CATARACTES FINED FOR COMMENTS

The drama surrounding the selection of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup host site refuses to go away.

Today, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League fined the Shawinigan Cataractes hockey club $2,000 for “inappropriate comments made on April 7th 2011 by the team’s General Manager, Martin Mondou, in regards to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup selection process as well as towards the Saint John Sea Dogs.”

QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau had this to say in a press release:

“The accusatory comments made by the Cataractes’ General Manager were inappropriate and unacceptable,” said the Commissioner. “The selection process for the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup was conducted by an independent committee that worked hard to analyse all the possible candidates. Comments that cast a doubt on the credibility of a member club or committee do not have their place. It is of the utmost importance that clubs operate within an environment of respect.”

The Shawinigan newspaper L’Hebdo du St. Maurice reports that Mondou’s comments came in an interview with RDS’ Stephane Leroux on CKAC Radio Thursday. Much like the Shawinigan media has been discussing for months, Mondou criticized the Sea Dogs for the way they built their team, a.k.a. the controversial 2009 QMJHL Entry Draft.

You can read the transcribed version of his comments here en francais or listen to it here.

Mondou can’t be too surprised he was fined. It’s probably not the best idea in the world to make accusations like this on the radio.

Sea Dogs fans have already voiced their displeasure of the selection by cheering against the Cataractes during the out-of-town scoreboard at Harbour Station and by posting comments on the league’s Facebook page. After the selection announcement, The QMJHL had a poll up on their Facebook page asking who should have been awarded the Memorial Cup but it was taken down a few hours later. At last check, Saint John had almost 50 votes. Shawinigan had none.

All of this hate will make for an interesting little rivalry next season.

Photo Credit: La Nouvelliste

SEA DOGS UNDECIDED ON 2015

SAINT JOHN – With the Saint John Sea Dogs’ dream of hosting the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup now dead, it is now time to move forward and try again.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will host the tournament again in 2015, but it isn’t a sure thing that Saint John will be one of the bidders.

According to a Sea Dogs press release, team president Wayne “Long said he did not know if Saint John would put together the resources and support to mount another bid when the tournament returns to QMJHL territory in 2015.”

The same kind of comments can be found over at News 88.9:

He said it's too early to say if the team will make another submission to host the tournament the next time it comes back to the QMJHL in 2015.

It would be tricky – not impossible – but tricky to build a dominate team for 2015. The core that has made up this year’s team and next year’s will be gone, and, assuming Saint John doesn’t go into major sell mode next season, would have just two seasons to work with before the 2014-15 campaign.

The other teams who were unsuccessful in their bids – the Halifax Mooseheads and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles – are also undecided on their options for 2015, reports the Chronicle Herald.

“It’s too early to say,” Eagles president Paul MacDonald said.

“We’d have to see where we stood. A lot of energy and resources were put behind this bid so you have to be prudent and see exactly where we fit.”

POST-MORTEM

It is a sad day in Saint John, especially at the arena located on Station St.

As we all recover, enjoy this video of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who was an ambassador for the Shawinigan Cataractes’ successful Memorial Cup bid.

SHAWINIGAN AWARDED MEMORIAL CUP

MONTREAL – The 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee broke the hearts of the Saint John Sea Dogs hockey club this afternoon. At a press conference in Montreal the independent committee announced that the Shawinigan Cataractes will host next year’s Canadian Hockey League championship tournament.

"The selection committee rigorously analyzed each candidacy and made a decision based on the evaluation grid," said Gérald Jannetau in a release.

"The committee’s decision to select Shawinigan to host the event is based on the fact that their bid had all the elements from top to bottom to convince us that they would present an excellent 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament: great hockey team, good organizing committee and superior installations. Moreover, we felt that the whole community was behind the bid. Each organization was well-prepared and made very professional presentations."

The tournament will be held May 15 to 23 at Centre Bionest in Shawinigan.

The Cataractes should be one of the best teams in the league next season and have a new building that can accommodate large events. The team probably was the better choice to host the 2009 Memorial Cup but their building was not yet completed when the tournament was awarded.

Obviously, it’s a disappointing day for the Sea Dogs and the entire city of Saint John.

