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: Talking tacos

SAINT JOHN - There was a nice little surprise for fans at TD Station this weekend.

"Taco Boyz Express" has opened beside the Moosehead Lounge (where Tim Hortons used to be located) on the TD Station concourse. The menu includes tacos, burritos and a few dessert options like churros and deep fired cheesecake.

It's a nice addition to the building's very ordinary concession lineup.

NEW PARTNERSHIP

The Sea Dogs and the Saint John Firefighters announced a new partnership on Friday. From Facebook:

Your Saint John Firefighters were on Saint John's beautiful boardwalk today to announce our new partnership with the Saint John Sea Dogs. President Tyler Embree had the honor of announcing the first annual "Battle of The Badges" hockey tournament. This event will take place on February 6th, 7th, and 8th at TD Station!

This tournament will consist of 8 teams. 4 teams of firefighters, and 4 teams of police officers.

Your Saint John Firefighters are excited to take the new trophy home! With many of our players having been drafted to, or played in leagues such as the QMJHL, CHL, AUS, Senior A, Prep School Hockey, and Vito's "AAA", you know that the action will be intense!

We would like to thank the Saint John Sea Dogs for continuing to be an excellent partner in both our charity endeavours, and the Battle of the Badges.

A special thanks to Andy Childs and Trevor Georgie for their unwavering support.

The Sea Dogs will play home games the nights of Feb. 6-7.

Notebook: Groulx named Dogs captain

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - Olivier Groulx has been named captain of the Saint John Sea Dogs, the team announced Thursday.

Veteran forward Jacob Beaulieu along with overagers Angelo Fullerton and Natan Éthier have all been named alternate captains.

“We are delighted to name Olivier, Angelo, Natan and Jacob as our captains for the upcoming season,” Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Travis Crickard said in a news release. “Olivier has earned the captaincy because he fully embodies our team’s values of humble, hunger and honour every day.”

Groulx is the 24th captain in franchise history and will play his third season with the Sea Dogs. The 18-year-old wore an 'A' last season.

HALIFAX TO HOST

The QMJHL Entry Draft is coming east.

During the league's season opening press conference on Tuesday, it was confirmed that Halifax will host the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft, which is scheduled for June 5-6.

“The QMJHL is very pleased and excited to hold its 2026 draft presented by Fenplast in the beautiful city of Halifax, a very important market in our league,"said QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini in a statement. "The players, families and teams present at the draft will be able to fully enjoy the beautiful attractions of the city.”

It's the first time the event will be held in Halifax.

Quebec City hosted the draft this past June. Moncton hosted in 2024.

Also, it sounds like the OHL may have an in-person draft in the near future as well.

Storylines to follow in the QMJHL

Vincent Ethier/CHL

Another season of QMJHL hockey is upon us and it's one that offers no shortage of storylines.

Here are a few of the major topics to keep an eye on this season.

Newfoundland Returns

Not to be overly dramatic, but this is basically it for St. John's. The AHL isn't coming back. The ECHL probably isn't coming back. It's make the QMJHL work or have no high level hockey at Mary Brown's Centre. I'm really optimistic about the Regiment. The people running this team seem to have recognized the past mistakes and have worked to fix those issues. That, plus the fact that the Regiment are setup well to have a strong on-ice product over the next few years, feels like a recipe for success. It's worth remembering that St. John's is not a small market, either. Whether it happens this year or down the road, the Regiment could have the third best attendance figures in the league and be a Memorial Cup host at some point. The sky is the limit here.

Can The Wildcats Run It Back...

The Moncton Wildcats will be one of the most fascinating teams to watch this season. Rather than rebuilding, they decided to quickly retool through the draft and free agency. It's not something you see too often, and the Wildcats are taking advantage of the moment in time where the option is available to them. I hope it works out, mainly because it's more fun and intriguing to see teams try some unconventional things to keep their contention window open longer. Plus, they have Gardiner MacDougall behind the bench. It'll be another fascinating year in Moncton.

Notebook: Tickets now available

Single-game tickets to Saint John Sea Dogs home games (the ones at TD Station, at least) went on sale Tuesday.

