Sunday Notes: Have we seen the end of empty CHL buildings?

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

Thursday's opening game of the 2021 President Cup final was intriguing for a couple reasons.

For starters, the Victoriaville Tigres did something no team has done since March 4 - hand the Val-d'Or Foreurs a loss. Benjamin Tardif's second goal of the game at 19:04 of the third period gave the underdog Tigres a 3-1 lead at the time and they hung on for a 3-2 victory.

Secondly, the game was played without fans once again. All games in Quebec this season have been played in empty arenas with the province riding the COVID-19 rollercoaster for the past year. But that all changed on Saturday with 1,816 fans in attendance (the capacity is apparently 2,000). Fans will be allowed into Quebec City's Videotron Centre for the remainder of the championship series, a nice reward for what's been a challenging season for everyone.

Here's hoping that last Thursday's game was the last CHL contest ever played without fans in attendance.

Some news and notes:

• The Foreurs evened up the President Cup final with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 on Saturday. Former Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic was the game's first star with two goals and an assist. Game 3 takes place Sunday.
• In the regular season and playoffs combined, Cajkovic has five game-winning goals.
• Ostap Safin and the Bakersfield Condors won the AHL's Pacific Division playoff, upsetting Tomas Jurco and the top-seeded Henderson Silver Knights. Safin had one assist in Bakersfield's 3-2 victory on Saturday to clinch the title. This was the final AHL contest of the season.
• Jonathan Huberdeau led the Florida Panthers in playoff goals (two), assists (eight) and points (10) in their six-game playoff series loss to Mathieu Joseph and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• Remember the Memorial Cup? It was this tournament the CHL hosted at the end of every season to crown a national champion. As Pat McNeil noted on Twitter, it's now been over two years since a Memorial Cup game has been played. The 2022 edition is scheduled for June 2-12.
• Friday was the 20th anniversary of the Saint John Flames' Calder Cup victory. The only cities that had AHL teams in 2001 and still do today: Rochester, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Syracuse, Hershey, Hartford, Providence and Springfield. Wild how the AHL map has shifted.

10 years since Memorial Cup championship

Marc Henwood for Station Nation

It was 10 years ago tonight that the Saint John Sea Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win the Memorial Cup.

Simon Despres, Zack Phillips and Jonathan Huberdeau all scored and Jacob DeSerres made 34 saves as the Sea Dogs defeated the host Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 3-1 on a Sunday night at the Hershey Centre.

The CHL uploaded the entire game to its YouTube channel last year.

The Telegraph-Journal (paywall) caught up with captain Mike Thomas and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu to discuss the 10-year anniversary of the championship.

So here we are 10 years later. Has our perspective on this championship changed at all?

I think most of us recognized right away just how incredibly good this team was - so good that a run like this may never happen again in franchise history. Saint John went 58-7-1-2 in the regular season; 16-3 in the playoffs; and earned the bye straight to the final at the Memorial Cup. Remarkable numbers.

The one thing I've come to appreciate more over the years is how entertaining this team was. There were some ridiculously fun games played during this run - especially in the playoffs. Even if the Dogs went down by four goals in the third period, it still didn't feel like the game was over.

Covering this team in 2011 - and again in 2012 - felt like covering the New York Yankees at times. They were the Goliath heading into every game. Rinks in Quebec were sold out to see this loaded team. It was a lot of fun.

Four Dogs make final Central Scouting list

Four current members of the Saint John Sea Dogs cracked NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for the 2021 NHL Draft.

Forward Peter Reynolds, ranked 80th amongst North American skaters, was the highest listed Sea Dog. Reynolds was followed by forward Cam MacDonald (137th) and Charles Savoie (170th).

Goaltender Noah Patenaude, meanwhile, was ranked 21st amongst North American netminders.

The full rankings can be found found here.

There were a few other notable players ranked:

• Sea Dogs draft pick Guillaume Richard, who played this past season in the USHL with Tri-City, was ranked 32nd amongst North American skaters.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Joshua Roy, now a member of the Sherbrooke Phoenix, was ranked 66th.
• Forward Bobby Orr, a Sea Dogs draft pick who was traded to the Halifax Mooseheads last year, was ranked 76th.
• Shawinigan's Xavier Bourgault was the highest ranked QMJHL player at 13th. 44 QMJHL players were ranked. Bathurst, Gatineau and Quebec each had five players ranked while Saint John and Sherbrooke each had four.
• Sea Dogs import draft pick Fyodor Svechkov was ranked sixth amongst international skaters.

Defenseman Owen Power from the University of Michigan was the top ranked skater. Three Michigan players were listed in the top-eight.

The 2021 NHL Draft takes place virtually July 23-24.

Notebook: QMJHL retires the No. 4

The No. 4 will no longer be worn in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The league announced last week that the number will be retired league-wide beginning in 2021-22 to honour Guy Lafleur, who was named the QMJHL's greatest player of all-time a couple years ago.

Lafleur's No. 4 will join Sidney Crosby's No. 87 as the only numbers retired across the league. 