“We wish Shawinigan all the best, but we know our organization had an outstanding bid from top to bottom. An incredible amount of work went into this bid and we felt Saint John showed it was by far the best option as a Memorial Cup host city,” Sea Dogs majority owner Scott McCain said in reaction to the news in a release. “We’re obviously disappointed but, having said that, we respect the decision and our organization will move forward.”

“While I must respect the process and want to wish Shawinigan all the best as they move towards hosting the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup, I must say I am disappointed with the final decision,” John Travis, the chair of the Saint John host committee said.

There is a ton of reaction going on about this decision. SN will have a lot more on the announcement later today.

LISTEN TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Apparently you will be able to listen to today’s announcement on the radio. From the Sea Dogs’ Twitter:

Press conference begins at 1:00 pm AST.

Here is the link to 103.5 Saint John Radio.

D-DAY FOR MEMORIAL CUP HOST

MONTREAL – It’s decision day.

After months of waiting, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Selection Committee will announce today who will be the host of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup. A decision is expected to come at 1:00 pm during a press conference in Montreal.

Four teams have placed bids in – the Saint John Sea Dogs, Shawinigan Cataractes, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, and the Halifax Mooseheads. The Sea Dogs and Cataractes are considered the favourites going into today’s decision.

Buzzing the Net has a good breakdown of what Saint John and Shawinigan each bring to the table.

Sea Dogs majority owner Scott McCain had some interesting quotes in today’s Telegraph-Journal:

"Here's how I feel," he said. "When we started the process, I was 80-20, thinking we'd get it. It was pretty much a slam dunk. Then as time went on, I went down to 70-30. Lately, I've gone to 60-40, and now I'm at 50-50."

…

"I don't know how judges interpret legacy in terms of what is the best spot," McCain said. "Saint John will always have an advantage over Shawinigan. We'll always have Harbour Station. That's not going to change. We'll always have a better infrastructure. Is Shawinigan's infrastructure going to change that much in the next five or six years?"

…

"No matter how much I resent the decision, (if Saint John loses), and how much I don't feel they followed the criteria, the votes have been cast and we move on," McCain said. "We got what we wanted with the selection committee."

No matter what goes down today, it’s quite incredible to think about how far the Sea Dogs have come in just their sixth year in the league. There are not a lot of hockey teams that can say they had the first overall draft pick three straight years, back-to-back 50-win seasons, and were in contention to host a national championship in their first six years of existence.

Unfortunately, Lebron James will not be involved in today’s “decision”, meaning there will be no live television or webcast feed. Twitter will likely be your best option for breaking news.

HOST CITY ANNOUNCED THURSDAY

SAINT JOHN – We are now just days away from finding out who will host the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will hold a press conference in Montreal on Thursday afternoon to award the tournament to either the Shawinigan Cataractes, Saint John Sea Dogs, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, or Halifax Mooseheads.

It has been fairly quiet on the Memorial Cup front over the past few weeks but it surely pick up over the next 48 hours.

In today’s Telegraph-Journal, Peter McGuire talks to some political leaders about Saint John’s bid and the process of selecting the host city.

Each bid is graded on the following criteria: logistics (accreditation, transportation, lodging and volunteers), hockey operations, arena, organizing committee, marketing, hosting of CHL events, and finances.

Everything points towards Saint John’s and Shawinigan’s bid who, at the moment, appear to have all the aspects needed to host the tournament.

There has been absolutely no buzz at all surrounding Halifax’s bid while Cape Breton still believes they will have a team good enough to host next year. From the Cape Breton Post’s Mario Durocher interview earlier this week:

Q: The moves you did make, are you confident that you’ll have a competitive team for the 2012 Memorial Cup tournament?

A: That’s for sure. That’s what we presented to the selection committee. To start, we’ll have 10 guys who will be 19 to start the season. That will make a big difference. I have two overagers already and I have enough picks to get an experienced goalie. We have a European pick that I can look for a younger guy or keep Denis Kindl and I think we need a defensive defenceman. I think we can probably fill up at the draft...We have a lot of picks even at Christmas time to get even better for the Memorial Cup. We had 41 points, and I think we can get more than 80 points next year with the team we’ll have.

Thursday will be interesting.

