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.

Saturday's start time changed

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

The season series is over but Newfoundland is still causing issues for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The team announced Friday evening that their home game on Saturday against the Shawinigan Cataractes has been pushed to 7 p.m. due to travel issues. The game was originally scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

The Sea Dogs were scheduled to fly from St. John's to Halifax on Friday and make the drive home but their flight was cancelled. The team will now fly to Halifax on Saturday, make the drive to Saint John and host Cataractes at 7 p.m., which is far from an ideal situation.

Saint John carries a five-game losing streak and a six-game home losing streak into Saturday's game.

This is the Sea Dogs' Next Gen weekend. On Saturday, social media star Coach Chippy will be making a return to TD Station and the team will wear its CHL Jersey Contest jerseys. The first 1,500 fans will also receive rally towels.

According to the team, "doors will now open for the Meet & Greet with Coach Chippy at 5:00 p.m. Reminder that a ticket to the game is required for entry."

The Sea Dogs will also play on Family Day Monday, hosting the Victoriaville Tigres at 3 p.m.

Notebook: Fredericton games conclude

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Capital City Series ended in disappointment for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs played their third and final regular season game at Fredericton's Aitken Centre on Sunday, falling 2-0 to the last-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar. The loss gives the Sea Dogs a losing record in Fredericton, finishing 1-2-0-0.

The Sea Dogs defeated the Gatineau Olympiques 5-1 on Jan. 8 and fell 5-2 to the Cape Breton Eagles on Nov. 30.

Attendance for the series saw mixed results. These numbers are bit higher than what the eye test would say.

Sunday, Nov. 30: 3,103

Thursday, Jan. 8: 1,845

Sunday, Feb. 1: 2,345

The series didn't seem to get much hype online from UNB while reaction from Saint John fans wasn't, understandably, overly positive. We'll see what the organization thinks, but it doesn't feel like there is a huge desire to do this series again. But we'll see.

WRESTLING NIGHT

The Sea Dogs announced the return of Wresting Night this week. 

From the team:

Hockey and professional wrestling collide as the Saint John Sea Dogs present Wrestling Night presented by Papadopsmiles Orthodontics on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:00 p.m.

On the ice, the Sea Dogs will celebrate a wrestling icon by wearing special Stone Cold Steve Austin-themed jerseys as they battle the Charlottetown Islanders at TD Station. Game-worn jerseys will be auctioned online at sjseadogs.link/auctions.

Wrestling Night will feature appearances from two legendary wrestlers. “The Man Beast” Rhyno, a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, WCW United States Champion and WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion, will be in attendance, along with “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters, a former WWE and TNA standout known for his iconic Masterlock Challenge.

Plus, two live wrestling matches will take place inside the Moosehead Light Ice Bar, with one match during each intermission. Rhyno will face “The Muscle Beast” Wesley Pipes for the AIWF Canadian Heavyweight Championship, while Masters will square off against “The Ace of the Maritimes” Dick Durning for the Superstars of Wrestling Heavyweight Championship.

The Sea Dogs are 1-5-0-0 when wearing specialty jerseys this season.

Notebook: Dogs to honour Fredericton Canadiens

For a second time this season, the Saint John Sea Dogs will wear some AHL inspired threads.

Back in November, the Sea Dogs wore Saint John Flames jerseys that were redesigned to match the Sea Dogs' current blue, black and grey colours. On Sunday, the team will wear the blue, white and red of the Fredericton Canadiens.

The team teased the jerseys that they'll wear Sunday afternoon at the Aitken Centre earlier this week.

All set for our final game of the #CapitalCitySeries in Fredericton on Sunday. 🟦⬜️🟥

⏰ 3:00 p.m.
📍 Aitken Centre
🎟️ https://t.co/YCQn2csIhF#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/WELx0hrZIE

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) January 30, 2026

The Canadiens played at the Aitken Centre in the 1990s. They relocated to Quebec City in 1999.

This will be the sixth time this season the Sea Dogs wear a speciality jersey. They are 1-4-0-0 so far.

