It's draft day

SHAWINIGAN, Que. - It's draft day in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

A new crop of players will be drafted into the league today. The Chicoutimi Sagueneens won the league's draft lottery and will select first overall. There's always the possibility of a trade, but it appears the Sags will be using the selection.

The Saint John Sea Dogs are scheduled to pick second overall - the first of three picks in the opening round. At this time, they are also scheduled to pick again at eighth (acquired in the Joe Veleno trade) and 15th (acquired yesterday in the Cedric Pare deal).

Here's a look at Saint John's full list of selections:

1st round: 2nd, 8th, 15th
2nd round: 29th
3rd round: 37th
4th round: 62nd, 67th
5th round: 82nd
6th round: 108th
7th round: 109th
8th round: 127th, 133rd
9th round: None
10th round: 163rd, 178th
11th round: None
12th round: 199th
13th round: 217th
14th round: 235th

The Sea Dogs have not picked in the opening round since 2016. The team has never picked second overall before but have, of course, selected first overall on several occasions.

This will be a key draft for the Sea Dogs, as this will set the base for the team's rebuild. Last season was more a year zero, while this will be year one of the build back to contention.

Fans can watch the draft beginning at 11 a.m. on TVA Sports or follow it through the usual social media channels.

A look at the top prospects

Kevin Chambers | SN Staff

SHAWINIGAN, Que. - With the Saint John Sea Dogs drafting twice in the top 10, we decided to take a look at some of the names we might hear on QMJHL Entry Draft day.

The Sea Dogs currently hold the second and eighth overall selections (and the 15th - pending any other trades). This will be a crucial draft for Saint John's rebuilding process.

1. Hendrix Lapierre - Gatineau L'Intrepide
Forward - 5' 11" 161lbs

The No. 1 prospect hails from Gatineau, Que. and plays for the Gatineau L'Intrepide in the Quebec Midget AAA league. Lapierre is a skilled centre with a great understanding for the game both offensively and defensively. He has a very good release, protects the puck well, and is willing to play in all areas of the ice. This past season, Lapierre tallied a total of 17 goals and 40 assists for 57 points in 35 games. Lapierre also led the Gatorade Excellence Challenge in scoring by netting three goals while adding six assists for a tournament high nine points. He was a key factor in Team Quebec Blue's tournament victory.

2. William Villeneuve - Magog Cantonniers
Defense - 6' 0" 154lbs

The top rated defenseman in this year's draft class is William Villeneuve - who spent this past season playing with the Magog Cantonniers out of the Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League. Villeneuve is a slick skating defender and has an outstanding hockey IQ. He plays extremely well at both ends of the ice and is considered to be a two way defender. Villeneuve can QB a power play with a quality point shot and has creative playmaking ability while shutting down the opposing team's top players when called upon. It should be noted that Villeneuve also shoots right handed, which should be considered a plus for any team drafting him. This season, Villeneuve collected nine goals and 25 assists for 34 points in 40 games with Magog. Villeneuve took part in this year's Telus Cup and played very well, compiling five assist in his seven games and often played against opposing teams' top players.

3. Patrick Guay - Magog Cantonniers
Forward - 5' 8" 155lbs

Patrick Guay played with the previously mentioned Villeneuve on an outstanding Magog squad out of the QMAAA league. Guay is also the younger brother of Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Nicolas Guay. Guay put up some impressive numbers this season with the Cantonniers, amassing 34 goals and 30 assists for 64 points in just 39 games. He also finished in a tie for the league goal scoring title with Sea Dogs prospect Justin Hryckowian - who is a year older. While Guay can fill the net with an excellent release, he plays an intelligent two-way game. Guay also played in the Telus Cup tournament and showed more of a play making style to his game, picking up a goal and five assists in seven matches.

Report: Pare to be traded to Oceanic

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The Saint John Sea Dogs rebuild is hitting full swing.

According to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek, the Sea Dogs will trade forward Cedric Pare to the Rimouski Oceanic in exchange for draft picks - a package that includes the 15th overall pick in this weekend's QMJHL Entry Draft.

QMJHL trade - Cedric Pare (Bos) goes from Saint John to Rimouski. Picks, including 15th overall goes the other way.

— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) May 29, 2018

Trade is the 15th overall pick and a 4th round pick from Rimouski for Pare https://t.co/ASM8QB9XIZ

— Kevin Chambers (@SN_Canucklehead) May 29, 2018

If this report is accurate, the Sea Dogs will - for the time being at least - have picks two, eight and 15 in this year's first round.

The Entry Draft takes place on Saturday in Shawinigan.

Pare, 19, has struggled to consistently produce offensively. Last season, he recorded 13 goals and 24 assists in 60 games. There's a strong chance his numbers will take a jump this coming season while playing on a team that should be in the league's upper tier.