VIDEO: Capers for the Cup

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles shocked the internet today by actually uploading some videos on their once solid YouTube page.

Of all things to randomly post, the Eagles uploaded the video that was presented to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee when they toured the Sydney area last month.

Here it is:



We’re not sure if this was the only video shown to the committee or not, but you have to wonder: where are the Screaming Eagles? Hardly any video of game action at Centre 200 or mention of the hockey club itself.

It’s a different presentation approach compared to what the Sea Dogs used.




The Eagles also posted videos of former goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and local boy Al MacInnis showing their support.

DOGS' BID ON RDS TONIGHT

RDS’ program ‘Hockey 360 – QMJHL Edition’ will be highlighting Saint John’s bid to host the 2012 Mastercard Memorial Cup this evening at 8:00 pm.

From the QMJHL website:

Tonight, Hockey 360 – QMJHL Edition makes its second stop on its four-week tour of the MasterCard Memorial Cup bidding clubs with a feature on the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Moreover, a look at the Drummondville/Victoriaville bid to host the 2013 Under-17 Hockey Championship.

Norman Flynn breaks down the prospect of the week: Philip Danault of the Victoriaville Tigres.
Finally, the latest news and notes from across the QMJHL with Chicoutimi Saguenéens goaltenders coach Marc Denis.

A can’t miss show starting at 7 pm on RDS.

In other 2012 Memorial Cup news, Quebec Remparts co-owner Jacques Tanguay is supporting Shawinigan’s bid to host the tournament.

CATARACTES CONFIDENT IN 2012 TEAM

Tomorrow night, the two leading contenders to host the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup will meet at Harbour Station for the first time this season. The Saint John Sea Dogs and Shawinigan Cataractes also meet-up next Sunday at Centre Bionest.

Both teams are having solid seasons. The Sea Dogs have the best record in the Canadian Hockey League while the Cataractes are 36-16-2-1 and sit fifth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. But both teams know having a great team this year won’t have as big of an impact on the Memorial Cup Selection Committee as their setup for a strong squad next season.

Shawinigan Cataractes general manager Martin Mondou compared the 2012 versions of the Sea Dogs and Cataractes in the Times & Transcript today.

"We just have two 20-year-olds, (forward Dave) Labrecque and (defenceman Gabriel) Lemieux," said Shawinigan general manager Martin Mondou. "We expect to lose four, maybe five guys. We'll have most of our team back next season.

…

"Since Christmas, us and Saint John have been the two best teams in the league," said Mondou. "I think they're losing a little bit more than us in terms of quality players (after this season).

"We have one European spot open for next season. We have 11 picks in the top six rounds of the (2011 QMJHL draft). That's the most picks among the four teams who are bidding for the Memorial Cup. We also have some good young prospects in midget AAA. I think we have every tool in hand to have a strong team next season. Our goal is to win the Memorial Cup.

"We have chips that we can use in trades to get the pieces that we're missing. Drafting players won't be something that's important for us this year. All the focus is on acquiring players that will help us build for next season."

Sounds like draft weekend could be a eventful time for the Cataractes.

Safe to say Shawinigan has full confidence in their team for next season. But there seems to be a lot of unknowns here. Both the Sea Dogs and the Cataractes will have their core players returning. But is having the assets to buy better, impact players that big of a selling point? Who knows.
April 7 can’t come soon enough.

THE SUCCESSFUL VISIT

SAINT JOHN – As you have probably heard by now, the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee made their way to Saint John Wednesday for a site tour.

The site tour is a crucial part of the Memorial Cup bid and is likely the one aspect that will stick in the committee member’s minds when it comes time to decide who will host the Canadian Hockey League’s championship tournament next Spring.

The Selection Committee is made of Chair, Gerald Janneteau, Michel Cote, Vincent Damphousse, Robert Basque and Bernard Valcourt. They were accompanied by Gilles Courteau, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Commissioner.

The bidders are graded using the following criteria:

1. Logistics - Accreditation plan, hotels, etc.
2. Hockey operations - Will the team be competitive?
3. Host facility - Does it have large enough seating capacity, enough luxury suites, big enough dressing rooms, a state-of-the-art score clock?
4. Strength of the organizing committee
5. CHL Events - Are there adequate facilities to host such events as the awards banquet and golf tournament?
6. Sales and marketing - Is there enough corporate sponsorship?
7. Finance - How will a team foot the bill?