The biggest change, obviously, is that Sea Dogs tickets are now purchased through Ticketmaster. With that move, the team announced last week that it was lowering the base cost of tickets to account for the additional fees Ticketmaster is famous for.

Going through the checkout process, after taxes and fees, a single adult ticket will cost $24.81.

A single adult ticket was priced at $25 last season – before taxes and fees.

Notably, the "prime" seating sections in the lower bowl currently have no seats available. The Sea Dogs explained the reasoning in a Facebook comment.

"Those sections are in high demand among our Season Ticket Members, so availability there is very limited," the Sea Dogs wrote. "At this time, we’ve reserved the remaining seats in those sections for potential Season Ticket Membership purchasers."

Upper bowl sections 5-11 are also not available nor are the top few rows of most other upper bowl sections. This is common practice for larger arenas, and those seats will presumably become available when demand requires it.

PRE-SEASON FINALE

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League pre-season comes to a close this week.

The Sea Dogs have two exhibition matches remaining. This Friday they'll host the Moncton Wildcats in Woodstock before travelling to PEI on Saturday to face the Charlottetown Islanders on the UPEI campus.

Both games have 7 p.m. starts.

Friday's contest will be Saint John's first in Woodstock. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Sea Dogs have played five pre-season games so far and are still looking for their first win. They've played Moncton three times already while they have yet to see Tyler Peddle and Charlottetown.

The final games of the QMJHL's pre-season will take place Sunday. The regular season begins on Sept. 18.

QMJHL moves streaming to FloSports

QUEBEC CITY – The QMJHL will have a new webcast provider next season.

The league announced a seven-year deal with FloSports on Friday. FloHockey will stream all 576 QMJHL regular season games, playoffs and special league events through 2032.

“We always want to offer more to our fans, and this agreement with FloSports is a step in that direction," said QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini in a new release. "It's a historic partnership that will give our fans a new and improved webcasting experience. Technology is advancing at breakneck speed, and we want to be at the front of the parade in terms of customer experience. What's more, FloSports subscribers will also be able to watch games from the American League, ECHL and LHM18AAAQ, among others.”

As Cecchini noted, FloSports currently owns the streaming rights to the AHL, ECHL, USHL and a number of other hockey leagues. Subscribers will have access to all of that, a nice bonus that CHL TV didn't offer.

FloHockey also creates written, video and audio content, so QMJHL fans will have that to look forward to as well.

The potential bad news for QMJHL followers: the reviews of FloSports' streaming services and technical support are mixed, so we'll see how this plays out. The good news is that most QMJHL teams have built very strong streaming setups that should carry over to this new provider.

The announcement likely means CHL TV is dead with the QMJHL and WHL both moving away from the platform. The WHL recently announced an agreement with Victory+, which will make all games available for free beginning next season.

Here's FloHockey's current pricing setup. The annual subscription fee works out to be $203.88. The QMJHL league pass on CHL TV cost $129.99 this past season – but that didn't include playoff games.

The QMJHL, OHL and WHL have all been streamed on the subscription based CHL TV since 2021.

Notebook: Mateiko lone ex-Dog in QMJHL final

Embed from Getty Images

Eriks Mateiko scored one of the biggest goals of his career on Wednesday night.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs captain scored late in double overtime to give the Rimouski Oceanic a 4-3 Game 7 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes, a win that sent the Oceanic to the QMJHL final. The Oceanic play Game 1 of the QMJHL championship series against the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday night at Avenir Centre.

LES FRISSONS SONT ENCORE LÀ! 🥶😱@LHJMQ #gonicsgo pic.twitter.com/1WKBvj2meB

— L'Océanic de Rimouski (@oceanicrimouski) May 7, 2025

Mateiko has appeared in just 12 of Rimouski's 17 playoff games due to injury. He's posted six goals and three assists, placing him in a tie for second in team goal scoring.

In the regular season and playoffs combined, Mateiko has now scored 16 game-winning goals in his 175-game QMJHL career.

Mateiko will be the lone former Sea Dog skating in the series. Behind the Moncton bench will be Gardiner MacDougall, who guided Saint John to the 2022 Memorial Cup title. Moncton's staff also includes former Sea Dogs assistant coach Paul Boutilier, who is a defensive coordinator with the Wildcats this season.

