Pittsburgh Pranksters

Long story short – Simon Despres’ shoes, pants and leather jacket were hooked on a hanger and hung from the CONSOL Energy Centre rafters this afternoon in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins website has all the details. 

The Pens put a lot of effort into some of their pranks. Here's what they did on HBO's 24/7 last year.

Sea Dogs Acquire Danny Chiasson

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a minor trade today, acquiring forward Danny Chiasson and a 12^th round pick in the 2012 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in exchange for an 11^th round pick in next year’s draft.

Chiasson spent the first-half of the year with the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Dieppe Commandos, recording 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points in 32 games. The 19-year old Edmunston native leads the squad in goals, assists and points.

According to a Sea Dogs release, “Chiasson contracted mononucleosis last summer and got off to a slow start to the MHL season, going pointless in seven of his first eight games. He has been held off the scoresheet just four times in the 24 games since, racking up 39 points over that stretch.”

Although he is currently playing in the MHL, he has two seasons of QMJHL experience. He has spent parts of the past two campaigns with the Rimouski Oceanic, Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Drakkar, registering a total of two goals and 10 assists in 87 games. Last season he played with both the Titan and the Drakkar, scoring a goal and seven assists in 46 games.

"We are happy to add Danny to our organization. While he will continue his season with the Dieppe Commandos of the Maritime Hockey League, he will provide much needed depth as an affiliate player," said Sea Dogs associate coach and director of hockey operations Mike Kelly in a release.

“Playing with seadogs on the 28!! #sick #lhjmq,” tweeted Chiasson on Tuesday. Saint John plays in Bathurst on December 28 at the KC Irving Regional Centre.

The Sea Dogs will need some offensive depth over the next few weeks with Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Jurco, and Oliver Cooper away taking part in international tournaments. Ryan Tesink and Stanislav Galiev remain injured while Devon Oliver-Dares has not played since hitting his head on the ice following a fight on December 11.

This is the first trade the Sea Dogs have made since the window opened on Monday. Teams are permitted to make transactions up until the deadline on January 7.

UVM Shoots Down Rumours Again

Two days into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League trade period, the only big time rumours the Saint John Sea Dogs have been involved in are about NCAA players.

This past weekend, rumours started to circulate that University of Vermont forward Connor Brickley and defenseman Michael Paliotta were close to signing with the Sea Dogs. Saint John holds the QMJHL rights to both players.

SportingVermont.com reported on Sunday that UVM denied those rumours. On Monday, the Burlington Free Press reported the same thing.

Alastair Ingram, the hockey media contact for UVM athletic communications, confirmed Monday that both players had been contacted by UVM officials and both stated there is no truth to the reports. Ingram also confirmed that head coach Kevin Sneddon also refuted the stories after discussions with players and families.

Brickley, who is currently in Alberta trying to crack Team USA’s world junior roster, spoke to The Pipeline Show about the rumours of him heading to Saint John.

"My allegiance is still to the University of Vermont right now and it looks like it's going to be there for good but who knows what could happen but for now it's at UVM," Brickley told Guy Flaming of TPS.

Flaming also asked Brickley if Charlie Coyle leaving Boston University to join the Sea Dogs has made him consider all his options.

"Charlie, whatever it takes for him and his individual growth as a hockey player... my team, I think, needs me back at UVM and my allegiance is to them and I want to help them turn the program around so UVM is my home."

The Catamounts currently sit last in the Hockey East standings with a record of 1-9-1 for just three points. They have a 3-12-1 record overall. Brickley has eight goals and two assists in 15 games while Paliotta has a goal and four helpers in 16 contests. 

Surviving The Hockey Holiday Void

By Andrew McGilligan

SN Staff

With the Saint John Sea Dogs on hiatus until Dec. 28 and Nathan Beaulieu and (possibly) Jonathan Huberdeau playing for Canada beginning on Boxing Day, its time to expand your sports watching habits for a few weeks.

There's the NFL.

There's a game on Christmas Day. You've got to respect any sports league that believes its bigger than Jesus.

However, there's some lesser known stuff you can find on your TV and computer that is easily some of the most watchable stuff around.

