Pre-Season Game Day 1: vs Charlottetown

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs begin pre-season play tonight, exactly one month from the beginning of the regular season.

The Sea Dogs host the Charlottetown Islanders at 7 p.m. at TD Station in what will be the first exhibition match of the year for both clubs. The two teams were separated by just seven points in the standings last season.

The Sea Dogs had 49 players on their training camp roster and have announced just eight cuts, which means we should see quite a few different players in the lineup over the next few days.

The Sea Dogs and Islanders meet again tomorrow night in Pownal, PEI. Saint John then hosts the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Friday night, which is the unofficial end to the first portion of training camp.

TV/Radio/Stream: None/None/None

2022-23 regular season records: The Sea Dogs finished 24-38-5-1 for 54 points (fifth Maritimes/ninth Eastern/15th QMJHL) while the Islanders were 26-33-6-3 for 61 points (fourth Maritimes/eighth Eastern/14th QMJHL).

Last games: The Sea Dogs' last game was a 6-1 loss to the Gatineau Olympiques in Game 5 of the opening round of the QMJHL playoffs. Eriks Mateiko scored Saint John's lone goal. Ventsislav Shingarov made 43 saves in the loss. The Islanders' last game was a 5-1 loss to the Quebec Remparts in Game 4 of the first round. Kiefer Lyons scored for Charlottetown while Jakob Robillard made 44 saves in the loss.

Intrasquad games come to an end

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

SAINT JOHN - The intrasquad portion of Saint John Sea Dogs training camp came to a close on Monday night at TD Station.

There were certainly some offensive standouts through the four games. One of the more intriguing lines to follow was that of Mathis Cloutier (free agent), Egan Beveridge (2023 draft pick) and Noah Reinhart (returnee), a combo that could possibly stick together into the regular season.

Another interesting combo was Danny Akkouche (returnee), Eriks Mateiko (returnee) and Chad Bellemare (2022 draft pick), another line that we could see together for a bit. Akkouche is listed as a forward and played as a forward during the intrasquad games after being used on the backend most of last season.

Reid Calder, who played nine games with the Sea Dogs last year, also stood out and scored a few times.

Here's a quick scoring summary of the four games.

Monday - 7-5 Team 2011 Win

2011: Simek (3), M. Cloutier, Reinhart, Benoit, Calder

2022: Akkouche, Daley, D. Reynolds, Beaudoin, Elie

Sunday Night - 8-6 Team 2022 Win

2022: Akkoucke (2), Lulic, D. Reynolds, Bellemare, Mateiko, Beaudoin, O'Blenis

2011: M. Cloutier (2), Calder, Benoit, Beveridge, MacIntyre

Sunday Morning - 9-5 Team 2022 Win

2022: Bellemare (3), O'Blenis, Fernandez, Elie, D. Reynolds, Beaudry, Mateiko

2011: M. Cloutier (2), Reinhart, Pierre-Noel, Amyot

Saturday - 8-2 Team 2011 Win

2011: Calder (2), Beveridge (2), MacLean, M. Cloutier, Pierre-Noel, Reinhart

2022: O'Blenis, Akkouche

I didn't see all four games, but here a few other random notes/observations...

• For the most part, the returning guys looked very much like the returning guys.
• Like at the summer development camp, Egan Beveridge has an impressive shot for his age and is quick on his feet. I don't think his size will have a negative impact at this level.
• On the physical side of things, Jack O'Blenis and Giuliano Caputo are not afraid to make contact.
• Looks like American forward Daniel Daley has stuck around past the 48-hour period.
• The goaltending seemed just okay. Curious to see who stands out in the pre-season games.
• Peter Reynolds did not play in any of the games but has been on the ice.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Riley Bezeau served as a coach during the games.
• Lots of players skating with their mouthguards half in/half out. It's allowed in the NHL, but it's been a no-no in recent years in the QMJHL.

CTV Atlantic was at Sea Dogs training camp on Sunday morning and got some reaction to the QMJHL's new fighting rules.

Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard had an interesting comment about how the new rules may impact roster decisions.

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.

Sea Dogs training camp begins today

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Today's the day.

Saint John Sea Dogs training camp truly kicks off this afternoon at TD Station with a couple of on-ice sessions. The team will hold an intra-squad game tonight at 7:30 p.m.

#SJSeaDogs Training Camp almost is here! Below is the schedule for week one.

