturday, visiting Gordie Dwyer and the Newfoundland Regiment. The Sea Dogs struggled at Mary Brown's Centre last season, going 0-4, and will likely be playing in front of a capacity crowd on Friday.

Both teams will be well rested. The Regiment last played a pre-season game on Aug. 31 while the Sea Dogs haven't played since Sept. 4.

The Sea Dogs will play their first home games the following weekend. Saint John hosts the Moncton Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 25 and the Cape Breton Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Sea Dogs' final pre-season game cancelled

The Saint John Sea Dogs' pre-season schedule came to an abrupt end on Thursday.

The Sea Dogs's final exhibition game, scheduled for Friday night at Dartmouth's RBC Centre, has been cancelled for what the Halifax Mooseheads are calling "roster limitations." The game will not be rescheduled.

From the Mooseheads' news release:

The Halifax Mooseheads and Saint John Sea Dogs preseason game scheduled for Friday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth has been cancelled due to roster limitations. The game will not be rescheduled.

Fans who purchased tickets for the game do not need to take any action. Refunds will be automatically processed to the credit card used for the original purchase within 48 hours.

We apologize for any inconvenience this cancellation may cause and appreciate your understanding.

The limitations are presumably due to several players being away at NHL camps plus a few injuries.

This is a bit of an odd one, but there's not much point in figuring out affiliates and callups for a game that doesn't really mean anything. Pre-season games are often cancelled and not rescheduled for a variety of reasons (hurricanes, illness, UNB campuses being evacuated that one time, etc.).

The cancellation means the Sea Dogs finish the pre-season with a 2-2-0-0 record. They were outscored 16-13.

The Sea Dogs begin the regular season next Friday in St. John's. That game will take place two weeks since the team played a pre-season game.

Notebook: Donovan invited to Habs rookie camp

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Alexander Donovan will attend Montreal Canadiens rookie camp.

The Canadiens announced their rookie camp roster last week. Donovan will attend as a free agent invite, joining former Sea Dogs defenseman Kale McCallum and goaltender Arseni Radkov.

According to a news release, the camp "will be held at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard and Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau, from September 11-15. Habs prospects will play two games against the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators at the Slush Puppie Centre on September 12 and 13 as part of the 2026 NHL Prospect Challenge."

Donovan, 19, is entering his second season with the Sea Dogs. Last year, the Connecticut native recorded 25 goals and 28 assists in 63 regular season games. He had another goal and an assist in four playoff games.

COMING UP

The start of the QMJHL regular season is now less than two weeks away.

The Sea Dogs will open the year Sept. 18-19 with a pair of games in St. John's against the Newfoundland Regiment. Saint John went winless at Mary Brown's Centre last season.

Saint John will host the Moncton Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 25 in the team's home opener at TD Station.

Before all that though, the Sea Dogs have one pre-season game left to play. Saint John, 2-2-0-0 in exhibition play, will take on the Halifax Mooseheads, 4-1-0-0, on Friday at Dartmouth's RBC Centre. These two met last Friday in Saint John where Halifax posted a 7-3 win.

It's September

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

September is here – which means regular season hockey is near.

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open up the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season on Friday, Sept. 18 when they visit the Newfoundland Regiment at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic. They'll also face the Regiment the following night.

The Sea Dogs will play their first home game of the season on Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Moncton Wildcats. The next day – note the 4 p.m. puck drop – they'll host the Cape Breton Eagles.

A few other early season scheduling notes:

• The Sea Dogs were 0-6-2-0 against the Regiment last season, which included going 0-4 at Mary Brown's Centre. They've not won in St. John's since the Fog Devils days.
• There's going to be a lot of talk about how good the competition will be amongst the Atlantic-based teams this season. The Sea Dogs will see all five of them within the first eight games of the season.
• Saint John will play eight of their first 11 games at TD Station. That includes a stretch of six straight home games in October.
• In case you were wondering, the opening week of the QMJHL season is sponsored by Nissan.

The Sea Dogs still have two pre-season games remaining before putting their focus on the regular season. The team will host the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night at TD Station and visit the Moose next Friday, Sept. 11 at Dartmouth's RBC Centre.

Tickets for Friday's game are general admission.