There would have been a former Sea Dog in the QMJHL final no matter who won the Oceanic/Cataractes series. Vince Elie recorded six goals and six assists in 16 playoff games with Shawinigan, placing him third in team scoring.

LAFORGE COMMITS TO LAKERS

Nico LaForge has committed to the Nipissing University Lakers men's hockey team for the 2025-26 U Sports season.

The former Sea Dogs forward spent this past season with the OJHL's Coburg Cougars where he recorded 15 goals and 23 assists in 52 games. He added a goal and two assists in five playoff contests.

LaForge is the second Sea Dogs alumnus to commit to Nipissing recently. Forward Danny Akkouche will also be joining the North Bay, ON based school for this coming season.

"I'm a two-way forward with strong work ethic," LaForge explained in a Lakers news release. "I expect our team to be in an underdog position and surprise some teams this year. Nipissing is a good place to play with some great opportunities and it is close to home."

LaForge, who played some U18 and U15 hockey in North Bay, spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs and was part of the 2022 Memorial Cup team.

Notebook: Sea Dogs thank fans

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John Sea Dogs president Trevor Georgie shared a thank you message to fans earlier this week.

The letter was shared on the team's social media channels and via email (click to enlarge).

The letter comes after another challenging year for the Sea Dogs. The team has been in the league's basement for three consecutive seasons and this year missed the playoffs for the first tine since 2018-19.

As Georgie notes, there are reasons to be optimistic about the club's future. It's also noted that the team has three first-round picks in June's QMJHL Entry Draft and will have two import players next year. Saint John played the entire second half with no imports.

ELLIOTT SIGNS ATO

Former Sea Dogs forward Drew Elliott has signed an amateur tryout with the AHL's San Diego Gulls, the club announced Wednesday.

The 21-year-old appeared in 26 regular season games with the UNB Reds this season, recording 14 goals and eight assists. He added an assist in five playoff games.

Elliott, a Saint John native, split his overage season between the Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs. In 32 second half games with Saint John, Elliott recorded 10 goals and seven assists. 

The Gulls are back in action on Friday when they host the Tucson Roadrunners. 

Notebook: CHL TV but without the WHL?

WHL

The future of CHL TV is very much in question following an announcement by the Western Hockey League this week.

The WHL announced Thursday that all of its playoff games and the full 2025-26 regular season will be streamed for free on Victory+. The streaming service has been making some noise of late, broadcasting Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks and Texas Rangers games.

From the WHL:

The WHL Playoffs will be available on Victory+ without geo-restrictions, giving fans the opportunity to follow their favorite teams and players on the road to the championship. With Victory+ offering a free, ad-supported streaming service, this ensures that the game is accessible to everyone, no matter where they are or what devices they use, including Samsung and Vizio smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, Android and web browser.

Making all games available for free is a big move – and one that you have to wonder if the OHL and QMJHL may follow. Following junior hockey isn't easy in this era of dwindling media coverage. It's even harder to follow at a cheap price.

All three leagues have been streamed on the subscription based CHL TV since 2021.

LOTTERY TALK

The Saint John Sea Dogs finished 17th in the 18-team QMJHL, giving them the second best odds of winning the league's draft lottery.

The QMJHL's bottom five teams will all be entered into the lottery.

18. Victoriaville - 9 balls

17. Saint John - 6 balls

16. Halifax - 3 balls

15. Newfoundland - 2 balls

14. Quebec - 1 ball

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan/Newfoundland Regiment own the Gatineau Olympiques' pick.

The Sea Dogs also currently own Cape Breton's first-round pick, which will be 10th overall. We'll see what picks Saint John ends up with on draft day, which will be June 6-7 in Quebec City.

Young is a Sea Dog + some other notes

@stanleyscreative

Eric Young is officially a Saint John Sea Dog.

The Sea Dogs announced the signing of the 19-year-old goaltender on Thursday, a day after he was added to the club's roster.

“With the January 10th deadline already past, we are very fortunate to acquire a goaltender of Eric’s caliber. He was a workhorse for his previous team in the first half and was rewarded by being part of the Top Prospects Game,” said Sea Dogs head coach and general nanager Travis Crickard in a news release. “In communications with folks out west, Eric received glowing reviews about his hunger and commitment to get better everyday. He will be a welcome addition to our program.”

