Legein joins Spokane staff

Vincent Ethier/CHL

The Saint John Sea Dogs' coaching staff has a couple of big holes to fill as training camp inches closer and closer.

The team still doesn't have a head coach with Gardiner MacDougall returning to the UNB Reds. On Thursday Saint John lost another member of their coaching staff with assistant Stefan Legein making the move to the Western Hockey League.

Legein, who had been an assistant coach with the Sea Dogs since the 2018-19 season, has joined the Spokane Chiefs as an associate coach.

“I am extremely honoured to be joining the Chiefs family — it means a lot to be in a place that has such good people from top to bottom,” Legein said in the news release. “With that, I’d like to thank Mr. Brett, Mark (Miles), Matt (Bardsley) and Ryan (Smith) for giving me the opportunity to join a long list of great coaches that have been in Spokane. In speaking with Matt and Ryan, the objectives of the team, as well as my personal beliefs, lined up perfect and I couldn’t be more excited for the opening of the 2022-23 season.”

✅ Coaching staff: complete! Welcome to Spokane, Stefan Legein!

📰 https://t.co/5y8llDxNHU#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/pLM2E9gxyj

— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) July 28, 2022

Legein, who was a well known player in his junior career, joined the Sea Dogs after working with the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga Steelheads as a video coach.

“We are very excited to have Stefan join the Spokane Chiefs organization to work with Ryan, Dustin (Donaghy) and our players,” Chiefs general manager Matt Bardsley said. “His experience and strengths as a player as well as a coach will be a great addition to our team in our goal of maximizing the players’ development while achieving team success. We would like to thank the Saint John Sea Dogs organization for allowing us to speak with Stefan during this process. Finally, we would like to welcome Stefan along with his wife Shannon, and their three children Emerson, Delilah and MacKinnon to the city of Spokane.”

Simek named to Czechia's Hlinka roster

Saint John Sea Dogs draft pick Pavel Simek has been named to Czechia's roster for the upcoming Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Czechia announced its roster for the under-18 tournament on Monday. Simek was one of 13 forwards named to the team.

👥 V tomto složení míří výběr #U18CZE do Kanady na Hlinka Gretzky Cup, který odstartuje prvním zápasem v neděli 🔜 #narodnitym #jakolev

👉🏻 https://t.co/J51oJSNNHI pic.twitter.com/NYDNn1PYl1

— Bronzový nároďák (@narodnitym) July 25, 2022

The tournament begins July 31 with Czechia taking on Finland. The event ends on Aug. 6. All games will be played in Red Deer.

The Sea Dogs selected Simek in the first-round, 48th overall in this year's CHL Import Draft. He spent last season with the Mountfield HK program in Czechia, recording 10 goals and 34 points in 44 games with the under-20 squad and nine goals and 20 points in 10 games with the under-17 team.

Simek, 17, is listed at 5'10" and 146 lbs.

Canada's roster for the event will feature four players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: forwards Mathieu Cataford (Halifax Mooseheads) and Ethan Gauthier (Sherbrooke Phoenix) along with defenseman Dylan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads) and Jordan Tourigny (Shawinigan Cataractes).

Sherbrooke's Stephane Julien will be Canada's head coach.

Titan staying in Bathurst for now

For now, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan are staying in northern New Brunswick.

In a Fix Auto press release, "potential new majority owner" Steve Leal said that the team would be staying in Bathurst with no "immediate plans" to relocate the club.

"We are committed to keeping the team in the community for the foreseeable future," said Leal, the majority owner, president and CEO of the Quebec-based Fix Network World. "There are no plans to take hockey out of Acadie-Bathurst."

The release noted that a "a strategic review of the team and its operations is currently being conducted."

"It would be an honour to be a part of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan team, and I recognize how important the program is to the Chaleur region and Acadian Peninsula," Leal said. "I am also pledging Fix Auto as a primary sponsor for the next five seasons and encourage others to join us in supporting the team through sponsorships as well as attending the games."

Following the news release, the Titan issued a statement.

With our fans uppermost in our hearts, as well as a concern for openness and transparency, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan wishes to acknowledge the press release produced by Fix Network and Mr. Steve Leal. As indicated in the press release, we will continue to negotiate with Mr. Leal in order to develop a solid and trustworthy partnership that will benefit the team.

It is important to note that the Acadie-Bathurst Titan shareholder group is working hard to develop solid ties in order to keep the team in the beautiful Chaleur region. The support of the fans, community, sponsors and partners is essential for the survival of a QMJHL team and we have no doubt that we will be witness to great moments in hockey within Baie des Chaleurs.

Go Titan Go!