Notebook: St. Stephen success

FREDERICTON - With Wednesday's victory over the Moncton Wildcats, the Saint John Sea Dogs improved to 3-2-0-0 all-time in pre-season play at St. Stephen's Garcelon Civic Center.

The Sea Dogs have hosted the Wildcats in three of the five meetings. Saint John has won two of those three games.

Here's a look at the Sea Dogs' all-time results in St. Stephen.

Aug. 26, 2018 - 3-2 win vs Moncton

Aug. 23, 2019 - 4-2 loss vs Halifax

Aug. 20, 2024 - 4-1 win vs Charlottetown

Aug. 20, 2025 - 4-1 loss vs Moncton

Aug. 26, 2026 - 4-1 win vs Moncton

The Sea Dogs continue pre-season play in another border town on Sunday when they host the Rimouski Oceanic at 4 p.m. in Woodstock.

It's the second time the Sea Dogs have held a pre-season game at the AYR Motor Centre. Last year, the Sea Dogs fell to the Wildcats 5-4 in Woodstock.

GLANCE'S FIRST SHIFT

Highly touted American forward Jamie Glance made his QMJHL pre-season debut on Friday. He finished the game with an assist, two shots, one hit and a -2 rating. He had a great scoring chance in the second period, skating through the Moncton defense only to be stopped.

Glance played on a line with Zachary Morin and Alexis Joseph. Here's a look at his first shift.

Notebook: Hockey back soon

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League pre-season officially got underway this past weekend with a pair of games between the Victoriaville Tigres and Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Things really get going this coming weekend with lots of games. For the Saint John Sea Dogs, though, they will have to wait just over a week until they open up pre-season play.

The Sea Dogs play their first of five exhibition games on Wednesday, Aug. 26 against the Moncton Wildcats. They'll play two other games later that week as well.

At the time of this writing, Saint John has not released any training camp schedule details. The team has not released its full camp roster yet either but has announced several free agent invites.

The Sea Dogs begin the regular season in just over a month. They'll visit the Newfoundland Regiment on Sept. 18 in what will be the first game of the 2026-27 QMJHL season.

MAGNUSSON NOT AT UCONN

The UConn Huskies men's hockey team unveiled its freshman class last week with a notable omission.

Defenseman Carl-Otto Magnusson, who had previously committed to UConn and was expected to enroll this season, was not listed as part of the class.

It's unclear where Magnusson will play this coming season. The 20-year-old could return to the Sea Dogs but that seems unlikely given that he would take up both an overage and import spot. 

The Swede was traded to the Sea Dogs mid-season from the Moncton Wildcats. The defensive defenseman was held pointless in 25 regular season games with Saint John and in three playoff games. He was listed as a healthy scratch for one of the Sea Dogs' post-season matches.

Sea Dogs returning to Fredericton (for pre-season)

The Saint John Sea Dogs are returning to Fredericton.

The Sea Dogs will hit the Aitken Centre ice on Friday, Aug. 28 when they take on the Moncton Wildcats in QMJHL pre-season play. It will be a Wildcats home game.

The UNB Reds are marketing the game as "Gardiner MacDougall returns." MacDougall and the Wildcats also hosted the Sea Dogs in pre-season play last year at the Aitken Centre.

“It should be one of the marquee pre-season games,” said MacDougall in a Reds new release. “Both teams will have very competitive rosters with plenty of new players in the line-up. It will be a key foundational game for our team as we look to establish the positive habits necessary for success in the QMJHL.”

UNB has been a frequent pre-season destination for the Sea Dogs. The team also played three regular season games at the Aitken Centre last season, losing two of the three.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats will meet a couple nights prior as well, facing off in St. Stephen. That will be Saint John's first game of the pre-season.

The Sea Dogs will play five games this pre-season.

Wed., Aug. 26: Moncton vs Saint John at St. Stephen's Garcelon Civic Center 

Fri., Aug. 28: Saint John vs Moncton at location Fredericton's Aitken Centre 

Sun., Aug. 30: Rimouski vs Saint John at Woodstock's AYR Motor Centre 

Fri., Sept. 4: Halifax vs Saint John at TD Station 

Fri., Sept. 11: Saint John vs Halifax at Dartmouth's RBC Centre

Tickets are now on sale for both the St. Stephen and Woodstock games. Tickets for the Fredericton game will be available beginning this Friday.

2026-27 schedule released

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will open up the 2026-27 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season.

The Sea Dogs will play in the league's season opener – officially game No. 1 – on Friday, Sept. 18 when they visit the Newfoundland Regiment at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic. The Sea Dogs and Regiment will also battle the following night at Mary Brown's Centre.

The Sea Dogs will play their first home game on Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Moncton Wildcats. The next day, the Cape Breton Eagles will visit TD Station for a 4 p.m. start.

That 4 p.m. start time is notable because all of Saint John's Saturday home games will begin at that time. The team had a few 4 p.m. Saturday home games last year and obviously liked what they saw.

While Saturday nights are always associated with hockey, afternoon Saturday starts are becoming more common across North America. Many Quebec-based teams have been doing this for years.

According to a Saint John news release release, "of the Sea Dogs’ 32 home games during the 2026-27 regular season, 21 will be played on weekends, with three additional games scheduled on holidays: Thanksgiving Monday, New Year’s Eve, and Family Day."

The Sea Dogs will make four trips to Quebec, including one very late in the season: Oct. 23-25 (Gatineau, Blainville-Boisbriand and Drummondville), Nov. 26-29 (Val-d'Or, Rouyn-Noranda and Victoriaville), Jan. 14-17 (Shawinigan, Chicoutimi and Baie-Comeau) and March 11-14 (Sherbrooke, Quebec and Rimouski).

Jim Hulton's return to Charlottetown will be Nov. 8. Saint John is scheduled to play an 11 a.m. game in Charlottetown on Dec. 16.

Saint John's longest homestand will be six games from Oct. 4-18. The team's longest stretch away from home will be five games from Jan. 7-17.

The QMJHL's regular season ends March 20.

The Sea Dogs' full regular season schedule can be found here. The team's pre-season schedule was released last week.

Of note, both the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Shawinigan Cataractes will start their seasons with lengthy stretches away from home due to arena renovations.

2026 pre-season schedule announced

The Saint John Sea Dogs are set to play five pre-season games this year.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League announced its full pre-season schedule on Tuesday. Pre-season play begins Aug. 15 and will end on Sept. 12.

The Sea Dogs won't play their first exhibition contest until Aug. 26 when they host the Moncton Wildcats in St. Stephen. At five games, Saint John has one of the lighter pre-season schedules in the league.

Saint John will play three "home" games: Aug. 26 against the Wildcats in St. Stephen; Aug. 30 against the Rimouski Oceanic in Woodstock; and Sept. 4 against the Halifax Mooseheads at TD Station.

Here's a look at Saint John's full schedule:

Wed., Aug. 26: Moncton vs Saint John at St. Stephen's Garcelon Civic Center

Fri., Aug. 28: Saint John vs Moncton at location TBD

Sun., Aug. 30: Rimouski vs Saint John at Woodstock's AYR Motor Centre

Fri., Sept. 4: Halifax vs Saint John at TD Station

Fri., Sept. 11: Saint John vs Halifax at Dartmouth's RBC Centre

The Sea Dogs have played pre-season games at the Garcelon Civic Center and RBC Centre a number of times. This will be the second straight season the team plays in Woodstock.

The Sea Dogs playing a Quebec-based team in pre-season play is certainly an oddity. Woodstock is just 3.5 hours away from Rimouski, though. The Oceanic often faced the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in exhibition action.

Notably, the Sea Dogs don't face the Charlottetown Islanders – Jim Hulton's former team – nor the Newfoundland Regiment. The Sea Dogs and Islanders have been frequent pre-season partners for many years while Saint John faced the Regiment twice in Fredericton last year. The Regiment are currently not showing any pre-season games on their schedule.

The QMJHL's regular season will presumably begin the weekend of Sept. 18. According to a Mooseheads news release, the "2026-27 regular season schedule is expected to be announced in the coming days."

Notebook: Sea Dogs go D with top pick

Vincent Ethier/QMJHL

HALIFAX - For the first time since 2022, the Saint John Sea Dogs picked a defenseman with their first selection in the QMJHL Entry Draft.

The Sea Dogs picked d-man Lawrence Williams from the Weeks Majors Midgets with the 14th overall pick on Friday night. It's the 11th time in team history that Saint John has picked a defenseman with their first selection.

