Veleno, Bowers named to Ivan Hlinka team

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Joe Veleno has been named to Canada’s Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup roster.

Veleno has been attending the 44-player development camp in Calgary over the past week. The last of three intasquad games was held on Tuesday where Veleno recorded a goal and two assists.

Veleno is one of just three players named to the team who aren’t eligible for the NHL Draft until 2018. The others are defenseman Evan Bouchard of the London Knights and forward Ryan McLeod of the Mississauga Steelheads. 

The 16-year-old is the only 2000-born player on the team.

The exceptional Veleno had 13 goals and 30 assists in 62 games with Saint John last season. He added another six goals and one assist in 17 playoff matches.

Also named to the team was Sea Dogs prospect Shane Bowers. A top prospect for the 2017 NHL Draft, Bowers has committed to staying in the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks for this season.

#2017NHLDraft prospect Shane Bowers confirms he is returning to @BlckHawksHockey for 2016/17 season. #SeaDogs #USHL

— John Moore (@rinkrant) July 26, 2016

According to the Hockey Canada website, “Canada will play in Group B with Russia, Slovakia, and Sweden; Group A consists of the Czech Republic, Finland, Switzerland, and the United States. Canada will face the Czech Republic in a pre-tournament game on Aug. 6, and officially opens the tournament Aug. 8 against Slovakia. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals on Friday, Aug. 12, with the gold-medal game scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 13.”

Sea Dogs at Team Canada camps this week

TORONTO – Mathieu Joseph and Thomas Chabot are taking part in Team Canada’s world junior development camp this week.

The camp, which started on Sunday, features a Red-White game on Monday evening. Chabot and Joseph were on the ice Monday morning with Team White at the Toronto Marlies’ practice rink.

The team will travel to Plymouth, Michigan later this week to take part in Team USA’s annual summer tournament. Finland and Sweden will also be taking part.

Canada will face Finland on Wednesday, Sweden on Friday and the US on Saturday. All games will be shown on TSN.

Meanwhile, in Calgary, Sea Dogs forward Joe Veleno and prospect Shane Bowers are participating in Canada’s under-18 camp. Olivier Mathieu, Saint John’s first-round pick in this summer’s QMJHL Entry Draft, is taking part in the under-17 camp.

Passingham, Sauve earn tryout contracts

Embed from Getty Images

More former Sea Dogs are on the move.

Ex-Dogs goaltender Troy Passingham has signed a professional tryout agreement with the Peoria Riverman of the Southern Professional Hockey League.

Passingham played in two games with Saint John during the 2007-08 season, posting a 3.02 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. He eventually moved on to the OHL where he spent time with the Windsor Spitfires and Sarnia Sting.

The “Monster from Mississauga” has spent the past five seasons with the Ryerson University Rams, posting some of the best numbers in school history. In 2015-16, the 25-year-old had a 2.47 GAA and .933 SV%.

In other alumni news, former Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve has been signed to a tryout contract by Medvescak Zagrebof the KHL.

“We welcome Yann who’s also looking to come in and make a good impression that he can be a solid depth defenseman,” said Medvescak's Sports Director, Aaron Fox, in a news release. “He is a big strong skating two-way D whose game should translate to Europe.”

Medvescak is coached by former Charlottetown Islanders head coach Gordie Dwyer.

Sauve has been struggling to find a home, spending time with eight different minor league clubs over the past three seasons. He spent most of the 2015-16 campaign with the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs where he posted two goals and 22 assists in 52 games.

The 26-year-old was a second-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008 NHL Draft. He appeared in eight career NHL contests.

Sauve played in 251 games with Saint John over four seasons, registering 20 goals and 82 assists. He added six goals and 14 assists in 39 playoff games.

Sea Dogs prospects named to Futures List

Three Sea Dogs prospects made NHL Central Scouting’s 2016-17 “Futures List.”

Prospects Shane Bowers, Marc McLaughlin and Ben Mirageas all made the list, which features players available for the 2017 NHL Draft.

Bowers is the most notable of the three. The 16-year-old Halifax native registered 15 goals and 18 assists in 56 games with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks last season. The centre was drafted by the Sea Dogs in the second round of this year’s QMJHL Entry Draft but is, at the moment, still committed to returning to Waterloo.

Future Considerations lists Bowers as the 27^th best player available for the 2017 NHL Draft.

McLaughlin was drafted by Saint John in the 2015 draft. The 16-year-old forward had 24 goals and 19 assists in 33 games with Cushing Academy last year. The Massachusetts native is committed to St. Lawrence University for the 2018-19 season.

Mirageas was also picked by the Sea Dogs in the 2015 draft. The 17-year-old defenseman recorded six goals and 16 assists with Avon Old Farms last season. The Massachusetts native is committed to Providence College for 2018-19.

Charlottetown's Pierre-Olivier Joseph, the brother of Sea Dogs forward Mathieu Joseph, also made the list.

Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings is projected to go first overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.

Alumni Game cancelled

The 2016 Saint John Sea Dogs Alumni Game has been cancelled.


The game was originally scheduled to be held Aug. 12-13.

Alumni Games were held in 2015 and 2013.

Veleno merchandise already valuable

Joe Veleno signed items are already valuable, according to the website YourSportsMemorabiliaStore.com.

The website has Veleno signed pucks priced at $39.99 and signed photos at $24.99 – and those prices don’t include shipping or the Canadian exchange rate.

ALL NEW autographed memorabilia from exclusive athlete Sea Dogs @jveleno91 now available! https://t.co/w4uzUq1QJ7 pic.twitter.com/FAhLQT61A6

— Your Sports Store (@yoursportsstore) July 20, 2016

On ebay, Veleno signed hockey cards and jersey cards are going for over $50.

Meanwhile, you can watch Veleno play at Harbour Station for $10 to $15.