Saint John Sea Dogs

Saint John Sea Dogs
City:	Saint John, New Brunswick
League:	Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Conference:	Atlantic
Division:	Atlantic
Founded:	2005 (2005)–06
Home Arena:	Harbour Station
Colours:	Royal blue, black, white & silver
Head Coach:	Danny Flynn
General Manager:	Darrell Young

The Saint John Sea Dogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, entering the league as an expansion team in 2005. The Sea Dogs play at Harbour Station, Saint John, New Brunswick, with a capacity of 6,488. On May 29, 2011, the Sea Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win the Memorial Cup.

HistoryEdit

The Sea Dogs filled the void left in Saint John by the departure of the AHL's Saint John Flames when the city was granted a team for the 2005–06 QMJHL season, paying a $3 million expansion fee. The Sea Dogs' expansion twins were the St. John's Fog Devils.

The Sea Dogs' very first head coach was Christian La Rue under general manager Bob "Tipper" LeBlanc, and the captaincy was split between Charles Bergeron and Vincent Lambert. The Sea Dogs were also given the first overall pick at the 2005 QMJHL Draft, selecting defenceman Alex Grant. The Sea Dogs had a weak first season and missed the playoffs.

During the offseason, Christian La Rue was fired and quickly replaced with former London Knights assistant coach Jacques Beaulieu. Beaulieu served as the head coach for the entire second season. Tipper Leblanc resigned mid-season, and Beaulieu stepped into the dual role of coach-GM.

The Sea Dogs' poor performance in their first season granted them another first overall pick at the 2006 QMJHL Draft, where they selected another defenceman, Yann Sauve. The team missed the playoffs again.

The 2007 QMJHL Draft saw the Sea Dogs land the first pick yet again, with which they selected defenceman Simon Despres. In the same draft round they selected Steven Anthony 10th overall. The team also selected goaltender Robert Mayer 3rd overall at the 2007 CHL Import Draft.

The Sea Dogs did not make a first round selection in the 2008 QMJHL Entry Draft. In the second round, the Sea Dogs used their first pick to select defenceman Kevin Gagne. Another interesting story was the addition of Jacques Beaulieu's son Nathan to the roster.

Before the 2008–09 season The Hockey News ranked the Sea Dogs the second-best team in the QMJHL, and 5th overall in the entire CHL. The team underperformed, traded stars such as Alex Grant and Chris DiDomenico at Christmas, and fired Jacques Beaulieu after a first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

In the 2009 QMJHL Draft, they chose defensemen Pierre Durepos 10th overall and forward Jonathan Huberdeau 18th overall, in the same draft round. In the 2009 CHL Import Draft, the Sea Dogs chose Russian forward Stanislav Galiev first overall and Slovak forward Tomas Jurco fourth overall.

In the 2010 QMJHL Draft, they chose Saint Johner, Ryan Tesink 18th overall in the first round.

As of February 15, 2011, Yann Sauve became the first player from the Saint John Sea Dogs organization to play an NHL game with his NHL draft team, the Vancouver Canucks.^[1]

In the 2011 QMJHL Draft, their first pick didn't come until the second round, where they traded up from 36th to 19th with Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and selected New Brunswick native Oliver Cooper.

The Sea Dogs tied a QMJHL record for most wins in a season with 58 in 2011

The Sea Dogs won their first ever QMJHL presidents cup on May 15, 2011

The Sea Dogs Became the First team from Atlantic Canada to win A Mastercard Memorial Cup On May 29, 2011

400th GameEdit

The Saint John Sea Dogs played their 400th Regular Season Game in the QMJHL on Sunday, February 13, 2011 VS the Moncton Wildcats. The Sea Dogs won the contest 3-2 in a shootout.

One Millionth FanEdit

On Friday, May 13, 2011, in a playoff series against the Gatineau Olympique, the Sea Dogs welcomed their one millionth fan in team history. The fan received a signed team jersey. The Sea Dogs lost the game 3-2, forcing a sixth game in the series on May 15 in Gatineau, QC.