Young leaves the BCHL's Coquitlam Express for the QMJHL. He posted a 13-8-0 record to go along with a .890 save-percentage and a 3.32 goals against average in 25 games this season.

Young will presumably be Justin Robinson's backup for the rest of the season. The Sea Dogs have been in search of a second netminder since the team suddenly released 20-year-old Charles-Edward Gravel on Jan. 19.

A few other news and notes...

• Young joins a long list of players that have left the BCHL for the QMJHL since the NCAA rule change. Young joins forward Dylan Krayer as Sea Dogs players who have done so.
• The Sea Dogs are back in action on Friday when they visit the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at 8 p.m. They play the final game of this Quebec road trip on Saturday, visiting the Val-d'Or Foreurs at 5 p.m.
• Environment Canada's weather forecast for Friday night in Rouyn-Noranda: "Partly cloudy. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 30. Wind chill minus 25 in the evening and minus 39 overnight. Risk of frostbite."
• The Huskies were in action on Thursday, hosting the Charlottetown Islanders.
• It looks like the Sea Dogs will be holding their skills competition on Feb. 4 at the Peter Murray Arena on the west side.
• A weird scheduling quirk: the Moncton Wildcats and Cape Breton Eagles will play their next three games against each other over the span of a week. The two meet Thursday in Sydney, Saturday in Moncton and next Thursday in Moncton.
• A few notable NCAA commitments:
• 17-year-old forward Ryan Dwyer, the son of former Sea Dogs head coach Gordie Dwyer, has committed to RPI. Dwyer is in his second season at Stanstead College in Quebec.
• Quebec Remparts captain Justin Côté has committed to Clarkson University.
• QMJHL leading scorer Jonathan Fauchon of the Rimiuski Oceanic has committed to Providence College.
• Oceanic captain Jacob Mathieu has committed to Northeastern University.
• The QMJHL has launched the Thursday Night Showdown, which will offer fans a free game to watch on YouTube and CHL TV every Thursday. It's a great idea but has the same problem as the CHL on TV days: the matchups aren't very appetizing. Offering the games in both languages would be great as well, especially if the league is truly trying to attract more Americans.

CHL TV packages and prices released

CHL TV prices and packages for the 2024-25 season have been released.

CHL season packages remain the same price as last year while the league season pass has increased once again. League monthly and daily prices remain the same in price while the CHL is introducing a CHL wide day pass this year.

From the CHL:

Among the many packages available this season, fans can enjoy complete access to both the 2024-25 regular season and the 2025 playoffs from all three Member Leagues of the CHL by purchasing a CHL All-Access Pass for $274.99 plus applicable taxes. Only with this exclusive CHL TV pass can fans watch more than 2,100 regular season and playoff games from the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL covering 60 markets across Canada and the United States.

Viewers can alternatively enjoy complete access to every regular season game from their favourite league over the duration of the 2024-25 campaign by purchasing a WHL, OHL, or QMJHL Regular Season Pass for $129.99 plus applicable taxes.

This will be the fourth season of CHL TV. Below is how the season packages have been priced over the years (taxes not included).

CHL All-Access Pass (with playoffs) 

2024-25: $274.99

2023-24: $274.99 

2022-23: $279.99 

2021-22: Not offered 

CHL All-Access Pass (no playoffs) 

2024-25: $184.99

2023-24: $184.99 

2022-23: $179.99 

2021-22: $159.99 

League Pass (no playoffs) 

2024-25: $129.99

2023-24: $124.99 

2022-23: $119.99 

2021-22: $109.99

There was some major streaming news announced in the AHL on Thursday. AHL TV is no longer its own platform as the league has shifted its streaming service over to FloHockey, which has had an expanding portfolio for years now.

TSN won't air regular season CHL games this year; Dow replaces Kia

There will be no regular season Canadian Hockey League games airing on TSN this season.

Canadian sports media insider Adam Seaborn reported the news Wednesday. TSN will, however, cover every game of each league final along with the Memorial Cup which, as Seaborn notes, could end up equaling a similar amount of games.