The committee visited Halifax on Monday, Cape Breton Tuesday, Saint John Wednesday, and closed out the tour Friday in Shawinigan. For numerous reasons, it is believed that the bid will come down to Shawinigan and Saint John.

It seems as though the Sea Dogs’ site tour was success.

"This was an amazing day and we really sold the city,” said Sea Dogs governor and Memorial Cup vice-chairman Joe Richard to the Telegraph-Journal. “Everything went according to plan, so that makes me feel very, very confident.''

Also in Wednesday's paper was the schedule that the committee followed for their tour. There is a lot of pictures and video floating around, so here is a deeper look at Wednesday’s events.

First off, here is the video that was presented to the committee sometime during their visit.



Any video that has Mayor Ivan Court yelling while sitting on a Zamboni is an immediate win.

7:30 a.m. - Breakfast at Delta Brunswick (speakers included City Manager Pat Woods and Mayor Ivan Court. Sea Dogs president Wayne Long and Saint John 2012 chair John Travis gave an introduction to the day.

8:30 - Site tour begins at Delta Brunswick, continuing through Inside Connection en route to N.B. Museum.

Banner inside Brunswick Square:

9:00 - Stop at N.B. Museum where CEO Jane Fullerton led a tour.

9:15 - Tour continues through Hilton.

Having both the Delta and Hilton connected to Harbour Station is a huge asset for Saint John’s bid.

9:30 - Bus tour begins from Hilton, up King Street. Highlights include Cruise Terminal, Hampton Inn, Best Western, Rockwood Park/Lily Lake Pavilion, Chateau Saint John, Holiday Inn Express and Harbour Passage.

More hotel visits and general tourist attractions.

10:30 - Rally at Centre Samuel-de-Champlain. Committee is greeted by hundreds of students chanting 'On Veut la Coupe!' and hears an inspiring speech from Sea Dogs alternate captain Kevin Gagne.

Video from the rally:



By all accounts, Kevin Gagne gave quite a speech to those in attendance. The Telegraph-Journal had a great picture of Gagne speaking on the front page of Thursday’s newspaper.

11:15 - Lunch event at HMCS Brunswicker. Minister of Tourism Trevor Holder gave a speech on behalf of the province, and Base Operations Officer Alain Carrier, chief of staff at CFB Gagetown, touched on the Port City's military history and the strong relationship the Sea Dogs have had with the Armed Forces over the years.

Of course this stop was big because of the military connections to the Memorial Cup. From Wikipedia:

The Memorial Cup was proposed by Captain James T. Sutherland during World War I, who wanted to create a trophy as a memorial to remember the OHA's players who died during the war. When the trophy was created, it was dedicated in honour of the soldiers who died fighting for Canada in the war. During the 2010 tournament, it will be rededicated to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict.

Speaking of HMCS Brunswicker, could it be a big part of the tournament if the Sea Dogs host in 2012? For the past few years, the host team has worn military themed jersey’s that relate to something in the local area for one game in the tournament. Check out Rimouski’s from 2009:

1 p.m. - Harbour Station facility tour led by general manager Mike Caddell.

Not much to say here.

2:30 - Hockey operations meeting with Sea Dogs coaches Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly.

"They clearly outlined the vision we've had since 2009,'' Sea Dogs majority owner Scott McCain said to the Telegraph-Journal of the committee’s talk with the hockey operations people. "This team has been built with the view that we would try to have a very competitive hockey team in the year we were going to bid for the Memorial Cup.''

3:00 - Committee walks to Imperial Theatre through Inside Connection, where hundreds of posters from local schoolchildren were hung in support of the Cup.

Here are some of the posters that appeared on the pedway:

Also, the Imperial Theatre was dressed up for the committee:

The Imperial Theatre would be the site of the Canadian Hockey League awards if Saint John hosts.

3:15 - Reception at Imperial Theatre with key influential members of the local business community. Sea Dogs CEO Scott McCain delivers a final presentation highlighting the support of government and local organizations and businesses, the strong event committee in place, Saint John's facilities and the city in general.

