Notebook: Oceanic fire Beausoleil

Embed from Getty Images

The Rimouski Oceanic made a major move Monday, firing head coach and general manager Serge Beausoleil.

Beausoleil led the Oceanic to nearly 500 wins over his 12 years in Rimouski and won the President Cup in 2015. The Oceanic fell to the Saint John Sea Dogs in the 2012 President Cup final and then pulled off a shocking upset over the Sea Dogs in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs.

The often vocal Beausoleil also got into it with Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard earlier this season after the Sea Dogs took a late-game timeout in a blowout win.

Beausoleil was named the QMJHL's general manager of the year in 2018.

The Oceanic announced that Danny Dupont will be the club's interim general manager. The QMJHL Entry Draft is roughly six weeks away.

Beausoleil's impressive resume with the Oceanic will likely make him a wanted man around the QMJHL. There is already speculation of him taking the reins of the Quebec Remparts if Patrick Roy chooses to move on.

MORE CAMERAS INCOMING?

Le Journal de Quebec is reporting that the QMJHL may require teams provide more camera angles in their home arenas to assist with video replay.

The news comes after a couple controversial calls this post-season - most notably the Baie-Comeau Drakkar's overtime goal in Game 7 of the first round that was not allowed. The Moncton Wildcats went on to win the game and advance to the second round.

Il y en avait des vidéo, voici le but refusé du Drakkar. Tranquillement les vidéos commence à sortir. C’est un vol pic.twitter.com/eOOIQ45fTI

— Sébastien Chouinard (@sebchou1) April 24, 2023

Mooseheads, Sagueneens Coming To Town

The Halifax Mooseheads and Chicoutimi Sagueneens are in town to battle the Saint John Sea Dogs this weekend.

On Saturday night at 7 p.m., the Sea Dogs host the Mooseheads in a rematch of last weekend’s thrilling 6-5 Saint John overtime win in Halifax. On Sunday at 3 p.m., the Sagueneens make their only appearance of the regular season at Harbour Station.

The Mooseheads, who will be led by the return of goaltender Zach Fucale from Montreal Canadiens camp, enter action this weekend with a 1-2-1-0 record. They host Chicoutimi tonight.

The Sagueneens, who feature a top NHL prospect in Nicolas Roy, have a 1-3-0-0 record.

Meanwhile, the Sea Dogs have a 2-1-0-1 record and sit fourth in the Maritimes Division and 10^th overall.

A few other things...

• Sea Dogs defenseman Jakub Zboril was ranked 14^th for the 2015 NHL Draft by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
• Former Sea Dogs defenseman Charles-Olivier Roussel has signed with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Roussel played in 66 AHL games with the Milwaukee Admirals last season, recording four goals and 13 assists. The Grizzlies are affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks. 
• Who deserves a roster spot on the Habs: Nathan Baeulieu or Jarred Tinordi? All Habs takes a look at that. 
• Jack Eichel is pretty good says The Canadian Press and The Hockey News.

THN PREDICTS...

Moncton Wildcats beat reporter Neil Hodge, who also covers the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for The Hockey News, released his predicted standings for the upcoming QMJHL season. These predictions will appear in the junior hockey preview edition of THN.

Given the offseason moves by Montreal and Bathurst, it is a bit of a surprise as to where Saint John is predicted to finish.

Here's The Hockey News predicted standings for the QMJHL: 1. Saint John; 2. Montreal; 3. Acadie-Bathurst; 4. Quebec; 5. Rimouski; 6. Prince Edward Island; 7. Gatineau; 8. Chicoutimi; 9. Moncton; 10. Lewiston; 11. Shawinigan; 12. Drummondville; 13. Val d'Or; 14. Halifax; 15. Baie-Comeau; 16. Victoriaville; 17. Cape Breton; 18. Rouyn-Noranda.

Along with finishing first overall in the league, the THN junior hockey panel also predicts Saint John to finish third overall in the Canadian Hockey League Top 10 rankings.

Here's the full list: 1. Mississauga (OHL); 2. Saskatoon (WHL); 3. Saint John (QMJHL); 4. Portland (WHL); 5. Windsor (OHL); 6. Montreal (QMJHL); 7. London (OHL); 8. Swift Current (WHL); 9. Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL); 10. Oshawa (OHL).

Saint John finished first overall in the QMJHL’s regular season last year before falling in six games to the Moncton Wildcats. Saint John also finished the campaign ranked second in the country in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings.

Only once has Saint John been placed in THN’s pre-season Top 10. That was in 2008, when the Sea Dogs finished ninth overall in the league and were swept out of the first round of the playoffs.

THN RANKS DOGS THREADS FOURTH

The Hockey News is holding a contest this season to see who has the best jersey design in all of hockey.

The QMJHL portion has been put up and places Saint John fourth among the eighteen team league. "Love the grey shoulders and repping of city on trim," said the popular magazines website. The publication placed Saint John ahead of popular jerseys like Quebec and Shawinigan. It is the highest placing of any Atlantic division team.

To view the rest of the rankings and to vote for the best click HERE

Saint John, along with the rest of the Canadian Hockey League, will unveil there new RBK Edge threads in the coming weeks.

JURCO ON THN'S HOT LIST

Slovakian rookie Tomas Jurco has made The Hockey News' Hot List this week. Here is the insert on the Sea Dogs forward from THN.

8. Tomas Jurco, RW – Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL): Another European import who has found his away across the pond, the Slovakian is already putting up points in the pre-season for the Dogs. Should Saint John manage to coax Stanislav Galiev away from the United States League’s Indiana Ice, it will be a very interesting season in New Brunswick. Draft eligible in 2010.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/27713-.html