On-ice activities take place at TD Station and are open to the public. pic.twitter.com/if6TIuM35t

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) August 16, 2023

49 players are scheduled to attend with free agent invite Alexis Brisson opting not to attend. The group includes a mix of returning players, prospects and free agent invites.

Among the notable new faces are 16-year-old American forward Egan Beveridge, the team's top pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, and 20-year-old defenseman Mathis Gauthier, who captained the Rimouski Oceanic last season.

There are a number of questions facing the team heading into training camp, which should make for a competitive few weeks. Here are some of the major questions facing the club.

The Sea Dogs have a few days of on-ice sessions before their first pre-season game on Tuesday night at TD Station when they host the Charlottetown Islanders.

Plenty of questions facing Sea Dogs at training camp

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

An intriguing training camp begins Saturday for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Sea Dogs will have battles at every position as there are holes to be filled in net, up front and on the backend. There are some strong returning players, a large group of prospects and a couple handfuls of free agents all attending the club's camp this year. 

It should be a very competitive camp — which should make for a fun camp.

Here are five of the biggest questions facing the Sea Dogs heading into the week.

1. The goaltending

One of the most glaring questions facing the Sea Dogs is their goaltending. 18-year-old Olivier Brideau, who has just 16 games of QMJHL experience but looked better and better as last season went along, will presumably take one of the spots. Who joins Brideau is the big question.

The Sea Dogs have four other goaltenders coming to camp: Kyan Labbe (2023 draft pick), Charles-Antoine Girard (2022 draft pick), Justin Robinson (2022 draft pick) and Sebastian Monaco (free agent). It'll be an exciting competition to follow given that any of these netminders could win a job.

2. The overage situation

Postmedia reported Friday (paywall) that free agent invite Alexis Brisson will not be attending camp, which leaves four players competing for three overage spots: returning forward Peter Reynolds, returning defenseman Jared Cosman, newly acquired defensman Mathis Gauthier and free agent forward Mathis Cloutier.

Reynolds and Gauthier are likely the favourites to take two of the three spots, which would leave Cosman and Cloutier battling for the final slot.

3. Who will join the D core?

The Sea Dogs have a whopping 20 defensemen coming to training camp and there are spots to be won.

Returning from last year's team are Nicolas Bilodeau, Jared Cosman (who is an overager), Joseph Ianniello, Jeremie Richard (who is currently injured) and Nate Tivey. QMJHL veteran Mathis Gauthier, who captained Rimouski last season, has also been added to the mix.

The rest of the d-men attending camp are a mix of draft picks, acquisitions and free agents. There are spots to be filled and it will be interesting to see who stands out.

Sea Dogs announce camp roster

The Saint John Sea Dogs have released their roster and schedule for the first week of training camp.

50 players will attend this year's camp, which begins with on-ice sessions on Saturday at TD Station. The roster includes 25 forwards, 20 defensemen and five goaltenders.

The headliners up front include returning players Peter Reynolds, Pavel Simek, Eriks Mateiko and Noah Reinhart - the four that will be expected to carry much of Saint John's offense with Brady Burns gone and Cole Burbidge traded.

The Sea Dogs drafted just two forwards in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft: highly touted American Egan Beveridge (second round) and Alexis Beaudoin (seventh round). Both will be attending camp.

There appears to be some spots up for grabs up front, but on the backend, available space seems to be more limited. The camp roster includes returning defensemen Nicolas Bolideau, Jared Cosman, Joseph Ianniello, Jeremie Richard and Nate Tivey. Also attending is overager Mathis Gauthier, who the Sea Dogs acquired at the draft.

Gauthier, Cosman, Reynolds, Mathis Cloutier and Alexis Brisson will compete for the team's three overage spots.

As expected, 20-year-old Ventsislav Shingarov was left off the camp roster, meaning there will be a competition to see who will join Olivier Brideau in the Saint John crease. Kyan Labbe, who the Sea Dogs drafted in the fourth round of June's draft, looked good at development camp but his size is a concern (5'7" and 148 lbs).

The full camp roster can be found here.

#SJSeaDogs Training Camp almost is here! Below is the schedule for week one.

On-ice activities take place at TD Station and are open to the public. pic.twitter.com/if6TIuM35t

— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) August 16, 2023

The Sea Dogs will play a few intra-squad games before opening the pre-season on Tuesday against the Charlottetown Islanders at TD Station.