The number has been worn by quite a few Saint John Sea Dogs players over the years, including this past season by Brandon Casey. Here's the list of all the Sea Dogs who have worn No. 4:

Ryan Sparling

Guillaume Cloutier

Eric Gelinas

Ian Saab

Ryan Kelly

Michael Abbott

Will Thompson

Braydon Blight

Shayne Dominie

Vincent Martineau

Simon Bourque

Tyler Smith

Nicolas Kakouras

Benjamin Gagne

Matt Gould

Brandon Casey

Sparling is the only Sea Dog to wear No. 4 in more than 100 games (265).

CAJKOVIC SIGNS

Former Sea Dogs forward Maxim Cajkovic has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was announced Sunday.

Cajkovic was a third-round pick of the Lightning in the 2019 NHL Draft.

The lone former Sea Dog remaining in the QMJHL playoffs recorded six goals and eight assists in 12 regular season games with the loaded Val-d'Or Foreurs. He's added seven goals and five helpers in nine playoff games - all wins for the Foreurs.

Cajkovic will likely join the Benoit Groulx-led Syracuse Crunch of the AHL for the 2021-22 season.

Tigres move on to President Cup final

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

The President Cup final is set.

The Victoriaville Tigres have advanced to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship series following a 2-0 victory over the Charlottetown Islanders on Tuesday night in Quebec City, winning the best-of-five semifinal series 3-2.

The Tigres will take on the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the league final.

Shawn Element scored what proved to be the game-winner at 15:52 of the second period. Benjamin Tardif added an empty net goal.

Shawn Element intercepte le disque et inscrit le premier but du match ! #GoTigresGo pic.twitter.com/Uhx0k5uk1o

— Tigres de Victoriaville (@TigresVicto) May 26, 2021

Charlottetown's Colten Ellis was excellent in net, making 21 stops. That included a huge save in the third period to keep it a one-goal game.

Game saver.#GoldRush pic.twitter.com/ZvP5WWMum7

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) May 26, 2021

The Islanders have been one of the QMJHL's most consistent teams over the past five years but they have now lost three semifinal playoff series since 2017. They've yet to play in a President Cup final despite being painfully close a few times. That's tough.

Saturday News & Notes: Foreurs advance

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL

Maxim Cajkovic and the Val-d'Or Foreurs have advanced to the President Cup final.

The Foreurs completed a sweep of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Thursday night, winning Game 3 by a final of 6-3. Second-seeded Val-d'Or outscored third-seeded Chicoutimi 15-7 in the best-of-five series.

Val-d'Or is now a perfect 9-0 this post-season. This is the club's first trip to the QMJHL final since winning the President Cup in 2014.

One team that has never appeared in the President Cup final is the Charlottetown Islanders. The top-seeded Isles are one win away from making the trip following a 4-3 victory over the Victoriaville Tigres on Friday, giving the Maritimes Division champions a 2-1 series lead heading into Sunday's Game 4.

Game 5, if needed, will take place on Tuesday.

All semifinal games and the President Cup final are being played at Quebec City's Videotron Centre.

A few other bits of news:

• Maxim Cajkovic, the lone former Sea Dog remaining the QMJHL playoffs, recorded three goals and an assist in Val-d'Or's series win over Chicoutimi. The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect now has seven goals and five assists in nine playoff games.
• Even if the Islanders don't make it out of this round, what a run this franchise is having. This is the club's third trip to the semifinals since the 2017 playoffs. They were eliminated in both the 2017 and 2018 semis by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
• If you thought this year's QMJHL calendar was funky: the ECHL is still playing regular season games until June 5. Former Sea Dog Cedric Pare, playing with the Utah Grizzlies, sits sixth in ECHL rookie scoring with 14 goals and 34 points in 59 games.
• Gerard Gallant, Mike Kelly and Team Canada are off to a rough start at the IIHF World Championship, falling 2-0 to host Latvia on Friday. Canada faces the United States on Sunday.
• The Fredericton Red Wings clinched the MHL's Eastlink North Division title on Wednesday, defeating the Miramichi Timberwolves 3-2 in overtime. That's as far as the MHL playoffs will go this season due to COVID reasons.
• Vladislav Kotkov did not dress in the San Jose Barracuda's Pacific Division semifinal Game 1 loss to the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday. Tomas Jurco had an assist for the Knights. Game 2 is on Sunday.
• In the other Pacific Division semifinal, Ostap Safin had one shot in the Bakersfield Condors 5-3 Game 1 loss to the San Diego Gulls. Game 2 is on Sunday.
• Some big WHL news: Garry Davidson is out as general manager of the Everett Silvertips in what sounds like a cost cutting move. Everett has been one of the CHL's most consistent franchises over the past decade. "In the past seven regular seasons, Everett has finished atop the U.S. Division on five occasions and has been second twice," writes Gregg Drinnan. "The Silvertips lost out in the WHL’s championship final in 2018."
• Get the vaccine.