Here's the scoop

CHL regular season will NOT be on TSN. Last year was a struggle to pull ratings on Friday nights

TSN will be covering EVERY league final game right from game 1 through to the Memorial Cup

Similar amount of games, just focused on playoffs and not regular season https://t.co/x6xNKy6kFo

— Adam Seaborn (@AHBSeaborn) September 27, 2023

TSN began airing CHL games in 2021-22, which included the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John. The network took over from long-time rights holder Sportsnet.

There were high hopes for TSN's coverage given how much they put into covering the World Junior Hockey Championship. But the number of games broadcast was similar to what Sportsnet had done in the recent past — and the selection of matchups wasn't great. The coverage was fine (even when done remotely), but not on the same level as the world juniors. The network is also missing that real, extremely connected CHL insider that Sam Cosentino is on Sportsnet.

In 2021-22, the CHL had regular season games air nationally on TSN and CBC. This year there will be none. But — and I've asked this question on here before — does it even matter anymore? TV just doesn't have the impact or reach that it used to — and, unless they are diehard junior hockey fans, most people aren't going to spend their Friday night watching a random junior game when there are a million other things on.

The CHL is probably better off putting its focus into making CHL TV a better product — not just quality wise, but entertainment wise as well. OneSoccer, for example, which broadcasts the Canadian Premier League and Canada Soccer matches, has studio analysts and other programming.

But even if CHL TV becomes the best hockey streaming service on the planet, will people watch? That seems to be the bigger challenge here. If people were watching, TSN would still be airing regular season games.

It feels like we're reaching a point (or some would argue we reached it some time ago) where the CHL needs to look at some big ideas to increase its audience. Flex-scheduling to put big matchups into prime time, inter-league play, in-season tournaments, regional Memorial Cup tournament qualifiers, a completely new Memorial Cup format... hopefully the CHL is putting every possible option on the table.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next five years or so. There will likely be a seismic shift in Canadian sports media when the NHL's deal with Sportsnet/Rogers ends in 2025-26. And we're starting to see some teams and leagues in the United States shift back to old school local TV stations, believing that reach is more valuable than a few extra tickets sold.

Somewhat related to all of this, it looks like the CHL has lost Kia as a partner. Dow, which owns the naming rights to the Saginaw Spirit's home arena, will be the presenting sponsor of the 2024 Memorial Cup.

Kia had held the naming rights to the tournament since 2019 in Halifax.

CHL TV prices announced

CHL TV has unveiled its pricing for the 2023-24 season.

Subscriptions are staying relatively close in price compared to last season. A QMJHL season pass will cost $124.99, which is up slightly from the $119.99 price offered a year ago.

From the CHL:

Among the many packages available this season (the complete list can be found in the table below), which can also be obtained through the CHL’s official app, Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire, fans can catch every regular season game from their favourite league over the duration of the 2023-24 campaign by purchasing a WHL, OHL, or QMJHL Regular Season Pass for $124.99 plus applicable taxes.

Viewers can also alternatively enjoy complete access to both the 2023-24 regular season and the 2024 playoffs from all three member leagues of the CHL with the purchase of a CHL All-Access Pass for $274.99 plus applicable taxes. Only with this exclusive CHL TV pass can fans watch more than 2,200 regular season and playoff games from the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL.

This is the third full season of CHL TV, which put all three major junior leagues under one platform for the first time. Prices haven't risen too much over the past couple years.

CHL All-Access Pass (with playoffs)

2023-24: $274.99

2022-23: $279.99

2021-22: Not offered

CHL All-Access Pass (no playoffs)

2023-24: $184.99

2022-23: $179.99

2021-22: $159.99

League Pass (no playoffs)

2023-24: $124.99

2022-23: $119.99

2021-22: $109.99

Many season ticket holders across the CHL will be given discount codes as a benefit of being a ticket holder.

Notebook: Sea Dogs hire new coach

SAINT JOHN - Max Essiambre has been named the Saint John Sea Dogs' new goaltending and video coach.

Essiambre replaces long-time video and goaltending coach Brian Fleming, who has left the club for other career opportunities.