2005 - Alex Grant (1st round)

2006 - Yann Sauve (1st round)

2007 - Simon Despres (1st round)

2008 - Kevin Gagne (2nd round)

2009 - Pierre Durepos (1st round)

2014 - Luke Green (1st round)

2017 - Brendan Sibley (3rd round)

2018 - William Villeneuve (1st round)

2021 - Natan Grenier (1st round)

2022 - Jeremie Richard (3rd round)

Friday marked the first time the Sea Dogs had ever picked at No. 14.

MORE 2028 TALK

More on the 2028 Memorial Cup: it looks like it will indeed be four teams bidding to host the tournament.

Je peux confirmer que quatre équipes déposeront ou ont déjà déposé leur candidature pour obtenir le tournoi de la Coupe Memorial 2028.

Québec
Gatineau
Moncton
Terre-Neuve

Le choix final aura lieu cet automne. #LHJMQ

— Mikaël Lalancette (@MikLalancette) June 4, 2026

The Wildcats, Remparts and Regiment have all publicly announced that they will be bidding.

Gatineau, Quebec City and Moncton have all hosted previously but not in their current buildings. Newfoundland has never hosted but certainly has an arena capable of doing so.

Teams must officially submit their applications by July.

The 2027 Memorial Cup will be held in Guelph.

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.

Playoff schedule, matchups released

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

HALIFAX - The Saint John Sea Dogs will begin the first round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs on Friday in Moncton.

As expected, the first two games of Saint John's series with the Moncton Wildcats will take place Friday and Saturday at Avenir Centre, respectively. The series will then shift to Saint John.

Here is the full schedule:

The Sea Dogs have been locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference for a couple weeks but had to wait until Saturday afternoon to have their opponent determined. The Wildcats secured top spot with a win over the Charlottetown Islanders, edging the Chicoutimi Sagueneens by a single point.

This is will be just the second playoff series between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. They last met in the 2010 QMJHL final which Moncton took in six games.

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats also met in the opening round of the COVID impacted 2021 playoffs, which was a round robin format that also included the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

A lot to figure out in final weekend

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It will take the final weekend of the regular season to determine who the Saint John Sea Dogs will play in the first round of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs.

The Sea Dogs, who are locked into the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, will play the team that finishes first. That will be either the Moncton Wildcats or the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

Heading into this weekend's action, the Wildcats will play the Charlottetown Islanders twice while the Sagueneens will take on the Quebec Remparts.

The Wildcats have won seven straight games after a weekend sweep in Newfoundland. They'll now face an Islanders team that has won three straight.

The Wildcats are 4-1-0-1 against the Islanders this season but both losses came in their most recent meetings. Charlottetown defeated Moncton 6-5 in a shootout on Feb. 20 and 2-0 the next day. The Wildcats have lost just one time since then.

Chicoutimi, who have just one loss in their past eight games, is 6-0-0-0 against Quebec this season.

These weekend sets have meaning for the Islanders and Remparts as well as they continue to battle for positioning. The games Friday, at least, shouldn't feature any load management situations. We could certainly see that on Saturday depending on Friday results.

Notebook: Regular season nearing an end

Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads

Just five regular season games remain for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs will play their final home games this weekend, hosting the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday and Saturday. Note that the Saturday game has a 4 p.m. start.

After that, the Sea Dogs will play their final three games of the regular season all on the road. They visit the Charlottetown Islanders on Sunday and then travel to Cape Breton for games March 20-21.

Saint John has respectable records against all three opponents remaining on their schedule:

vs Halifax: 3-2-1-0

vs Charlottetown: 3-2-2-0

vs Cape Breton: 3-3-0-0

The Sea Dogs have qualified for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs, so they'll play at least four more games after the regular season ends. Saint John will play whichever team finishes first in the Eastern Conference – either the Chicoutimi Sagueneens or Moncton Wildcats.

SPLITS VS MONCTON
Check out these home/away splits for the Sea Dogs when facing the Moncton Wildcats over the past five seasons.

Sea Dogs vs Wildcats at Moncton: 10-10-1-1

Sea Dogs vs Wildcats at Saint John: 3-17-0-1

Sunday was the final regular season meeting between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats. Saint John went 1-7-0-0 against Moncton this year with their lone win coming at Avenir Centre.