Nov. 15 vs Quebec (4-0 W) - Pink in the Rink 

Nov. 21 vs Wildcats (8-4 L) - Saint John Flames Night 

Dec. 7 vs Wildcats (4-2 L) - Christmas Jerseys 

Dec. 17 vs Mooseheads (4-3 L) - Christmas Jerseys

Jan. 24 vs Phoenix (6-3 L) - Superhero Jerseys

Sunday's game will also be Saint John's third and final regular season match in Fredericton. They are 1-1-0-0 in the Capital City Series so far.

Busy week ahead for Sea Dogs

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The Saint John Sea Dogs will try and end a three-game losing streak on Thursday – but it certainly won't be easy.

The Sea Dogs will visit a Moncton Wildcats team that is coming off a three-game sweep in Quebec, which included a 3-2 win over the top-ranked Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Saturday. The Wildcats have won four straight heading into their mid-week meeting with the Sea Dogs.

Game time on Thursday is 7 p.m. at Avenir Centre.

The Sea Dogs are 1-4-0-0 against the Wildcats this season with that one win coming back in October.

Saint John will travel to Charlottetown on Saturday to face the Islanders at 7 p.m. The Islanders are coming off a weekend split in Cape Breton, a series that saw star forward Ivan Ryabkin and No. 1 goaltender Donald Hickey on the sidelines with injuries.

The Sea Dogs have played at Eastlink Centre twice this season and lost both games in overtime.

Sunday will be a big one for Saint John when they take on the last-place Baie-Comeau Drakkar at 3 p.m. at the Aitken Centre. Both teams need all the points they can get with the Sea Dogs trying to inch their way above the playoff bubble and the Drakkar looking to get back into the race.

The top-16 teams in the QMJHL's overall standings make the playoffs. The Sea Dogs currently sit 16th.

If the playoffs started today, the Sea Dogs would move over to the Western Conference and face the Drummondville Voltiguers in the first-round.

The Sea Dogs have a number of big games coming up that involve teams surrounding them in the standings. They'll face the Drakkar on Sunday, Victoriaville on Feb. 16 and Gatineau on Feb. 22.

Notebook: Coyle plays 1,000th NHL game

Charlie Coyle became the first former Saint John Sea Dog to play in 1,000 NHL games this week.

Coyle played his 1,000 game on Thursday when the Columbus Blue Jackets took on the Dallas Stars.

all eyes on #3! pic.twitter.com/cDP3cXQK5Y

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 22, 2026

FanDuel Sports Network had a feature on Coyle's milestone this week.

The 33-year-old has split his NHL career between the Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and now the Blue Jackets. Coyle has 11 goals and 22 assists in 51 games with Columbus this season, his first year with the club.

Coyle left Boston University and joined the Sea Dogs for the second half of the 2011-12 season, helping the club win the President Cup. He posted 15 goals and 23 assists in 23 regular season QMJHL games and added 15 goals and 19 assists in 17 playoff games. He was named QMJHL playoff MVP.

COMING UP

After playing just one game last week, the Sea Dogs have a much busier week coming up.

On Thursday the Sea Dogs will travel to Moncton to face a hot Wildcats team. Moncton will be coming off a three-game road trip in Quebec, one that saw them earn wins in Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi and Quebec City.

After a day off Friday, the Sea Dogs will travel to Charlottetown to take on the Islanders on Saturday night. 

The Sea Dogs will return "home" on Sunday, hosting the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at 3 p.m. in Fredericton. This will be Saint John's third and final game at the Aitken Centre this season.

Notebook: Seed named to Team Italy

Jason Seed – a Memorial Cup champion with the Saint John Sea Dogs – has been named to Team Italy for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games.

Seed, who will turn 34 next week, has spent the past four seasons playing in Italy. Elite Prospects lists him as a Canadian and Italian dual citizen.

The Ottawa native spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs, helping the club win back-to-back QMJHL titles in 2011 and 2012 and a Memorial Cup championship in 2011. He was a depth defensemen but did appear in all 17 of the team's playoff games in 2012.

Seed finished his junior career with the Maritime Junior Hockey League's Summerside Western Capitals. He went on to play four seasons at Carleton University before playing professional hockey in Europe.

Seed is likely to be the only Sea Dog alumnus playing at this year's Games. Former Sea Dogs captain Eriks Mateiko was named to Latvia's roster but he has been ruled out due to a season-ending injury.

