VIDEO: Despres Post-Game

Simon Despres became the first former Saint John Sea Dog to ever record a point at the NHL level last night when he assisted on the game-winning goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Here is the defenseman’s interview with Root Sports following the game.

And here he is speaking to the media.

“It wasn’t the nicest assist in history but I’ll take it,” Despres told the Penguins' website after the game. “It was a great first game. It was a whole lot of fun.”

"The Sea Dogs organization is all about developing people, not just hockey players," said Sea Dogs  president Wayne Long in a release. "The NHL is the ultimate dream for our players and it's rewarding to see Simon achieve that dream. With nine NHL draft picks on our roster and several more former Sea Dogs knocking on the door at the minor pro levels, seeing Sea Dogs in the NHL will soon become a nightly occurrence."

A full recap of Despres' performance can be found here. 

Big Horse Assists On Game-Winner

Simon Despres made an impact in his first National Hockey League game.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman assisted on Chris Kunitz’s goal at 2:36 of the third period. The marker would prove to be the game-winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the rival Washington Capitals 2-1 at Verizon Center on Thursday night.

Despres finished the game with a +2 rating, one shot on goal, and also served a holding penalty in the second period. He spent a total of 10:30 on the ice. He spent nine seconds on the power play and five seconds on the penalty kill.

Craig Adams scored the other Penguins goal. Marc-Andre Fleury made 16 saves for the win.

Stanislav Galiev, a Capitals prospect, offered hiscongratulations on Twitter.

“congrats to my former teammate @Despres747 on his first NHL point. #Dogs #BigHorse #CapsPens”

We’ll have more reaction to Despres’ performance tomorrow on the blog.

The Penguins travel to Carolina to face the Hurricanes on Saturday.

Despres Makes NHL Debut Tonight

There are plenty of story lines heading into tonight’s Penguins – Capitals matchup in Washington. One of them is Simon Despres, who will be making his National Hockey League debut this evening.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman was called up by the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier today. He will become just the second player in Sea Dogs franchise history to play in an NHL game. Yann Sauve was the first, playing five games for the Vancouver Canucks last year.

Here are the expected line combinations and defense pairings for tonight.

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Steve Sullivan - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Arron Asham - Richard Park - Craig Adams 

Paul Martin - Brooks Orpik
Matt Niskanen - Deryk Engelland
Roberto Bortuzzo - Simon Despres 

Marc-Andre Fleury

Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma spoke to the media about Despres today.

"He is slated to play on the second (power-play) unit and sometimes that is not a whole ton of time on the power play, but he is slated to be out there on the power play," Bylsma told NHL.com. "He has played 10 or 11 games in exhibition and he's played minutes. I know he's more than capable of playing in a lot of different situations, playing a lot of defense, being able to go back for pucks and make plays. He's had two months of being a professional and developing, and I'm fully confident he can be in a lot of different situations tonight."

D'Aoust Suspended Until Further Notice

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has announced that Moncton Wildcats forward Olivier D’Aoust has been suspended until further notice following his hit on Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Jason Seed on Tuesday night.

Here is the release from the league.

The Disciplinary Prefect of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Raymond Bolduc, today suspended Moncton Wildcats left winger Olivier Daoust until further notice following an illegal hit from behind which occurred during Tuesday's game versus the Saint John Sea Dogs. 

Daoust will not be permitted to participate in any of his team’s games until the disciplinary process is completed. 

"I will gather the testimonies from the players and organizations involved, read the officials’ report and consult the independent committee in the matter of disciplinary sanctions before announcing my decision in the next couple of days," said the Disciplinary prefect.

D’Aoust was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for his actions. Seed left the game and did not return.

Here is the video, courtesy of HockeyFights.com.

D’Aoust has three goals and two assists in 26 games with the Wildcats this season. He has served a team-leading 66 penalty minutes. 

Official: Penguins Recall Despres

The Pittsburgh Penguins have finally made it official – Simon Despres has called up and is expected to make his National Hockey League debut this evening. The Pens take on Alexandre Ovechkin and the rival Washington Capitals tonight at 8pm in DC.

Reports began to surface last night that Despres had been called up to the big club. The former Saint John Sea Dog defenseman had been playing with the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins where he has three goals and four assists in 22 contests.

The callup was necessary after defensemen Kris Letang and Zbynek Michalek were both injured in Pittsburgh’s 4-3 overtime win in Montreal on Saturday. Alexandre Picard was sent back to the baby Pens.

Despres helped Saint John capture the Memorial Cup last season, recording 13 goals and 28 assists in 47 regular season games and another four markers and eight helpers in 21 playoff games. He scored one goal at the Memorial Cup - and it was a big one. Despres opened the scoring while shorthanded in the final against Mississauga. The Dogs went on to win that game 3-1.

The ‘Big Horse’ was selected by Saint John with the first overall pick in the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft. He spent four seasons in Saint John, helping the Dogs reach three semifinals, two league finals, a Quebec league championship and a national title.

Despres was selected by the Penguins in the first round with the 30^th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

It has been quite a year for the defensive stud. Along with helping the Sea Dogs capture the Memorial Cup, he also won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships and was named the QMJHL’s defenseman of the year.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

Sea Dogs In New Discover Saint John Ad

The Sea Dogs – or more specifically, Mathieu Corbeil – are featured in a new Discover Saint John tourism ad.

Nice city. What a video.