Sea Dogs TVEdit

In April 2008, the Sea Dogs created Sea Dogs TV, an official YouTube channel which houses various team highlights, interviews, features, and basically anything related to the Sea Dogs.^[2]

2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge co-hostEdit

On November 19, 2008, the Sea Dogs hosted game 2 of the Canada Russia Challenge, before a sell-out crowd at Harbour Station. The Russians defeated Team QMJHL by a score of 4-3. The 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge in Saint John included four Sea Dogs players. They were Chris DiDomenico, Alex Grant, Yann Sauvé, and Simon Despres. DiDomenico was not able to play for Team QMJHL due to an injury and was replaced by 17-year-old Steven Anthony.^[3]

22 Game winning streakEdit

In the 2009 - 2010 season, the Saint John Sea Dogs, playing in a very strong Atlantic Division, were successful in winning 22 consecutive games. During their streak, which extended from October 17 until December 12, Saint John scored 107 goals while allowing a mere 44. The offense was led mainly by Mike Hoffman (45 points and 8 game-winning goals), Nicholas Petersen (49), Michael Kirkpatrick (44) and rookie Stanislav Galiev (40 points). The strong defensive brigade saw its veteran, Yann Sauvé, register a solid +24 differential in addition to gathering 16 points. In nets, veteran Marc-Antoine Gélinas won 15 games, allowing a meager 1.83 goals per game along with a .933 save percentage. Karel St-Laurent posted the other seven wins. Following their incredible run, the Sea Dogs have taken hold of the top spot in the QMJHL overall standings, 9 points ahead of Drummondville. Their recent string of success places the franchise amongst the best in QMJHL history.

2010 Subway Super Series co-hostEdit

Canada and Russia faced off against each other on November 8.

Championship titlesEdit

2010 Atlantic Division Champions

2010 League Champions

2011 Maritime Division Champions

2011 League Champions

2011 President's Cup Champions

2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup Champions

2012 Maritime Division Champions

2012 League Champions

2017 Maritime Division Champions

2017 League Champions

2017 President's Cup Champions

Season-by-season resultsEdit

Regular seasonEdit

Legend: OL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss O = Out of playoffs X = Clinched playoff berth

Standings

PlayoffsEdit

• 2006 – Out of playoffs.
• 2007 – Out of playoffs.
• 2008 – Defeated P.E.I. Rocket 4 games to 0 in opening round.
  Defeated Acadie–Bathurst Titan 4 games to 2 in quarter-final.
  Defeated by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4 games to 0 in semifinal.
• 2009 - Defeated by Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 0 in opening round.
• 2010 - Defeated P.E.I. Rocket 4 games to 1 in opening round.
  Defeated Gatineau Olympiques 4 games to 0 in quarter-finals
  Defeated Victoriaville Tigres 4 games to 2 in semi-finals
  Defeated by Moncton Wildcats 4 games to 2 in QMJHL President's Cup Finals.
• 2011 - Defeated Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 0 in opening round.
  Defeated Victoriaville Tigres 4 games to 1 in quarter-finals.
  Defeated Lewiston Maineiacs 4 games to 0 in semi-finals.
  Defeated Gatineau Olympiques 4 games to 2 in QMJHL President's Cup Finals.
• 2011 Memorial Cup
  Defeated Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 4-3
  Defeated Owen Sound Attack 3-2 in Overtime
  Defeated by Kootenay Ice 5-4 in Overtime
  Defeated Missisauga St. Michaels Majors 3-1 to win 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup
• 2012
  Defeated Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 0 in opening round.
  Defeated Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4 game to 0 in quarter-finals.
  Defeated Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4 games to 1 in semi-finals.
  Defeated Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 0 in QMJHL President's Cup Finals.
  Defeated by Shawinigan Cataractes in Memorial Cup semi-final 7-4.
• 2012 Memorial Cup
  Defeated by London Knights 5-3
  Defeated Edmonton Oil Kings 5-2
  Defeated Shawinigan Cataractes 4-1
  Defeated by Shawinigan Cataractes 7-4 in semi-finals.
• 2013
  Defeated by Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 0 in opening round.
• 2014
  Out of playoffs.
• 2015
  Defeated by Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4 games to 1 in opening round.
• 2016 Defeated Acadie-Bathurst Titan 4 games to 1 in First Round
  defeated Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 3 in the Quarterfinals
  lost to Shawinigan Cataractes 4 games to 1 in the Semifinals
• 2017

defeated Rimouski Oceanic 4 games to none in first round
defeated Val-d'Or Foreurs 4 games to none in quarterfinals
defeated Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4 games to 2 in semifinals
defeated Blainville-Boisbriand Armadaille 4 games to 0 in QMJHL President's Cup Finals
President's Cup Champions