“I am absolutely thrilled to join the Saint John Sea Dogs,” said Essiambre in a news release. “The opportunity to work with a talented group of players and contribute to the team’s success is a dream come true.”

The 33-year-old has spent the past couple seasons in the Ottawa area, working with the University of Ottawa men's hockey team last season and the CCHL's Hawkesbury Hawks in 2021-22. His previous experience also includes working as a goaltending coach with the Miramichi Rivermen under-18 team.

INJURY UPDATES

The Sea Dogs are dealing with a few injuries before the season even begins.

Forwards Sam-Luca Thifault and Nico Laforge along with defenseman Jeremie Richard all had surgery during the off-season and aren't quite ready to go yet, reports Kevin Barrett of Postmedia.

Richard may be able to return after Labour Day while Thifault may be October and Laforge is anytime between October and December. All three underwent surgeries in the off-season.

— Kevin Barrett (@KevinBarrettNB) August 16, 2023

The news creates a few more holes in Saint John's lineup that the club will need to — at least temporarily — fill.

Notebook: McCluskey pushes Bearcats to first round MHL series win

UNB Athletics

HALIFAX - Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Carter McCluskey played a key role in getting the Truro Bearcats into the second round of the Maritime Hockey League playoffs.

McCluskey, who appeared in 22 games with the Cape Breton Eagles earlier this season, recorded four goals and two assists in just three games, helping lift the Bearcats to a 4-2 series win over the Valley Wildcats.

Those numbers included scoring the overtime winner in Game 5 on Sunday.

Carter McCluskey with a statement in his return with a first star performance(2G 1A) which included this overtime winner in front of 1200 strong at the RECC! We can close out the series Tuesday night in Berwick! #ExpectToWin pic.twitter.com/SCBbhpGNeK

— Truro Junior ‘A’ Bearcats (@trurobearcats) March 27, 2023

McCluskey, Cael MacDonald and the Bearcats will face Ben Roode and the Yarmouth Mariners in the next round.

The other series will feature the Edmundston Blizzard (Brandon Casey) facing either the Summerside Western Capitals or Campbellton Tigers (Connor Richard and Dawson Stairs). The Capitals host the Tigers in a Game 7 on Friday.

FINAL RANKINGS

The Gatineau Olympiques finished the regular season fourth in the QMJHL standings but have been ranked No. 1 in the final edition of the CHL Top 10.

Three other QMJHL teams were ranked as well.

The @OlympiquesGAT finish 🔝 of the @KiaCanada CHL Top 🔟 rankings!

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) March 28, 2023 

Notebook: The regular season is here

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's almost that time.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's regular season is just a couple days away. The schedule opens on Thursday night with the President Cup champion and William Dufour owned Shawinigan Cataractes hosting the Gatineau Olympiques.

The schedule picks up on Friday with seven games that evening. The Saturday slate includes the Saint John Sea Dogs and Acadie-Bathurst Titan opening up their seasons at TD Station. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Sea Dogs and Titan meet again on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

Saint John travels to Charlottetown the following Friday, Sept. 30. The Dogs then play three straight games on home ice before making their first of four three-game road trips to Quebec.

MEDIA GUIDE RELEASED

The QMJHL's media guide was released on Tuesday. Here are a few things worth noting (and perhaps subject to change):

• The league's holiday trading period will take place Sunday, Dec. 18 to Friday, Jan. 6. The World Junior Hockey Championship ends on Jan. 5.
• The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will take place Jan. 25 in Vancouver.
• The 2023 Memorial Cup, held in Kelowna, will take place Friday, May 26 to Monday, June 5.
• The final Central Scouting list for the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft will be released May 8.
• Capacity at TD Station is listed at 5,990 this season with total capacity listed at 6,190.

ROSZELL NO LONGER WITH WILDCATS

Tim Roszell is no longer the voice of the Moncton Wildcats.

The Wildcats quietly announced late Saturday that Marty Kingston will return as the Wildcats' play-by-play announcer, taking over from Roszell who had held the position for the last four seasons.

Kingston was previously the PA announcer at the Moncton Coliseum and was the team's play-by-play voice for three seasons.

This year's CHL TV prices announced

Fans will be paying more for CHL TV subscriptions this season.