Pare was taken with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft. He was a sixth round pick of the Boston Bruins in last year's NHL Draft.

The Sea Dogs are in for a few years of rebuilding, no doubt, but stockpiling first round picks should help expedite the process.

Stanley Cup Final begins tonight in Vegas

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At this time a year ago, not many people would have picked Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly to be the Saint John Sea Dogs alumni taking part in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. But here we are.

The two former Sea Dogs coaches will lead the expansion Vegas Golden Knights into the best-of-seven NHL final, which begins tonight. The Knights will take on the Washington Capitals.

The Knights, of course, are one of the best stories in sports this season and are guaranteed to be made into a movie someday. They also feature quite a few QMJHL alumni.

Gallant and Kelly guided the Sea Dogs into three straight QMJHL finals between 2010 and 2012, winning two.

Gallant has been nominated for NHL's Jack Adams Award, which is awarded annually to the league's coach of the year.

Some other alumni notes...

• There were no former Sea Dogs players in this year's Memorial Cup, but the Hamilton Bulldogs did feature JP Laciak, a former athletic therapist with Saint John.
• Will there be any Sea Dogs alumni taking on the Toronto Marlies in this year's Calder Cup final? We'll know soon. Matthew Highmore, Chris DiDomenico and the Rockford IceHogs currently trail the Western Conference final 3-2 to the Texas Stars. Game 6 of that series goes tonight.
• DiDomenico continues to lead the AHL in playoff scoring with six goals and 17 points in 12 games.
• In the ECHL's Kelly Cup final, the Florida Everblades and Colorado Eagles are tied 1-1. The Everblades feature Michael Kirkpatrick, Stephen MacAulay, Spencer Smallman and Callum Booth. According to media reports, Kirkpatrick is currently out with a concussion.

Titan win Memorial Cup championship

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The Acadie-Bathurst Titan made history on Sunday night in Regina.

The Titan won their first ever Memorial Cup championship, dominating the host Regina Pats in a 3-0 victory. The win is the first national championship for the QMJHL since 2013 and marks just the third time a team from Atlantic Canada has lifted the trophy.

Adam Holwell, Samuel Asselin and Ethan Crossman all scored for the Titan while Evan Fitzpatrick made 28 saves in the shutout win.

Bathurst dominated the first 40 minutes, outshooting the Pats 36-11. Regina goaltender Max Paddock was the only reason the game was close heading into the third. The Pats, predictably, had their moments in the third period - outshooting the Titan 17-8 in the frame - but could not score.

The Titan, in just their second ever tournament appearance, had a fairly smooth run to the championship, finishing the preliminary round 2-1 and earning an automatic spot in the final.

This is, obviously, a huge accomplishment for the Titan franchise - a franchise that has had its struggles in just about every department over the past decade. It's also big for all small market teams across the CHL.

Acadie Bathurst Titan win the 100th MasterCard Memorial Cup

With a population just under 12,000, Bathurst, New Brunswick is the smallest city to win the Memorial Cup since Flin Flon, Manitoba in 1957 (pop. 10,234) #mmc100 pic.twitter.com/234ZAWOYSM

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 28, 2018

Next year's Memorial Cup will take place in Halifax - the first time it's been hosted in Atlantic Canada since 2006.

Titan take on Pats in Memorial Cup final tonight

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REGINA - The Acadie-Bathurst Titan will look to do something no QMJHL team has done since 2013 - win the Memorial Cup final.

The Halifax Mooseheads were the last team from the QMJHL to win a national title, capping off a stretch of three straight Q winners. Since then, a QMJHL team has appeared in the final just once (Rouyn-Noranda in 2016).

The Titan earned an automatic spot in the final earlier this week, finishing with a 2-1 record. They'll take on the host Regina Pats in tonight's final, who finished 2-1 in preliminary round play and defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs in Friday's semifinal.

Game time this evening is 8 p.m. The game can be seen on Sportsnet.

The Pats had a long layoff heading into the tournament after being eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs. They'll look to join last year's Windsor Spitfires and the 2012 Shawinigan Cataractes as recent host teams with long breaks to win the tournament. The host team has won the Memorial Cup just three times since 2007.

While the Titan's story isn't really an underdog tale - they were one of the best teams in the QMJHL all season long - it has the feel of one. The Titan are one of the smallest markets in the CHL, and for them to get to this point - especially after everything that has happened to the franchise over the past decade - is quite impressive.

The Titan's only previous Memorial Cup experience was in 1999 when they finished third.

The Titan will also look to become just the third team from Atlantic Canada to win the Memorial Cup following the 2013 Mooseheads and 2011 Saint John Sea Dogs.