COMING UP

The Sea Dogs are back at TD Station this weekend, hosting the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Saturday afternoon. Note that this is a 4 p.m. start.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the Sea Dogs and Phoenix. Sherbrooke features former Sea Dogs forward Chad Bellemare. They also include goaltender Kyan Labbé, who was a Sea Dogs draft pick.

This will be Saint John's last game at TD Station until Feb. 6. The Sea Dogs are in Moncton on Jan. 29 and Charlottetown on Jan. 31 before hosting the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on Feb. 1 in Fredericton.

Notebook: Robinson signs with Summerside

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Justin Robinson has signed with the Maritime Junior Hockey League's Summerside Western Capitals, it was announced on Saturday.

The Sea Dogs traded Robinson to the Moncton Wildcats on deadline day in the deal involving Max Vilen and Carl-Otta Magnusson. The Wildcats, it appears, added Robinson for depth as they're keeping Jacoby Weiner as Rudy Guimond's backup.

The 19-year-old has spent the past three seasons in the QMJHL, recording a 17-40-2 record to go along with a 4.10 goals against average and a .885 save percentage, playing with Sea Dogs teams that were not defensively strong.

We have signed goaltender Justin Robinson. The 6’1”, 185 lb Robinson was acquired in a previous trade with the Chaleur Lightning and played the past 2+ seasons with the Saint John SeaDogs. Welcome to #CapsArmy Justin! pic.twitter.com/iS2cocbpYm

— Summerside Capitals (@SsideCapitals) January 11, 2026

Robinson joins a Capitals team that is hosting the Centennial Cup national championship this season. Entering play Monday, they sit in a tie for first in the MHL standings with a 22-7-4-3 record.

Robinson did not dress for the Capitals on Sunday or Monday.

The Capitals traded 19-year-old netminder George Gallant – a Summerside native – to make room for Robinson.

SPARTANS WIN DOG BOWL

The St. Stephen High School Spartans are Dog Bowl AAA champions, defeating KVHS in overtime on Sunday night at TD Station.

Spartans goaltender Daniel Blanchard, who made 95 saves in the tournament, was named Dog Bowl MVP, earning an invite to Sea Dogs training camp in August. The 17-year-old spent the 2023-24 season with the Saint John Vito's.

Congratulations to the 2026 #DogBowl Most Valuable Player with 95 saves in two games...

St. Stephen Spartans goaltender, Daniel Blanchard!#GoDogsGo pic.twitter.com/mcZONfONjn

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) January 12, 2026

The Hampton High School Huskies won the AA side, defeating Simonds High School.

Sea Dogs on New Year's Eve stage

Jeff Parsons/Newfoundland Regiment

The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to end a New Year's Eve losing streak on Wednesday afternoon at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs have dropped three straight New Year's Eve games and haven't won on the final day of the calendar year since 2019. Saint John will look to end the skid when they host the Newfoundland Regiment at 2 p.m. at TD Station.

The Sea Dogs are 6-8-0-0 all-time on New Year's Eve. 

2005-06: No game 

2006-07: No game 

2007-08: No game 

2008-09: 3-2 loss vs Moncton 

2009-10: 4-3 shootout win at Moncton 

2010-11: 4-0 win vs Moncton 

2011-12: 5-2 loss at Moncton 

2012-13: 3-1 win vs Moncton 

2013-14: No game 

2014-15: 6-3 win vs Cape Breton 

2015-16: 3-2 win vs Charlottetown 

2016-17: 7-5 loss vs Bathurst 

2017-18: 5-1 loss at Moncton 

2018-19: 4-1 loss vs Charlottetown 

2019-20: 6-4 win at Halifax 

2020-21: No game 

2021-22: No game 

2022-23: 4-1 loss vs Moncton 

2023-24: 4-2 loss vs Bathurst 

2024-25: 5-2 loss at Bathurst

While Wednesday's game will be the Regiment's first appearance at TD Station, this will be the third straight year the Sea Dogs have played the Regiment/Acadie-Bathurst Titan franchise on New Year's Eve. You have to wonder if the Sea Dogs will be making the trip to St. John's to ring in 2027.

The Sea Dogs have played the Wildcats seven times on New Year's Eve; Bathurst three times; Charlottetown twice; Cape Breton once; and Halifax once.

Saint John will play their next five games at home (which includes an Aitken Centre game) and will host the Regiment three times during that span. Saint John travelled to St. John's in October and lost both games.