RDS reported in April that Leal was close to acquiring 60% of the Titan. RDS also reported that Leal would like to operate a QMJHL club in Montreal's South Shore region - but that would require a new arena, something that seems several years off (if one ever gets built).

Huberdeau traded to Flames in massive deal

Calgary Flames Twitter

The Saint John Sea Dogs' connections to the Calgary Flames continued to grow late Friday.

In a blockbuster trade, the Flames acquired former Sea Dogs captain Jonathan Huberdeau in a deal that saw Matthew Tkachuk dealt to the Florida Panthers. The Flames also acquired former Halifax Mooseheads defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a conditional first-round pick.

WE HAVE A TRADE TO ANNOUNCE!

The #Flames have acquired Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a conditional 2025 first-round pick from the Florida Panthers!

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) July 23, 2022

The Flames dealing Tkachuk comes as no surprise. The surprise is that he was dealt to the Panthers, a team that was not overly rumoured to be interested. Many expected the Flames to struggle to find a good trading partner, but this is a huge haul.

The big risk for Calgary is that they may only get one year out of Huberdeau and/or Weegar. From Sportsnet:

Both Huberdeau and Weegar have one year remaining on their respective contracts before hitting unrestricted free agency. Huberdeau's cap hit for next season is $5.9 million, while Weegar's is $3.25 million.

This deal rejuvenates the Flames who have had a horrendous off-season following their rough playoff loss to the rival Edmonton Oilers. Calgary has lost two of its franchise players in Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, but the acquisition of Huberdeau and Weegar gives the team some much needed positive vibes.

Notebook: Where will Dwyer land?

Embed from Getty Images

Will Gordie Dwyer be back behind a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League bench this season?

The chances are looking decent.

In a blog post Wednesday, Craig Eagles reported that "two sources have confirmed that Dwyer is the leading candidate for the vacant head coaching position with the Cape Breton Eagles."

The Eagles have been without a head coach since Chadd Cassidy stepped down from his position a couple weeks ago.

Dwyer, who took over as Sea Dogs head coach last summer, was fired by the club following their first-round playoff loss to the Rimouski Oceanic. He also has QMJHL coaching experience with the PEI Rocket/Charlottetown Islanders and Shawinigan Cataractes.

RICHARD SIGNS

Defenseman Jeremie Richard, Saint John's top pick in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, officially signed with the club on Wednesday.

“Richard is a player that Anthony Stella and our scouting staff were very high on and we are thrilled that we were able to select him at the spot that we did” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “We have had the chance to get to know him and his family, and are so happy that they will get the opportunity to enjoy his hockey journey close to home, and develop in his home province.”

The Sea Dogs selected Richard in the third-round, 37th overall. Even as a 16-year-old, he'll likely have a fairly prominent role of Saint John's backend with the likes of Vincent Sevigny, Yan Kuznetsov, William Villeneuve, Jeremie Poirier and Nathan Drapeau all moving on.

Richard helped the Moncton Flyers win the Telus Cup this past season. The Moncton native had five goals and 20 points in 28 regular season games with the Flyers.

Several Dogs picks drafted into junior A

Saint John Sea Dogs prospect Reid Calder was taken third overall in this past weekend's Maritime Hockey League Draft.

Calder, 16, was selected by the Grand Falls Rapids. The Saint John native was a seventh-round pick of the Sea Dogs in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft.

Calder spent this past season with the Saint John Vito's, recording 11 goals and 10 assists in 26 games. He added three goals in seven playoff games.

A few other players with Sea Dogs connections were drafted into the MHL on the weekend.

• Saint John Knights defenseman Reed Pettipas, a 14th-round pick of the Sea Dogs in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft, was taken in the fourth-round, 48th overall by the Campbellton Tigers. 
• Moncton Flyers defenseman Jeremie Richard, Saint John's top pick in this year's draft (third-round), was selected in the ninth-round, 103rd overall by the Amherst Ramblers. 
• Cape Breton West Islanders forward Campbell MacIntyre, a 14th-round pick of the Sea Dogs in this year's draft, was taken in the 10th-round, 109th overall by the Ramblers.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Leighton Carruthers was a 10th-round pick of the Pictou County Weeks Crushers. Carruthers was a first-round pick of Saint John in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft and was later traded to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

18-year-old forward Marco Martin of the Moncton Flyers was taken first overall by the Edmundston Blizzard.

There was also a trade in the MHL involving current Sea Dogs forward Olivier Picard, who had his rights swapped from South Shore to Campbellton. It's a notable move given that Picard will be an overage player this coming season and the Sea Dogs may not have room for the veteran forward.