Sea Dogs claim local Marcus Tesink

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The Saint John Sea Dogs have claimed a local talent off waivers.

The team officially - or as official as it gets, I guess - announced today that they've picked up Saint John native Marcus Tesink off waivers.

Welcome home @BabySinker @SJSeaDogs pic.twitter.com/FAlAkWHk1j

— Anthony Stella (@AnthonyStella_) August 31, 2017

Tesink, a 19-year-old defenceman, spent last season with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles where he recorded two goals and 10 assists in 54 games. He was held pointless in nine playoff games.

A former Saint John Vito's standout, Tesink was a fifth-round pick of the Moncton Wildcats in the 2014 QMJHL Entry Draft. He appeared in three games with the Wildcats in 2014-15 before spending the entire 2015-16 season with the team.

Tesink is, of course, the younger brother of former Sea Dogs forward Ryan Tesink.

Despite losing a lot of defencemen to the professional ranks this off-season, the Sea Dogs now have a bit of a log jam on the backend. While many QMJHL teams are announcing their season opening lineups this week, it appears the Sea Dogs will still have a few battles for positions during the final couple weeks of training camp.

The Sea Dogs don't return to preseason play until Sept. 14, taking on the Moncton Wildcats in Fredericton.

Bowers remains committed to BU

He's said it before and he's just said it again: Shane Bowers is not reporting to the Saint John Sea Dogs at this time.

In a video posted on Wednesday, the Boston University commit was asked straight up by John Moore if he ever intends to play with the Sea Dogs.



While there's always a chance of Bowers reporting at some point, that chance seems awfully slim at this time - especially since he is committed to a powerhouse college program (and also a quality school).

Bowers was a second-round pick of the Sea Dogs in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft. The Halifax native has spent the past two seasons with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks. He was a first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in this year's NHL Draft.

We've written about it to death over the past several years, but the Sea Dogs have really struggled to swing players with NCAA interest to major junior, especially when compared to the Moncton Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads.

The Terriers begin play on Sept. 30 against Union College. BU travels to Orono, ME to take on the University of Maine on Nov. 17.

QMJHL's Maritimes Division features plenty of 2018 NHL Draft prospects

Joe Veleno will get all the attention in Saint John, but there are plenty of reasons to keep an eye on the Maritimes if you are following 2018 NHL Draft prospects closely.

Veleno has been a top prospect for the 2018 draft for years now, but several of the other top 2000 born players are close by - and will be playing each other regularly.

The Moncton Wildcats recently acquired Quispamsis native Anderson MacDonald from the Sherbrooke Phoenix. MacDonald was ranked 10th for the 2018 draft by Future Considerations while other draft experts have him going in the mid to late first round. Either way, he should be the highest New Brunswicker selected in a while.

The Halifax Mooseheads are loaded with talent, much like they were in 2013 when they won the Memorial Cup. The team is headlined by defenceman Jared McIsaac and import forward Filip Zadina - both of whom could be top 10 picks. The Moose also feature forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx, another projected first rounder.

In Bathurst, Noah Dobson, ranked 62nd by Future Considerations, could move his way up with a solid season.

Even if the Maritimes Division doesn't end up featuring the intense competitive balance it did a year ago, there will be plenty of talent on the ice almost every night.

The 2018 NHL Draft should be a bounce-back year for the QMJHL. In 2017, just two QMJHL players went in the opening round (although that did include the first overall selection).

Outside the Maritimes Division, Baie-Comeau's Xavier Bouchard is expected to be a 2018 first rounder.

Sea Dogs make several roster moves

SAINT JOHN - A few significant roster moves were made by the Saint John Sea Dogs on Monday.

The Sea Dogs reassigned 10 players from training camp - including 20-year-olds Kyle Ward and Alex Bernier. With Chase Stewart being traded on Sunday, the team has gone quickly from five overagers to just two. Defenceman Bailey Webster and forward Cole Reginato remain.

Ward spent two seasons with the Sea Dogs, registering nine goals and 11 assists in 112 regular season games along with four goals and an assist in 35 playoff matches.

Bernier spent parts of two seasons with Saint John, recording four goals and 23 points in 82 regular season games along with four assists in 18 playoff matches.

The full list of players reassigned on Monday were: C Max-Antoine Melancon, C Aiden MacIntosh, RW Jeremie Jacob, RW Kyle Ward, D Alexandre Bernier, D Jack Greenberg, D Bennett Lawrick, D Tristan Mercure, G Stewart Bagnell and G Joel Goguen.

The Goguen and Bagnell reassignments seems to indicate the Sea Dogs will go with Alex D'Orio and Matthew Williams in net to start the season.

RECAP: Sea Dogs lose 3-2

FINAL: Halifax 3, Saint John 2

QUISPAMSIS, NB - The Saint John Sea Dogs' perfect run at the qplex came to an end on Sunday.

The Sea Dogs, who entered the game 3-0 all-time at the at the Quispamsis complex, fell 3-2 to the Halifax Mooseheads in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League preseason play.

Justin Barron, Jared McIsaac and Brett Crossley scored for Halifax. Former Sea Dog Blade Mann-Dixon made 34 stops in the win.

Samuel Leblanc and William Poirier scored for Saint John. Alex D'Orio allowed two goals on 17 shots in the first half of the game. Matthew Williams allowed one on eight shots in the second half.

It was a fairly close game between two teams that dressed respectable lineups. Saint John generated quite a few good scoring chances - especially on the man advantage - but simply didn't have enough finish on this day. The Dogs outshot the Moose 36-25.

Sea Dogs trade Stewart to Oceanic

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QUISPAMSIS, NB - A trade between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Rimouski Oceanic was announced on Sunday morning.

The Sea Dogs traded 20-year-old defenceman Chase Stewart and a 2019 eighth-round pick to the Oceanic in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Alexis Girard and 19-year-old forward Daniel Hardie.

Stewart joined the Sea Dogs last season after playing the previous two years with the OHL's Saginaw Spirit. He recorded three goals and 11 points in 48 games with Saint John along with three assists in 18 playoff games. He was solid defensively and proved to be one of the hardest hitters in the league.

The move leaves Saint John with four overage players: defencemen Alex Bernier and Bailey Webster along with forwards Kyle Ward and Cole Reginato.

Losing Stewart is no doubt a loss on the backend for Saint John. But, in terms of asset management, this seems like a solid move. The Dogs picked up Stewart as a free agent and have now flipped him for a couple of younger players. Plus, the move helps Saint John's overage situation a bit.

Girard, who will turn 18 in December, was a fifth-round pick of Rimouski in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft. He was held pointless in 46 games with the Oceanic last season.

Hardie joined the Oceanic last year after playing a couple seasons in the OJHL. The Georgetown, Ont. native had 18 goals and 20 assists in 45 games with Rimouski.

Saint John's next preseason game isn't until Sept. 14 in Fredericton.