The Canadian Hockey League unveiled its streaming service packages on Tuesday. The full, regular season CHL package will cost $179.99 plus taxes and fees, a $20 increase from a year ago. League passes will cost $119.99, a $10 increase.

A CHL All-Access Pass, which will include all regular season and playoff games, will be available for $279.99.

From the CHL:

New for this season, fans can now purchase a CHL All-Access Pass which includes all 2022-23 Regular Season plus the 2023 Playoffs for $279.99 plus applicable taxes and fees. Additionally, fans can choose a CHL Regular Season All-Access Pass, covering all three Member Leagues, available for $179.99 plus applicable taxes and fees.

Lastly, fans can opt for an individual Member League Regular Season Pass. For $119.99 plus applicable taxes and fees, fans can choose to follow one of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, or Western Hockey League. Monthly Member League Passes are also available for $29.99 plus applicable taxes and fees as well as Daily Member League Passes for $7.99 plus applicable taxes and fees.

Many season ticket members across the country will receive discount codes again this season.

CHL TV will be available on the CHL mobile app, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and online at watch.chl.ca.

CHL TV launched last season, marking the first time all three leagues were housed under one streaming platform. There were some hiccups throughout the year (especially for Saint John home games) but it improved as the year went along and, all things considered, had a solid showing. Hopefully further improvements can be made this year and beyond.

Sea Dogs game to air on CBC

The Saint John Sea Dogs will appear on national television at least once this season.

The CHL announced the 2021-22 CBC broadcast schedule on Thursday, which features six games airing nationally in October and November.

The games, which will all air on Saturdays at 4 p.m. Atlantic (conveniently before Hockey Night in Canada), include the Sea Dogs visiting the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Nov. 6. Drummondville has always been a popular spot for national broadcasts.

The other QMJHL game to air will see the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies taking on the Shawinigan Cataractes on Oct. 9.

The first game CBC will broadcast is on Oct. 2 when the Prince Albert Raiders visit Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats. The full CBC schedule can be found on the CHL website.

The CHL news release notes that "in addition to being broadcast on CBC TV, all six games will also be available via CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Beginning in November, CBC Gem, CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports app will offer live streaming coverage of one CHL game per week through the end of the regular season. The schedule for these games will be confirmed in the coming weeks."

No further details on CBC's broadcasts - like who will be doing play-by-play - have been released. This will be the first year of a "multi-platform, multi-year broadcast rights partnership" between the CHL and CBC.

TSN will also be airing CHL games nationally this year.

The CHL also confirmed the pricing for CHL TV on Thursday. Seasons passes, monthly passes and single-day passes will all be available for purchase. "The high-quality CHL TV streaming service is available on the Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and the Safari and Google Chrome web browsers," reads a news release.

CHL TV prices seem pretty good

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

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

Each pass is good for live and archived games.

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

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

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

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

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

CHL TV, WHL off and running

The Canadian Hockey League made it clear this weekend that they have very high expectations for CHL TV.

CHL TV hosted its first live hockey games on Friday night with two Western Hockey League contests. There were a few technical issues, most notably the ice in Red Deer looked brighter than the sun and the streams weren't working on the mobile app.

These are problems we've seen time and time again with junior hockey streams - but the CHL came out the next day and called the experience disappointing.

A message from CHL President Dan MacKenzie and WHL Commissioner Ron Robison pic.twitter.com/8SYoaJu6ar

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 27, 2021

Saturday's streams - what I watched of them, at least - seemed to go much more smoothly. I can't say I've watched too many WHL streams over the years but if what I saw this weekend is going to be rolled out across all 60 CHL markets, I'm pretty okay with that - especially knowing that the CHL is setting the bar high and even more improvements could be on the way.

Here’s a video of the new @CHLHockey streaming service CHL TV from an iOS device. @EdmOilKings @WHLHurricanes @TheWHL #QMJHL #LHJMQ #WHL #OHL #CHLTV pic.twitter.com/gqGjTdHH2L

— Denis Leblanc (@DenisL_1981) February 28, 2021

Making team home openers free to watch is something that hopefully continues down the road. The AHL has been making its opening weekend free to view for a number of years now and it's always received high praise from fans.