4:00 - Media scrum.

Quebec League Commissioner Gilles Courteau on the day in Saint John to News 88.9:

"We had a full day of activities and different presentations and every aspect has been touched and they've looked at it the way we need it," says Courteau.

4:30 - Final Q&A session with members of event committee.


Photo Credits: Google, Blair R. Cameron, Telegraph-Journal, Chris Creamer's Sports Logos, @supersingleinsj, @supersingleinsj, @supersingleinsj, @supersingleinsj, CHSJ News

VIDEO: On veut la coupe!

SAINT JOHN – With the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee in town yesterday, Samuel-de-Champlain School was the place to be.

From the Sea Dogs’ website:

Centre Scolaire-Communautaire Samuel-de-Champlain hosted an incredibly energetic mid-morning rally. This offered the committee a chance to interact with Saint John’s francophone community. Sea Dogs alternate captain Kevin Gagne delivered an inspiring speech and led a rousing chant of “On Veut la Coupe!”

As the video below shows, the roof was nearly blown off the place:



Video props to Nathan White

THEY HAVE ARRIVED

SAINT JOHN – The big day has arrived and the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee has made its way to the Port City.

Harbour Station posted on their Facebook page just a few short hours ago that the committee was "in the house."

The committee’s tour of the city is a crucial part in selecting the host site for the 2012 Canadian Hockey League national championships. The breakdown of how cities are graded appeared in today’s Telegraph-Journal:

1. Logistics - Accreditation plan, hotels, etc.
2. Hockey operations - Will the team be competitive?
3. Host facility - Does it have large enough seating capacity, enough luxury suites, big enough dressing rooms, a state-of-the-art score clock?
4. Strength of the organizing committee
5. CHL Events - Are there adequate facilities to host such events as the awards banquet and golf tournament?
6. Sales and marketing - Is there enough corporate sponsorship?
7. Finance - How will a team foot the bill?

The committee began their tour Monday in Halifax, spent yesterday in Sydney, visit Saint John today, and wrap things up Friday in Shawinigan. The touring group is made up of Chair, Gerald Janneteau, Michel Cote, Vincent Damphousse, Robert Basque and Bernard Valcourt. They will be accompanied by Gilles Courteau, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Commissioner.

The Sea Dogs have hinted to fans a way they can show their support this afternoon:

Saint John has been working hard on this presentation for months now and recently held a rally at Brunswick Square to show the cities support for the bid. An impressive 300 fans braved a snow storm to give their support for Saint John’s bid.

On paper, Saint John’s bid has it all, and today is the day to make sure the Selection Committee knows that.

Photo Credit: Saint John Sea Dogs

SHOW TIME

SAINT JOHN - Wednesday is the big day.

The 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee will spend the day in Saint John touring the facilities and city. The visit will play a major part in the decision making process of which location will host in 2012.

The Selection Committee is made of Chair, Gerald Janneteau, Michel Cote, Vincent Damphousse, Robert Basque and Bernard Valcourt. They will be accompanied by Gilles Courteau, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Commissioner.

The group was in Cape Breton Tuesday and toured the city on a bus. They started their journey Monday in Halifax.

The Sea Dogs’ Twitter had this message:

The Selection Committee will tour Shawinigan on Friday which will be there final stop.

The winner will be announced on April 7.

COMMITTEE VISITS SYDNEY TODAY

The 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee is in Sydney, Nova Scotia today on their second stop of touring the bidding cities. The committee began their journey yesterday in Halifax.

The Selection Committee, made up of Chair, Gerald Janneteau, Michel Cote, Vincent Damphousse, Robert Basque and Bernard Valcourt, will be accompanied by Gilles Courteau, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Commissioner. There is a specific evaluation grid the committee will follow that includes major areas such as hockey operations, facilities, ticket sales and community support. The visit will play a major part in the decision making process of which location will host in 2012.

The Screaming Eagles have been fairly quiet about their bid of late compared to earlier this season. They set up a Facebook page about the event but went dark until today.

The front page of the Cape Breton Post today features Memorial Cup stuff:

The selection committee will be cruising around in a big bus today (the picture at the top was on the Eagles website). The team has asked all motorists that see the vichicle, which will have a Cape Breton 2012 logo on it, to honk their car horns in support.

“When they see the bus and the escort heading around town, just lay on the horn,” said Paul MacDonald, president of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles to the Cape Breton Post.

“This visit is crucial to the process and this is our way of keeping the community involved.”

Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports said it best in his coast-to-coast rush today: “Cape Breton's strategy for getting the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup as the selection committee tours Sydney, N.S.? Have motorists lay on their car horns, distracting the committee from checking the league standings.”

Those standings are what is likely going to keep the 2012 Memorial Cup out of Sydney. The city itself is certainly suitable to host the event, but the Eagles don’t appear to have a team that is going to be a powerhouse next season.

The Eagles made the puzzling decision last season to buy at the QMJHL trade deadline even though they were destined to play the eventual champion Moncton Wildcats in the opening round. Now, they sit in the basement of the standings and are clinging to the final playoff spot – and it’s not like they have a whole lot of assets to work with in order to vastly improve in time for next season.

Meanwhile, the selection committee is scheduled to visit Saint John tomorrow and Shawinigan on Friday.

In today’s Telegraph-Journal, the Saint John 2012 logo is explained. The bottom part is a must read, providing some quality information such as “the Sea Dogs logo is present as the host team for the Memorial Cup.”

One interesting part though was that “the bottom half of the logo was designed to easily transfer to the Memorial Cup logo so that it fits within the bottom portion of the Memorial Cup shield.”

SELECTION COMMITTEE BEGINS TOURING

The 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Selection Committee begins their tour of the four bidding sites today in Halifax. The committee will then travel to Cape Breton tomorrow, Saint John Wednesday, and Shawinigan on Friday.

From the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles website:

The Selection Committee, made up of Chair, Gerald Janneteau, Michel Cote, Vincent Damphousse, Robert Basque and Bernard Valcourt, will be accompanied by Gilles Courteau, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Commissione. There is a specific evaluation grid the committee will follow that includes major areas such as hockey operations, facilities, ticket sales and community support. The visit will play a major part in the decision making process of which location will host in 2012.

The Mooseheads’ bid is a bit of a mystery. There has been no buzz at all compared to their Atlantic counterparts in Saint John and Sydney.

“2012 QMJHL Mem Cup bid selection committee visits Halifax today,” tweeted Moose play-by-play man John Moore earlier today. “Strength of bid will be arena , transportation, accommodation.”

Hosting the tournament in 2000, a rebuilding team this season, an inexperienced head coach, and a disgruntled fan base will not do Halifax’s bid any favours.

Mooseheads owner-turned-head-coach Bobby Smith shared his thoughts in the Telegraph-Journal today.

The host of the Canadian Hockey League's national championship will be announced in April.

TRAVIS NAMED CHAIR OF TOURNAMENT

SAINT JOHN – John Travis, an investment adviser and branch manager of CIBC Wood Gundy`s Saint John, was officially announced yesterday as the chair of the tournament for Saint John’s 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup bid.

Travis was part of the Sea Dogs’ Memorial Cup Rally held yesterday at Brunswick Square where roughly 300 brave fans beat a snowstorm to support the city’s bid to host the tournament next year. The rally was filmed and will later be shown to the Memorial Cup selection committee when they cruise into town on February 9.

Travis was the chairmen for the 1999 Ford World Curling Championships when they were hosted at Harbour Station, so he definitely has some experience in hosting big time events in the Port City.

“The biggest factor that led me to accept this position is past experience,” Travis said to the Sea Dogs’ website. “Working with people and volunteers on other events in the city has only made me believe how committed the citizens of Saint John are to showcasing their city and proving to everybody that we are certainly world-class and we don’t take a backseat to anybody.”

More info on Travis from a team release:

Travis, a Saint John native, was educated in Rothesay and later received a bachelor of business administration from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. He has volunteered actively for various Saint John community associations including the Saint John Board of Trade, The Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative and the Rocmaura Foundation as well as for the New Brunswick and Canadian Curling Associations.

According to Thursday's Telegraph-Journal, Joe Richard and Andrew Campbell were named vice-chairmen.

Yesterday’s rally was basically the kick off of Saint John’s bid. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the Candian Hockey League for two months and getting plenty of attention from the media of late, they’ve been pretty quiet about this thing all season.

That ended Wednesday night.

"Not to be overconfident for sure, but when you put what we have to offer against our competitors—Shawinigan, Cape Breton, Halifax—I think we come out on top and I think we're going to have some good news early April for the city," said Sea Dogs President Wayne Long to the CBC.

The Saint John 2012 logo was also unveiled which featured a military themed look.

“It’s called the Memorial Cup and it’s dedicated to all fallen Canadian military personnel,” Long said in a release. “We wanted to really accentuate that, something that shows we’re serious about honouring and recognizing the military, our veterans, and our armed forces. We certainly know from Gagetown firsthand the sacrifice that they give and the risk they take every day representing and protecting our country and fighting for freedom.”

Other cities bidding on the tournament include Shawinigan, Cape Breton, and Halifax with the winner being announced in April.

VIDEO: Memorial Cup Rally

SAINT JOHN - The big 2012 Memorial Cup Bid Rally was a success last night at Brunswick Square as roughly 300 fans showed up to support the event.

Lots of videos were discovered on the YouTube machine, so lets get rolling.

First off, the logo was unveiled.



More after the break...


Fans chanting stuff.



Then the chants slowly start to die.



Finally, CHSJ News with a bunch of highlights. Whoever brought that MasterCard themed sign is a genius.



Hat tip to Christina Rogers and Nathan White

MEMORIAL CUP RALLY TONIGHT

SAINT JOHN – At today’s 2012 Memorial Cup Bid Rally at Brunswick Square, the Saint John Sea Dogs will introduce the “well-respected community leader who would serve as chair of the tournament.”

From a Sea Dogs release:

Wayne Long, president of the Sea Dogs, said he is looking forward to revealing the name of the tournament chair, as well as publicly unveiling the Saint John 2012 logo.

“It was key to get a strong community leader with experience in running national and international events,” Long said. “We feel we’ve got somebody to lead the charge and who has the credentials to back it up. We’ll be thrilled to introduce and announce the person at our rally.”

The rally begins at 5:30pm at the Centre Court of Brunswick Square. All fans/general public are welcome to attend and are encouraged to wear blue and/or Sea Dogs related clothing items. The rally will be filmed and later shown to the Memorial Cup selection committee when they roll into town on February 9.

Having a beautiful arena and a good team is one thing, but being able to show the selection committee that the people of Saint John will support the event will be a big boost.

The announcement of who will host the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup will not be made until spring.

Yeah, it’s snowing, but unless Brunswick Square closes, the rally is a go. If it does shut down early for the day, it will be postponed to a later date.

The Sea Dogs host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan tonight at 7pm at Harbour Station. According to the team’s Facebook page, “tonight's game is 'not not' on. We're proceeding as though it will be played, unless the QMJHL decides otherwise.”

BIG STORM ROLLING IN

For the second time in less than a week, weather appears to be putting a Saint John Sea Dogs game in jeopardy.

The Sea Dogs are scheduled to host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan tomorrow night at Harbour Station but there is expected to be 10-15 cm of snow following in the afternoon and carrying into the evening.

Saint John had their contest in Moncton against the Wildcats last Thursday pushed back a day due to inclement weather. If Wednesday’s match is postponed, it could be a bit more challenging to reschedule with the Saint John Mill Rats invading Harbour Station Thursday and the Sea Dogs hitting the road Friday and Saturday.

Weather has been a quite a story this season as this could potentially be the fourth postponement for the Dogs this season. It would be the first home match to fall victim to weather.

But, nothing is official as of yet and probably won’t be until tomorrow afternoon. The Sea Dogs posted this on their Twitter page earlier today:

Also taking place tomorrow evening is the 2012 Memorial Cup Bidding Rally which is scheduled to take place at the Centre Court at Brunswick Square at 5:30pm. The rally is being filmed and will later be shown to the Memorial Cup selection committee.

A Sea Dogs press release states that “in the case of extreme weather conditions forcing Brunswick Square to close, the rally would be postponed to a later date.”

Of course, if you choose the fourth option in the Sea Dogs’ online poll, getting to Brunswick Square tomorrow shouldn’t be an issue.