• 2017 Memorial Cup

lost to Windsor Spitfires 3-2

lost to Erie Otters 12-5

defeated Seattle Thunderbirds 7-0

lost in semifinal vs Erie Otters 6-3

• 2018 Did not qualify
• 2019 Did not qualify
• 2020 Playoffs cancelled

Team captainsEdit

• 2005-06 Vincent Lambert/Kevin Coughlin
• 2006-07 Charles Bergeron 31 Games/David MacDonald 28 Games
• 2007-08 Alex Grant
• 2008-09 Alex Grant 36 Games/David Stich 21 Games
• 2009-10 Mike Thomas 46 games/ Mike Hoffman 8 games
• 2010-11 Mike Thomas
• 2011-12 Jonathan Huberdeau
• 2012-13 Jonathan Huberdeau/Pierre Durepos
• 2013-14 Sebastien Auger - Player didn't wear C.
• 2014-15 Olivier LeBlanc/Mark Tremaine

Team recordsEdit

~ Record is still active

NHL Entry Draft historyEdit

Below is a list of players that have played for the Sea Dogs organization that have been drafted into the NHL, whether on the Sea Dogs roster at the time or not.

2015 NHL DraftEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
13	Jakub Zboril	Czech Republic	D	Boston Bruins
18	Thomas Chabot	Canada	D	Ottawa Senators
98	Samuel Dove-McFalls	Canada	LW	Philadelphia Flyers
120	Mathieu Joseph	Canada	RW	Tampa Bay Lightning
138	Spencer Smallman	Canada	RW	Carolina Hurricanes
180	Bokondji Imama	Canada	LW	Tampa Bay Lightning
200	Adam Marsh	United States	RW	Detroit Red Wings

2014 NHL DraftEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
197	Olivier LeBlanc	Canada	D	Columbus Blue Jackets

2013 NHL DraftEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
210	Mitchell Dempsey	Canada	LW	Boston Bruins

2011 Entry Draft historyEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
3	Jonathan Huberdeau	Canada	C	Florida Panthers
17	Nathan Beaulieu	Canada	D	Montreal Canadiens
28	Zack Phillips	Canada	C	Minnesota Wild (From San Jose)
35	Tomas Jurco	Slovakia	C	Detroit Red Wings
162	Ryan Tesink	Canada	LW	St. Louis Blues

2010 Entry Draft historyEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
28	Charlie Coyle	United States	C	San Jose Sharks
86	Stanislav Galiev	Russia	RW	Washington Capitals
102	Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault	Canada	G	Columbus Blue Jackets
164	Stephen MacAulay	Canada	LW	St. Louis Blues

2009 Entry Draft historyEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
30	Simon Despres	Canada	D	Pittsburgh Penguins
42	Charles-Olivier Roussel	Canada	D	Nashville Predators
54	Eric Gelinas	Canada	D	New Jersey Devils
121	Nicholas Petersen	Canada	RW	Pittsburgh Penguins
130	Mike Hoffman	Canada	C	Ottawa Senators
187	Steven Anthony	Canada	LW	Vancouver Canucks (from Phoenix)

2008 Entry Draft historyEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
41	Yann Sauve	Canada	D	Vancouver Canucks
83	Marco Cousineau	Canada	G	Anaheim Ducks
84	Jacob DeSerres	Canada	G	Philadelphia Flyers

2007 Entry Draft historyEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
118	Alex Grant	Canada	D	Pittsburgh Penguins (from Detroit)
164	Christopher DiDomenico	Canada	C	Chicago Blackhawks (from Toronto)

2006 Entry Draft historyEdit

Pick #	Player	Nationality	Position	NHL team
117	Felix Schutz	Germany	C	Buffalo Sabres

NHL AlumniEdit

• Yann Sauvé
• Simon Després
• Mike Hoffman

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

• Saint John Sea Dogs site