Notebook: Joseph signs with Kings

Embed from Getty Images

MONCTON - Mathieu Joseph is now a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

Joseph, who had his contract with the St. Louis Blues terminated earlier in the week, signed "a one-year contract through the remainder of the 2025-26 season" with the Kings, the team announced Friday.

Mathieu Joseph, whose contract with STL was terminated today, signs with LA for one year at a pro-rated $900K

Played for DJ Smith in Ottawa

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 6, 2026

Joseph was scratched for the Kings' Saturday night game against the Montreal Canadiens.

The 29-year-old posted two goals and nine assists in 39 games with St. Louis this season. He was recently put on waivers and assigned to the American Hockey League where he recorded a goal in two games with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

This was Joseph's second season with the Blues. He's an NHL veteran at this point, playing in 459 games with the Blues, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. He won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning.

Joseph appeared in 201 games with the Sea Dogs over four seasons, helping the team win the President Cup in 2017.

BURNS JOINS STAFF

The Sea Dogs announced Sunday that long-time Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns has joined the team as a "senior advisor, hockey operations and assistant coach."

“Darren brings decades of hockey experience to the team,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He has been a coach, an NHL scout, and he knows our organization well as the father of Memorial Cup champion and franchise leading scorer Brady Burns. He is passionate and will add a lot to our group.”

Burns is the father of former Sea Dogs forward Brady Burns, who currently plays at Acadia. Burns has recruited a number of Sea Dogs to Acadia over the years.

The Axemen confirmed on Facebook that Burns will return as Acadia's head coach in the fall.

COMING UP

The Sea Dogs have just six regular season games remaining – including one this Sunday against the Moncton Wildcats at Avenir Centre.

This will be the eighth and final meeting of the regular season between Saint John and Moncton – although they could meet in the opening round of the QMJHL playoffs.

The Sea Dogs are 1-6-0-0 against the Wildcats this season with their only win coming back on Oct. 4 at Avenir Centre.

Following Sunday's game, the Sea Dogs will play their final home games of the regular season March 13-14 against the Halifax Mooseheads. They'll then play three road games to close out the season: March 15 at Charlottetown and March 20-21 at Cape Breton.

Sea Dogs attendance on the rise

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs are poised to have their best season at the box office since before the pandemic.

With three home games remaining, the Sea Dogs are averaging 3,109 fans per game, a number that will likely increase when their home schedule concludes on March 14. The last few home games of the regular season are typically some of the most attended.

The Sea Dogs averaged 2,811 fans per game last season, which was an increase from the previous year. This will be the second straight year that Saint John's attendance has increased, a positive sign especially given that the on-ice product has continued to struggle.

As has been written about at length in recent seasons, the Sea Dogs are one of the only teams in the CHL that hasn't fully rebounded at the gate post-pandemic. The team is likely to come close to that 2019-20 average this season.

Season	Total	Average
2015-16	123,399	3,629 (4th)
2016-17	142,829	4,201 (3rd)
2017-18	144,723	4,257 (4th)
2018-19	116,511	3,427 (5th)
2019-20	107,042	3,345 (6th)*
2020-21	25,123	1,478 (3rd)**
2021-22	89,846	2,643 (5th)***
2022-23	100,536	2,957 (7th)
2023-24	93,850	2,760 (8th)
2024-25	89,948	2,811 (10th)

*Final two home games cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

**All 17 home games played under COVID-19 capacity restrictions

***Three home games played under COVID-19 capacity restrictions

Saint John's full all-time attendance figures can be found here.

The Sea Dogs currently sit sixth in league attendance, trailing Quebec (9,106), Halifax (7,952), Newfoundland (5,061), Moncton (4,863) and Chicoutimi (3,459).

While attendance at TD Station is up, winning on home ice has been a problem. The Sea Dogs have a home record of 10-17-2-0, which is the fourth worst in the QMJHL.

Saint John finished 12-20-0-0 at TD Station in 2024-25.

The Sea Dogs will be in tough on Wednesday night when they host the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, who sit fourth overall in the QMJHL standings. Saint John closes out their home schedule March 13-14 when they host the Halifax Mooseheads for a pair of games.