First off, watch The League. It's the funniest sports-related show on television. The antics of these guys obsessed with fantasy football will strike a chord with any sports fan who meticulously studies their pools. On a related note, did anyone else pick Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Butler in there pool hoping he would be a break out star and are bitterly disappointed.

If you've got a few extra bucks, get the Movie Network and watch the Road to the Winter Classic on HBO starring the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. Last season's inaugural edition featuring the Penguins and Capitals was amazing and made a star out of Bruce Boudreau and the F-word.

If you're a wrestling fan and don't mind being slightly depressed during the holiday season, log on to E:60 on the ESPN website and find the segment on Scott Hall. Formerly Razor Ramon and a member of NWO, the documentary shows a man ravaged by excess desperately holding on despite terrible health and knowing he's way past his prime. Really great stuff from E:60, which consistently makes some of the best sports documentaries in the world.

Speaking of great sports documentaries, pick up the ESPN 30 for 30 Box sets.

Some great directors were given free range to explore whatever sports stories they wanted to tell from the past 30 years and there are some amazing ones. There's everything from the Gretzky trade to the story of how Colombian drug money influenced Latin American soccer and its role in the death of a national player.

This stuff should help fill the void until the World Junior tournament begins at the Sea Dogs step back on Harbour Station ice.

Canada Begins Pre-Tournament Tonight

With the World Junior Hockey Championships set to begin in one week, Team Canada begins their pre-tournament schedule this evening in Calgary against Finland.

Tonight’s match beings at 10pm AST and can be seen live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV.

Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu is expected to be in the lineup for Team Canada. Forward Jonathan Huberdeau continues to practice with the team but is not quite ready to go yet. He has not played in a competitive game in over a month due to a broken foot.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweeted today that “Quinton Howden (head) to take pre-game skate for CAN but will not play. Jonathan Huberdeau (foot) will not play but practising with team now.”

“Expectation is Huberdeau and Howden will play pre-tourney game either Thursday or Friday,” added McKenzie. “Final roster not submitted until Dec. 25.”

Canada plays Switzerland on Thursday in Red Deer and Sweden on Friday in Edmonton.

Here are the lines (we’re assuming practice lines since Huberdeau is listed) that TSN has posted on their website.

Forward Lines
Pearson - Scheifele - Smith
Jenner - Strome - Connolly
Schwartz - Hamilton - Stone
Huberdeau - Bournival - Gallagher 

Defence Pairings
Beaulieu - Harrington
Murray - Pysyk
Gormley - Hamilton
Howden - Oleksiak 

Goaltenders
Visentin
Wedgewood

Mark Visentin, who was in net for Canada’s epic collapse in the gold medal game last year, gets the start in goal.

Lastly, here’s the first of many Steve Dangle/Nike videos from this year’s tournament.

Wild Officially Sign Phillips

The Minnesota Wild officially announced the signing of Saint John Sea Dogs forward Zack Phillips today. Phillips, who tweeted that he had signed earlier this weekend, inked a three-year entry level deal with the National Hockey League club. He will remain with the Sea Dogs. 

"I've been trying to move forward ever since the Draft and work hard to keep the Wild happy with me," said Phillips in a Wild release. "This is a step in the right direction."

The Fredericton native leads Saint John in scoring with 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points in 32 games. Phillips has the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s second best plus/minus rating at +30 and is fourth in assists with 35.

According to the Wild website, “he is on pace to surpass his eye-popping totals last year when he registered 38 goals and 57 assists in 67 games as Saint John took the prestigious Memorial Cup title. In 17 postseason games, he notched nine goals and 15 assists.”

The Wild selected Phillips in the first round, 28^th overall in the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft.

The 19-year old announced on Twitter on Saturday that he had signed with the Wild but the tweet was deleted a short time after.

From the Minnesota Star Tribune:

Wild prospect Zack Phillips got his hand slapped and a lesson in social media from the Wild minutes after signing his first NHL contract Saturday. 

From his Twitter account, "zachphillips7," the 2011 first-round pick tweeted, "just signed my first NHL contract! #minnesotawild." 

He deleted the tweet in 20 minutes -- long after word spread quickly. Problem was the Wild hadn't received the signed contract back yet, filed it with the league or announced it.

Hockey Wilderness has more on the signing. 

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation