SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

ONE MORE SLEEP
Just one more sleep until the Saint John Sea Dogs – Lewiston MAINEiacs semifinal playoff series kicks off at Harbour Station at 7:30 pm.

According to the Maineiacs’ Facebook page, the team departed Androscoggin Bank Colisee this morning at 8:00 am local time.

“We were an eighth-place team, but I don’t think we played as an eighth-place team,” said Maineiac Zach Zafiris to Metro Halifax. “People know our team is talented, and we definitely need to be looked out for.”

Tickets are still available for both Game One of Friday and Game Two on Saturday.

ABOUT THE SEMIFINALS
Great run down of both semifinal series over at Buzzing The Net.

On why Saint John should win their series against Lewiston:

This is Saint John's series to lose. They have the Huberdeau-Stanislav Galiev-Zack Phillips monster line leading the way up front and a defence corps led by two high-drafted 19-year-olds, Pittsburgh Penguins first-rounder Simon Després and New Jersey Devils second-rounder Eric Gélinas. Unless coach Gerard Gallant's team gets a whack of injuries or a breakdown in discipline, they can win the series on form.

The site predicts Gatineau and Saint John to win their series in six games.

THE RIVALRY
Good post from Maineiacs play-by-play man DJ Abisalih in the team’s newsletter about the history of the Sea Dogs – Maineiacs rivalry.

One of the neat things he takes a look at is the very first game played between the two. We’ll post the excerpt because anything involving Martin Bartos is worth posting.

The rivalry began back on September 30, 2005 at Harbour Station. The MAINEiacs were playing in their fourth game of a six-game road trip, while the Sea Dogs were playing in their fourth home game ever. Thanks to three goals in the second period, as well as 37 saves by Jason Churchill, the first ever meeting went to Saint John, as the home team skated to a 5-2 victory in front of 4,346 fans. Lewiston's Mathieu Aubin scored the first goal in the all-time series, while Martin Bartos scored the Sea Dogs' first goal a little more than six minutes later.

ABOUT THOSE MAINEIACS
The good old Kennebec Journal had an article on the Maineiacs today, discussing a little of everything about the frnachise.

Cameron Critchlow on moving to America:

"I was coming not just to a new team, but a new country," said Critchlow, 20, who plays left wing. "It was a culture shock. I didn't know what to expect. Coming to a new country, you get skeptical. Everything is different. The health care is different. People respond differently to situations. People have different views. It was just different. But I got comfortable, especially this year."

Lewiston head coach JF Houle also mentioned that his players don’t really notice the frequently low attendance figures.

BIZARRE
The Sea Dogs lost just seven regulation games during the regular season. The team lost twice to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and once to the Montreal Juniors, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Prince Edward Island Rocket, Lewiston Maineiacs and Victoriaville Tigres.

The Sea Dogs played Cape Breton in the first round, Victoriaville in the second round, and now face Lewiston in the third round - all teams that defeated Saint John in regulation during the regular season. Weird.

A MOCK DRAFT
Mock draft season is starting to pick up and, of course, the Sea Dogs will be heavily involved in the top 30 selections this June.

Friend-of-the-blog Tom Stivali had a good post over at In Lou We Trust on why the Florida Panthers may select Jonathan Huberdeau. It’s a good read.

AWARDS GALA VIDEO
The QMJHL website posted some videos awhile back from the Golden Puck Awards Gala. The videos are unembeddable, sadly, so here is the link to the video page.

CHURCHILL ON ALLAN CUP WIN
Finally, the Chronicle Herald had a story on ex-Sea Dogs goaltender Jason Churchill and his Allan Cup win. It turns out Churchill flies to Newfoundland from Halifax each weekend to play in the senior circuit.

"It’s quite a trek, I’ll tell you that much," said Churchill, a fourth-round selection, 129th overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 2004 NHL entry draft. "Flying back every weekend, you rack up the air miles. But I love it. I see lots of my friends and family and it’s good hockey."

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood/Station Nation, La Nouvelle Union

MOCK DRAFT TIME

NHL.com posted some mock drafts the other day following the very exciting National Hockey League Draft Lottery. As expected, the Saint John Sea Dogs were represented quite well.

Here are the results from three different NHL.com writers:

Mike G. Morreale
#4. New Jersey Devils – Jonathan Huberdeau
Retooling for new coach starts with a 105-point forward who might have best set of hands of 2011 class

#8. Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Beaulieu
Top-rated bluer line from the QMJHL is a transitional dynamo possessing speed, poise and a great shot

#20. Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes – Zack Phillips
Time to load up on centers; a solid skater with edge was second on team in scoring (38 goals, 95 points)

Adam Kimelman
#6. Ottawa Senators – Jonathan Huberdeau
Senators need scoring and Huberdeau filled the nets this season -- 43 goals in 67 games

#9. Boston Bruins – Nathan Beaulieu
Has good size (6-2, 174) and high level of offensive skill

#18. Chicago Blackhawks - Tomas Jurco
Hawks fans will find Jurco is more than just the guy with the fancy puck skills in all those videos

#21. Ottawa Senators – Zack Phillips
There's a reason Saint John was top team in CHL; Sens are smart to grab two of their best

Steven Hoffner
#3. Florida Panthers – Nathan Beaulieu
Something Panthers have missed since Jay Bouwmeester left: big, solid D-man who can run PP

#6. Ottawa Senators – Jonathan Huberdeau
Speedy forward with lightning-quick hands to help team in need of goals

#17. Montreal Canadiens – Zack Phillips
Racked up 95 points in 67 games in the QMJHL

#19. Edmonton Oilers – Tomas Jurco
Ridiculous hands and imagination, would complement Edmonton's youth movement

TSN’s Craig Button posted a mock draft this week as well, but for some reason only posted the first 14 picks. But, whatever, three Sea Dogs still made the list.

#2. Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Huberdeau
He's a two-way player who can play any way you want. He can even play left wing, which can help him make the team early and then they can switch him to centre ice.

#8. Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Beaulieu
He's a defenceman on the rise and deservedly so. He's a well-rounded player who can add offence - just what the Blue Jackets need.

#13. Calgary Flames
Calgary needs a centre and this is a guy who plays in every situation in the game. The Flames will get lucky in the draft with him.

Ryan Kennedy, who writes the weekly “Hot List” for The Hockey News, posted THN’s top 10 for the upcoming draft on Tuesday. Jonathan Huberdeau was the lone Sea Dog, coming in at No. 4.

The Sea Dogs have been a Quebec League juggernaut all year and Huberdeau has always been front and center. The offensively gifted pivot has followed up a 105-point regular season with 16 points in six playoff games, good for second in the QMJHL. When given a choice between Huberdeau and Sean Couturier, most scouts and execs have called it a toss-up or given the edge to Huberdeau now.
Scout Says: “Great hands. I would compare them to Patrick Kane’s in Chicago. He has vision and playmaking, but those hands…unbelievable.”

TSN’s Bob McKenzie also released his latest top 10 and has Huberdeau at No. 4.

NINE DOGS MAKE FINAL RANKINGS

An incredible nine Saint John Sea Dogs appeared in Central Scouting’s final North American skater rankings for the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft. A total of 33 players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League made the cut for the 212 positions available.

Sea Dogs leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau was the highest ranked, jumping into the No. 3 spot behind Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at No. 1 and Gabriel Landeskog at No. 2. It has been quite a climb for Huberdeau who was considered a late first round pick by many agencies at the start of the season.

Also on the rise is defenseman Nathan Beaulieu. The third-year Sea Dog jumped into the No. 5 slot, making him the second highest defenseman ranked behind Niagara IceDog Dougie Hamilton.

Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Sean Couturier, who played with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships and was considered the top player available by most a year ago, slipped all the way down to No. 6.

Two other Saint John forwards made the top-30 in Zack Phillips at No. 15 and Tomas Jurco at No. 20.

Also included in the rankings: forwards Scott Oke (No. 44), Ryan Tesink (No. 47), Aidan Kelly (No. 94), and Jason Cameron (No. 124), and defenseman Gabriel Bourret (No. 92).

Former Sea Dogs defenseman and current Chicoutimi Sagueneen Guillaume Cloutier was ranked at No. 137. Cloutier was involved in the Eric Gelinas trade that went down in January.

The NHL Entry Draft will be held this June in Minnesota. Of note, the NHL Draft Lottery, which will determine who selects first overall, will be held tomorrow night and can be seen on TSN.

Also of note, Victoriaville Tigres goaltender David Honzik, who has been beast-like in the playoffs so far, was ranked 13th amongst North American playing netminders.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

VIDEO: Button has Huberdeau at No. 3

In a recent episode of NHL on the Fly, analysis Craig Button named his top five for the upcoming National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Button had Saint John Sea Dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau No. 3 on his list and gave him some huge props during the show.

“I love that player,” said Button.

Noticably not on his list: Drummondville’s Sean Couturier.

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

OFFICIAL SCHEDULE
The QMJHL released the official schedule for the Saint John Sea Dogs – Victoriaville Tigres quarter-final playoff series. It is the same schedule as the one reported on the Tigres’ Facebook page yesterday.

Here it is (all times local):

2011-04-08 VICTORIAVILLE VS. SAINT JOHN - 7:30 pm
2011-04-09 VICTORIAVILLE VS. SAINT JOHN - 7:00 pm
2011-04-12 SAINT JOHN VS. VICTORIAVILLE - 7:00 pm
2011-04-13 SAINT JOHN VS. VICTORIAVILLE - 7:00 pm
2011-04-15 SAINT JOHN VS. VICTORIAVILLE - 7:00 pm
2011-04-18 VICTORIAVILLE VS. SAINT JOHN - 7:00 pm
2011-04-19 VICTORIAVILLE VS. SAINT JOHN - 7:00 pm

CUSTOM GOAL HORN
The goal horn at Harbour Station had a different tune to it in the final game of the regular season after Michael Kirkpatrick scored. A video labeled “Michael Kirkpatrick Custom Goal Horn" has popped up on YouTube.



Pretty good tune.

ON THE RISE
Central Scouting had some meetings this weekend to discuss their final rankings for upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Among the things discussed were about the top defensemen available for the draft. That list, of course, includes Sea Dog Nathan Beaulieu.

"Nathan is a fluid skater, hard worker and reads the play well," Central Scouting's Chris Bordeleau, who specializes in the QMJHL, told NHL.com, via Fox News. "We thought he should have had more points than he had (45 points in 65 games), but overall he has the NHL quickness already. That's what is really important at this stage."

Beaulieu was ranked ninth among North American players in Central Scouting’s midterm rankings.

- Thanks to Eric for the link.

THE BIG DEBATE
Also discussed at those same meetings yesterday (after a lunch break) was the debate of who is the better pick: Sean Couturier or Jonathan Huberdeau.

“Chris Bordeleau, who spends most of his time viewing players in the 'Q', opened discussions with a solid evaluation of centers Jonathan Huberdeau and Sean Couturier,” states NHL.com. “He spoke of Huberdeau's great hands around the net and Couturier's two-way acumen. Saint John defenseman Nathan Beaulieu has also been on the radar of every scout and his play was worthy of a lengthy discussion by those boys within the Conn Smythe Board Room.”

SEASON ENDING TALK
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles Head Coach and General Manager Mario Durocher had a season ending question and answer session with the Cape Breton Post on Friday. His thoughts on the first round playoff sweep by the Sea Dogs:

"For a lot of guys, it was their first experience in the playoffs. I think that experience will be good. They played one of the best teams in Canada and we gave them goals. We know that we have to be in really top shape. If you have to play four games in five days and we have to play a short bench, they have to realize they have to be in good shape. They have to be bigger and stronger, so the summer will be a key thing for a lot of guys. Sometimes dumping the puck and avoiding turnovers make a difference and that’s what they did. Those were little things like that we learned from Saint John."

BUSY WEEK
It’s going to a busy week for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

On Wednesday, the annual QMJHL Awards Gala will be held in Montreal. On Thursday, the QMJHL and CHL will announce the host of the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Then on Friday and Saturday, Games One and Two of their quarter-final series against Victoriaville will take place.

Buckle up.

THE CASE FOR FULLERTON
A good piece from Bill Hunt of the Daily Gleaner on how little recognition former Sea Dogs goaltender Travis Fullerton gets for his winning ways with the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.

"But it's another slap in the mask of Fullerton, who has quietly had a spectacular career at UNB: the first to be blamed when things go wrong, the last to be credited when they go right. Look at the season just completed: 31 goals against in 20 games in the regular season: a 1.60 goals against average. Five shutouts. Post season: nine appearances. Six wins. Two shutouts. And then solid and sometimes spectacular last weekend."

Fullerton has now won two national championships with the V-Reds.

PEACE OUT AMYOT
Former Sea Dogs defenseman Pascal Amyot finished his junior career last week as the Halifax Mooseheads were swept away by the Montreal Juniors.

"Everything goes so fast," Amyot said through tears to the Chronicle Herald. "It feels like just yesterday I was a rookie in the league and now it’s over.

"After being in this league for five years, I came to realize that you don’t know the luck you’ve had until it’s gone."

Amyot, who has to be considered one of the smartest players in junior hockey, will continue studying engineering at Dalhousie next year and will play for the Tigers in the AUS ranks.

Photo Credits: HockeyDB, Marc Henwood/Station Nation, David Connell Web Album

RED LINE REPORT: Huberdeau is Q's top prospect

Some big news out of the hockey prospect world today as USA Today released the latest Red Line Report list of top prospects for the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

The big news: the top prospect from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is no longer Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Sean Couturier.

“Just continues to take his game to new levels we never thought he would approach so soon,” reads the report on Saint John Sea Dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau. “He has now ascended the throne as the Quebec League's top prospect.”

Red Line as Huberdeau going fifth overall in the draft while Couturier, who at this time last year was projected by most to be going first overall, has slipped all the way to eighth.

From USA Today:

While the drumbeat has been slowly building for Huberdeau the past three months, he simply has elevated his game to a level we did not expect to see out of him this year. And we can no longer deny what our gut is telling us: He has passed Sean Couturier as the Quebec League's top prospect. Couturier is in his third full year in the Q and far more physically developed than Huberdeau. Yet Huberdeau, in his second Q season, is the more assertive and aggressive player, and we believe he's performing at a higher level right now than Couturier was at this time last year when he won the Quebec League scoring crown.

Huberdeau has been an incredible story this season. He has gone from some scouting websites and agencies not having him going in the opening round to a top-10 pick this June. As Red Line points out, the draft is all over the map this year. There is no clear No. 1, top-five, or top-10.

Huberdeau, who doesn’t turn 18 until June 4, has 102 points this season while Couturier has 95. The Sea Dogs have been one of, if the most scouted team in the Canadian Hockey League this season while Couturier was a given an opportunity to impress at the World Juniors.

A long playoff run and a possible trip the Memorial Cup would surely help maintain Huberdeau’s rise up the rankings.

The latest International Scouting Services rankings were released this week as well. Huberdeau cracked the top-10 and his projected to go ninth overall. ISS has Couturier ranked as the fourth best prospect.

Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

MEMORIAL CUP SCHEDULE
The 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup schedule and game times were finalized this week. The QMJHL representative opens the tournament on May 20 at 8:00 pm against the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.

Here is the full schedule (times are in EST):

Round-Robin Game 1 – QMJHL vs. Mississauga on Friday May 20, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 2 – OHL vs. WHL on Saturday May 21, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 3 – Mississauga vs. WHL on Sunday May 22, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 4 – OHL vs. QMJHL on Monday May 23, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 5 – WHL vs. QMJHL on Tuesday May 24, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Round-Robin Game 6 – Mississauga vs. OHL on Wednesday May 25, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Tie-Breaker (if necessary) – Thursday May 26, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Semi-Final – Friday May 27, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Championship Final – Sunday May 29, 2011 at 7:00 pm

All games are broadcast live on Rogers Sportsnet.

SAUVE SENT DOWN
Yann Sauve made his presence known on the Vancouver Canucks blue-line over the past few games, but with the teams inured defense core finally starting to return, the former Saint John Sea Dog was returned to the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose earlier this week.

"It was real fun, a good experience," Sauve said to the Winnipeg Free Press Wednesday. "For sure the pace is faster but I think I got a tempo going and I think I stepped up my game a bit. I had to, otherwise they were going to eat me alive."

In three games with the National Hockey League club he had no points or penalty minutes.

SEA DOGS ON NHL.COM
The Sea Dogs were featured on NHL.com the other day. Not much of an article, but you get what you can get on NHL.com.

Here is a selection from the post:

Keep in mind that there could be as many as six players from the QMJHL taken in the first round of the 2011 Entry Draft in St. Paul, Minn., on June 24. The last time the league produced as many as four first-round NHL draft picks was 2007 when forwards Jakub Voracek, Logan MacMillan, Angelo Esposito and David Perron were all taken among the top 26 selections.

Not only could there be as many as six players from the 'Q' drafted in the opening round, but four of the players might very well be from the surging Sea Dogs.

PRE-GAME RITUALS
The QMJHL website had a video this week asking players what are the most bizarre pre-game rituals they have seen in the league. Nathan Beaulieu and Zack Phillips were both asked.

Click HERE to check out the video.

THE LATEST FROM ISS
International Scouting Services released their Top 30 Rankings for February last week over at Hockey’s Future.

Jonathan Huberdeau was the highest ranked Sea Dog, coming in at No. 13. The only other Saint John player on the list was Tomas Jurco who was ranked at No. 30. The only other player from the QMJHL to make the list was Drummondville Voltigeurs forward Sean Couturier.

THE CASE FOR HUBERDEAU
Another terrific post from Kirk Luedeke of 2011 Bruins Draft Watch. Friday, the site had an article on why the Boston Bruins may consider drafting Jonathan Huberdeau with their top pick (i.e. the Toronto Maple Leafs pick).

The post has a quote from a NHL scout:

"The biggest surprise for me this year with Huberdeau is the goal scoring. I knew he was an excellent passer from seeing him last year, but I didn't see how aggressive he was going to be at taking the puck to the net and finishing off the play. He put a lot of work into his shot, and he's playing with a lot of confidence. The puck is going in a lot for him, and I don't see that it's a fluke. He's got some real upside."- Quebec-based NHL scout for Western Conference Team

A GREAT DAY
Nice article on the QMJHL website about the Sea Dogs'  rise to the top.

"We have a hell of a team here and we plan on going to the Memorial Cup," Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said in the article. "There’s a lot of work to do, but that’s our goal."

2011 DRAFT TRACKER

SALLOWS BIG ON SEA DOGS
Scout Dan Sallows continues to produce one of the best draft websites on the interweb. Last week, at the midway point of hockey season, Sallows did up a mock up draft that featured three Saint John Sea Dogs going on the opening round.

Sallows selected Jonathan Huberdeau to go eighth overall to the Buffalo Sabres.

I think they’d be best served to select athletic defenseman Dougie Hamilton or talented center Jonathan Huberdeau, with the edge going to Huberdeau. Buffalo has had success with drafting talented french forwards in the past, so history may just repeat itself.

Nathan Beaulieu is predicted to go 18th overall to the Colorado Avalanche.

Nathan Beaulieu isn’t a huge risk, considering he has some offensive potential that is off the charts, but the 6-foot-3, 191-pound blueliner may need some seasoning (ala Alex Pietrangelo) before he makes an impact. Not that the Av’s would be concerned as they are heading in the right direction and have nothing but time on their hands to let their prospects develop.

Sallows also selected Zack Phillips to go in the opening round to the Montreal Canadiens19th overall.

The Canadiens will most likely be looking for a big, skilled center, and 6-foot-1, 181-pound Zack Phillips would fit the bill. Another talented Sea Dog that has been lights out thus far this season, and it doesn’t hurt he plays in the Q either, so the Habs scouts see him a lot.

BEAULIEU AND HUBERDEAU SPEAK
Following their extraordinary display at the Top Prospects Game, The Hockey News' Ryan Kennedy caught up with two Sea Dogs, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nathan Beaulieu, to talk about their experience and more.

The video can be seen on THN’s website.

Props to Al for sending this in.

McKENZIE’S RANKINGS
TSN’s Bob McKenzie released his draft rankings awhile back and even had an entire television show dedicated to them. Somehow, TSN made it through the 30-minute program without insulting Saint John as a junior hockey market or spelling names incorrectly.

McKenzie, who’s rankings are made by a collaboration of scouts’ opinions and stuff, had Huberdeau ranked at No. 9. Beaulieu was the only other Sea Dog to be listed as a first-round pick as he came in at No. 13.

Zack Phillips was ranked at No. 32 while Tomas Jurco was No. 36.

ISS RANKINGS
International Scouting Services released their top 30 for January. Huberdeau was all the way down at No. 19 while Jurco was the only other Sea Dog selected to go in the first round at No. 26.

Despite being one of the few scouting services to still have Jurco listed as a fist rounder, ISS says the Slovakian is “falling.”

The super talented Jurco was not able to showcase the abilities that have many scouts lauded as top round abilities during this year's World Junior Championships in Buffalo and Niagra Falls. In fact, Jurco seemed rather invisible and was not able to make anything happen around the puck. Jurco's struggles could not come at a worse time as other players, players who were way down the draft rankings proved to be effective and impactful weapons for their countries. The result of this is going to be a big question mark hanging over the young Slovak and teams and scouts wondering if he is able to pick it up and play at the higher levels or when the stakes are higher. Jurco should have an opportunity to silence these questions, playing with the Memorial Cup contending St. John Sea Dogs. Jurco needs to amp it up over the final part of the season and be an impact player offensively while working to take his team deep into the playoffs to be able to salvage some of his first round reputation and potential.

Obviously, these rankings get a fail because Saint John is spelt incorrectly.


BEAULIEU AND HUBERDEAU SPEAK AGAIN
Our friends at HockeyProspect.com put together a couple of interviews from the Top Prospects Game.





ON THE PROSPECTS GAME
Bruins 2011 Draft Watch shared their thoughts on all the participants at the Top Prospects game.

On Huberdeau:

Watching him a little last year, you knew he had the height, hands and creativity to be a skilled offensive pivot, but the revelation this season has been the way he's filling the net. Wednesday's top prospects game was no exception, as he pounced on David Musil's rebound, patiently waited for a sprawling Christopher Gibson to take himself out of the play and then slid the puck into the open cage. That kind of poise and patience is a hallmark of any legitimate goal scorer.

On Phillips:

He's not the fastest guy out there or all that dynamic, but man-- when he's around the net and the puck is nearby, chances are, it will be behind the goalie soon. He finished off a nice play with RNH when the diminutive center took the puck hard to the net, backing Honzik deep into the cage along the goal line. Phillips pounced on the loose puck sitting in front of the Cherry netminder and calmly flipped it over the Czech goalie.

On Beaulieu:

He was involved at both ends of the ice and showed off the kind of mobility and puck skills to be a factor in the offensive dimension. He scored one of the Orr goals when he jumped in from the point, gathered a pass and then rifled a wrist shot to the back of the net.

Some scouts like Beaulieu more than others, but he plays with an edge, has some toughness to him and can do pretty much everything well even if he doesn't have the kind of dynamic upside of Murphy or even Hamilton.

On Jurco:

Puckhandler extraordinaire had some chances early, but either couldn't get the bouncing puck to settle or wasn't able to get his shots past Liston. As the game went on, like many of his teammates, Jurco was less and less visible. The winner of the breakaway event in the skills competition is one of those guys who can electrify with one shot and shift, but when he's out of the play, he's really out of it.

CHL.ca VIDEO
Yet another video from the Top Prospects Game, this one from CHL.ca. Very long video.


2011 Draft Watch is a feature running through the entirety of the 2010-11 season that features links, video, and rankings of Saint John’s ‘Big Four.’ Any content found on the internet that would fit in this post can be sent to stationnation@yahoo.ca

VIDEO: Sportsnet Top Prospects

Rogers Sportsnet has made some pretty sweet highlight packages of some of the top prospects for this June's National Hockey League Entry Draft. Saint John Sea Dogs forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Tomas Jurco as well as defenseman Nathan Beaulieu were all featured with their own video.

Here is Nathan Beaulieu's:



To view the Huberdeau's and Jurco's, select their videos on this page.

MID-SEASON DRAFT SHOW ON TSN

TSN’s Bob McKenzie will be revealing his Top 30 Mid-season Draft Rankings on TSN tonight at 8:30 pm AST.

On ‘That’s Hockey’ last week, McKenzie said that Saint John Sea Dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau being ranked fourth in Central Scouting’s mid-season rankings was a surprise.

There were four Sea Dogs ranked in Central Scouting’s top-24 of North American skaters eligible for the upcoming draft. In TSN’s mini-preview of McKenzie’s show tonight, Huberdeau and Nathan Beaulieu got shout outs.

According to the TSN website, McKenzie will release his top 60 list for the upcoming draft on the interweb after the show.

VIDEO: Huberdeau's spin pass

SAINT JOHN – Another game, another beautiful play by Jonathan Huberdeau.

At 9:59 of the second period, Huberdeau crossed the line and was quickly getting close to crease area. Rather than shoot, Huberdeau made a spin move and fired a perfect backhand pass to a streaking Stanislav Galiev who chipped the disc into the cage.

The goal would prove to be the game winner as the Saint John Sea Dogs topped the Drummondville Voltigeurs 7-4 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Friday night at Harbour Station.

SeaDogsTV made a video of the goal entitled “STAINSLAV GALIEV FROM HUBERDEAU GOAL OF THE YEAR TO DATE.”

SAINT JOHN DOMINATES CENTRAL SCOUTING DRAFT RANKINGS

You know a junior hockey team has some depth in their lineup when the entire fourth line is among the 212 best North American draft eligible skaters for the upcoming National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Ryan Tesink (49), Scott Oke (58), Aidan Kelly (80), and Jason Cameron (114) all made NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings for the 2011 entry draft that will be held in Minnesota this summer.

Both Oke and Tesink made Central Scouting’s preliminary list for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League that was released in November. Cameron and Kelly are new additions to the services radar.

Tesink leads the four with six goals and 16 assists in 36 games this season. The Saint John native has cooled down a bit after a hot start but still has played well all season. Oke has seven points in 34 games, Kelly has six in 34 matches, and Cameron has two in 32 contests.

Defenseman Gabriel Bourret came in at 108 while recently traded defender Guillaume Cloutier was ranked 46th. Bourret has four goals and 15 assists and is a solid +12 while playing on the bottom defense pairing for most of the season.

The five current Dogs have certainly benefitted from playing on a stacked team loaded with top-end draft eligible players. As scouts come to watch Saint John’s ‘Big Four,’ other players are able to step up with a big league audience looking on.

In total, nine Sea Dogs made the list.

The ‘Big Four’ featuring forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips, Tomas Jurco, and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu were all placed among the top 24 North American skaters. Huberdeau was the highest ranked, coming in at No. 4, just two spots back of Drummondville Voltigeurs star Sean Couturier.

Huberdeau has been on fire of late and currently sits second in league in scoring with 27 goals and 38 assists in just 40 games. He is coming off a five-point game against the Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday.

Beaulieu was ranked ninth on the list, the second highest defenseman behind Niagara’s Dougie Hamilton. Beaulieu hasn’t been playing his best hockey of late but still has had a pretty good season. He leads the team in defenseman scoring with eight goals and 20 assists in 40 games to go along with a +25 rating.

Huberdeau’s linemate Zach Phillips was ranked 12th. The Fredericton native has 27 goals – tied for fourth overall in the QMJHL – and 33 assists in 40 matches. Slovakian Tomas Jurco is the final Sea Dog ranked in the top 30, coming in at No. 24. Jurco had 17 markers and 15 helpers in 33 contests prior to participating in the World Junior Hockey Championships over the past few weeks.

Also, as pointed out by SN reader Lorne, Michael Paliotta was ranked 32nd. He is currently playing in the States but was drafted by the Sea Dogs in the 10th round of June's QMJHL Entry Draft.

Although no Sea Dog has ever played in the NHL, things are looking good for the years to come.

WJC TODAY - 12-27-10

CANADA BEATS RUSSIA

Team Canada opened up the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships yesterday afternoon at Buffalo’s HSBC Arena. It was a shaky start by the Canadians, but it proved to be nothing more than a bit of adversity as they went on to defeat Russia 6-3.

Subway Super Series monster Maxim Kitsyn opened up the scoring at 3:57 when he tipped a point shot past Olivier Roy to give the Russians an early lead. Marcus Foligno would jam home a rebound at 17:55 to square the game up at 1-1 going into the first intermission.

In the second, Canada got their first lead at 10:35 when captain Ryan Ellis beat London Knights goaltender Igor Bobkov to make it a 2-1 affair. But the Russians kept coming as Nikita Dvurechensky beat Roy through the five-hole to tie the match once again.

Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres’ defense partner, Erik Gudbranson, gave Canada their lead back at 15:15 only to have it erased once again just under two-minutes later by Daniil Sobchenko.

In the third period, Canada would start to take the game over. Goals by Ryan Johansen, Brayden Schenn, and Curtis Hamilton iced the game for the Canucks who improved to 1-0 in tournament play.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy made 24 saves for the win. He appeared nervous to start the match but improved as the game moved forward.

Despres was held pointless in the tilt but did play a role in Gudbranson’s second period marker. He finished the game with one shot on goal and a +1 rating.

HIGHLIGHTS



DANGLE RECAP



OPEN ICE HOCKEY RECAP

UP NEXT
Canada has a day off today to prepare for tomorrow’s game against the Czech Republic.

“Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron kept his lines together for today's practice,” tweeted National Post reporter Sean Fitzgerald. “Players have the afternoon for ‘rest and family time.’”

Olivier Roy is expected to start in goal once again.

“It sounds like Mark Visentin will start for Canada in Wednesday's game against Norway, but that Roy is Coach Cameron's No. 1,” tweeted Globe and Mail scribe James Mirtle.

TODAY
Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia open up the world junior tournament tonight at 8pm AST at HSBC Arena against Team Germany. The Germans are coming off a close 4-3 loss to the Swiss yesterday afternoon.

From the game preview on the Buffalo World Juniors website:

Slovakia starts this year’s tournament with a strong defensive unit that includes: Martin Marincin and Adam Janosik. Stefan Mikes will coach Slovakia for the fourth straight year.

Last year proved to be a tough tournament for Slovakia as they dropped three out of their four preliminary games, eliminating them from the tournament playoffs. The last time Slovakia won a medal was in 1999 when they defeated Team Sweden to earn a Bronze medal.

ON JURCO
Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco is drawing some attention by playing in this tournament. Although Hockey’s Future believes the Sea Dogs play in Newfoundland, they had a preview of the Slovaks featuring Jurco.

17-year-old Tomas Jurco of the St. John's Sea Dogs is the youngest player on the team and should attract the attention of scouts. Jurco performed well in the 2010 QMJHL playoffs and has been a point-a-game game player so far in the 2010-11 season.

Future Considerations also lists Jurco as a draft eligible player to watch during the tournament.

LOCAL NEWS VIDEO OF THE DAY

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

SAUVE SENT TO MOOSE
As we posted the other day, former Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve was assigned to the Manitoba Moose last Thursday. The 20-year had been playing with the East Coast Hockey League’s Victoria Salmon Kings where he had two assists in seven games.

Sauve’s stint in the ECHL was believed to be for conditioning after finally recovering from a concussion he suffered in September. Now, the Vancouver Canucks must decide where to put Sauve for the rest of the season.

A second round pick of the Canucks in 2008, there have been rumblings of him possibly returning for a final year of junior in Saint John.

OKE NAMED TOP STUDENT
Sea Dogs forward Scott Oke was named the teams Student of the Month for November last week. Oke was presented with the honour at Harbour Station earier this month.

Oke is currently a 12th grade student at St. Malachy’s High School.

ISS FEATURES
Tomas Jurco was the lone Sea Dog to make International Scouting Service's list of top 30 prospects for the upcoming National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Jurco was placed in the No. 22 spot and joined Drummondville’s Sean Couturier, ranked first overall, as the only Quebec leaguers to make the list.

Four Sea Dogs – Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips, Guillaume Cloutier, and Scott Oke – were listed as “risers.” All four have a paragraph written about them on the Hockey’s Future website.

“Showed us a little more every viewing; played well with Kelly and Tesink,” says the scouting service about Scott Oke. “Showed better vision and passing ability then seen in early viewings; made a few smart 5 foot passes and a few good 30 foot passes, finding seams. Doesn't always see his options, but is showing more patience with puck. Worked hard and made the most of limited ice time...played 4th line with no PP or PK.”

JURCO ON TPS
Last week, Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco went on The Pipeline Show radio program. To download the interview, click HERE.

TELUS DISCOUNT
Telus has released their mid-season webcast pricing. You can now buy all webcasts – live and archived – for the remainder of the regular season and all of the playoffs for $129.95.

NEW YEARS EVE
The annual Wildcats – Sea Dogs New Years Eve Game is always a great show, but this year there will be some added events for the Rivalry Cup match.

From a City of Saint John release:

The fun begins at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station with a Salute to Saint John Sports Heroes. This special historic event will honour some of Saint John’s outstanding sports personalities as part of the pre-game festivities before the Sea Dogs take on provincial rivals, the Moncton Wildcats. It is a presentation of City Stories, Saint John 225’s online social history project.

The Salute to Saint John Sports Heroes will honour Olympian Monica Hitchcock, international basketball official Fred Horgan and the legendary 1972/73 Mooseheads hockey team, winners of the Hardy Cup. Joining them at centre ice will be the St. Mary’s Band, one of Canada’s longest existing community bands (created in 1903) and tenor Owen McCausland, who will perform the national anthem.

Members of the Sea Dogs will also be participating in the New Years Eve celebrations on the boardwalk following the game.

McGUIRE CHRISTMAS WISHES
Telegraph-Journal columnist Peter McGuire released his annual Christmas gifts to the Sea Dogs column on Tuesday. Always a good read.

KREIDER TO PLAY FOR USA
A Sea Dogs draft pick will once again play for the Americans at the World Junior Hockey Championships. Drafted by Saint John in the 10th round of the 2008 QMJHL Entry Draft, Chris Kreider was named to Team USA yesterday.

"I was just playing and trying to enjoy it," Kreider told NHL.com yesterday about last year’s tournament where he and the Americans captured gold.. "It kind of just passes you by, but I guess that's the nature of the beast."

Currently playing with Boston College where he has five goals and six assists in 16 games, Kreider has never reported to Saint John.

NO BEAULIEU IN GUELPH
Former Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu will not be moving to the Guelph Storm organization as a head coach. The London Free Press recently suggested that he may be a candidate for the vacant position.

The Storm announced today that Scott Walker, 37, who joined the team on a volunteer basis in late October and will now serve as the team’s head coach.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FROM FREDDY BEACH
Daily Gleaner columnist David Ritchie gave some Christmas wishes for a couple of Fredericton-area Sea Dogs players earlier this week:

For Saint John Sea Dogs' Zack Phillips and Mike Thomas, both of Fredericton: For the Sea Dogs to win a Quebec Major Junior championship, and enhance the city's chances of hosting the Memorial Cup tournament. A credible host program is part and parcel of any potential winning bid, and with the Sea Dogs success over the past season and a half, they've already earned respect at the national level, due in great measure to the play of the second-year Phillips and captain Thomas.

ANOTHER LOOK AT SLOVAKIA
Patrick King of Rogers Sportsnet had another look at Team Slovakia’s entry for the world juniors.

Slovakia will ice a roster that is somewhat familiar to junior hockey fans. Guelph Storm forward Richard Panik, who was a member of that 2009 team, will be back for his third tournament while seven more from the CHL will join him. The most notables are defenceman Martin Marincin, an Edmonton Oilers draft pick that played in last year's tournament, and potential first round pick, forward Tomas Jurco.

The country finished fourth last year in Saskatoon.

NO RELATION
Abitibi Express reports that the Sea Dogs’ trade yesterday to acquire Alexandre Beauregard has no relation to the Steven Delisle trade that took place earlier this season.

The Sea Dogs acquired the NHL drafted Delisle for a 12th round pick earlier this year but he remains in the pro ranks. Beauregard was traded to Saint John yesterday for a first round pick.

Apparently, Montreal, Saint John, Victoriaville, and Drummondville were all interested in his services. Stephane Leroux of RDS tweeted yesterday that the Juniors were very close to landing him but would not give up a first round pick.

DELISLE UPDATE
Speaking of Steven Delisle, Justin A. Cohn of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette had an update on the defenseman on December 13.

Defenseman Steve Delisle did have surgery on his shoulder and is presumed out for the season, unless he has an extremely fortuitous recovery.

“Defenseman Steven Delisle also has been moved from 10-day to the 30-day injured reserve list after undergoing potentially season-ending shoulder surgery,” reports News-Sentinel.com.

The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect has appeared in just six games this season with the Central Hockey League’s Fort Wayne Koments.

DESPRES ON WORLD JUNIORS
It’s been rare to see Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres quoted anywhere during the world juniors. On Monday, Despres gave TSN, via BuffaloNews.com, his thoughts on Canada being considered on underdog in the tournament.

"They don't know what's waiting for them," Despres said. "I think, we're going to come out strong in the tournament. We'll put on a good, competitive show."

Canada plays their final pre-tournament game tonight in Kitchener against Finland at 8:30pm AST on TSN2.

Photo Credits: Vancouver Canucks, Telus, AP, Columbus Blue Jackets

'BIG FOUR' NAMED TO TOP PROSPECTS GAME

Four Saint John Sea Dogs will have a chance to shine in front of National Hockey League scouts this January.

Today, the Canadian Hockey League announced the 40-players who will participate in the 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game that will be played in January at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu and forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips, and Tomas Jurco will all join some of the best draft eligible prospects in the CHL for the two-day event.

It’s not surprising to see Saint John’s ‘Big Four’ named to the roster for the event. The quartet is predicted to go in the first two rounds of this June’s National Hockey League Entry Draft by most publications.

According to a release, “the rosters were selected by the 30 NHL General Managers with NHL Central Scouting and include 18 players from the Ontario Hockey League, 13 players from the Western Hockey League, and nine players from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.“

Huberdeau currently leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 54 points in 35 games. His linemate, Zach Phillips, is second in team scoring with 51 points and leads the Dogs in goals with 25 on the year.

Huberdeau and Phillips will join Beaulieu on Team White, who will be coached by Doug Gilmour. Beaulieu has had an up-and-down year but has still has produced well in his draft year. He has six goals and 16 assists in 35 contests to go along with a +25 rating.

Tomas Jurco will play for Team Red which will be coached by Hockey Night in Canada’s Don Cherry. Jurco has struggled at times with consistency, but still had a solid first half. He recorded 17 goals and 15 assists in 33 games prior to leaving to join Team Slovakia for the world juniors.

Other QMJHL players to make the cut were Drummondville’s Sean Couturier, Montreal’s Xavier Ouellet, Victoriaville’s Phillip Danault and David Honzik, and Chicoutimi’s Christopher Gibson.

Also from the release, “27 of the CHL’s 60 teams are represented in this game including four players from the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks along with four players from the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. Both the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and Oshawa Generals are each represented by three players.”

The annual skills competition will be held on January 18 while the game will be played the following evening. The game will be broadcast live by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS.

The roster for Cherry’s Team Red:

Goaltenders — Chris Gibson (Chicoutimi Sagueneens), David Honzik (Victoriaville Tigres)

Defenseman — Miles Bell (Regina Pats), Scott Harrington (London Knights), Joe Morrow (Portland Winterhawks), Ryan Murphy (Kitchener Rangers), Duncan Siemens (Saskatoon Blades), Tyler Wotherspoon (Portland Winterhawks)

Forwards — Sean Couturier (Drummondville Voltigeurs), Philip Devos (Victoriaville Tigres), Nicklas Jensen (Oshawa Generals), Tomas Jurco (Saint John Sea Dogs), Gabriel Landeskog (Kitchener Rangers), Mark McNeill (Prince Albert Raiders, Matthew Puempel (Peterborough Petes), Rickard Rakell (Plymouth Whalers), Ty Rattie (Portland Winterhawks), Tobias Reider (Kitchener Rangers), Mark Scheifele (Barrie Colts), Ryan Strome (Niagara Ice Dogs)

The roster for Gilmour’s Team White:

Goaltenders — Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound), Liam Liston (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Defenseman — Nathan Beaulieu (Saint John Sea Dogs), Dougie Hamilton (Niagara Ice Dogs), David Musil (Vancouver Giants), Xavier Ouellet (Montreal Juniors), Stuart Percy (Mississauga Majors), Reece Scarlett (Swift Current Broncos)

Forwards — Sven Bartschi (Portland Winterhawks), Daniel Catenacci (Soo Greyhounds), Jonathan Huberdeau (Saint John Sea Dogs), Colin Jacobs (Seattle Thunderbirds), Boone Jenner (Oshawa Generals), Lucas Lessio (Oshawa Generals), Shane McColgan (Kelowna Rockets), Vladislav Namestnikov (London Knights), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer Rebels), Zack Phillips (Saint John Sea Dogs), Brandon Saad(Saginaw Spirit), Vincent Trocheck (Saginaw Spirit)

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

MORE ON DESPRES
TSN’s Bob McKenzie sent out another tweet this afternoon about Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres’ performance so far at Team Canada’s selection camp.

Tyson Barrie played well last night, Simon Despres has struggled. Would have thought Despres would have been top 6 but he needs to step up.

Final cuts come tomorrow.

DeSERRES INTERVIEW
Sea Dogs goaltender Jacob DeSerres had a nice interview with Brandon Wheat Kings voice Bruce Luebke. In the interview, the former Wheat King talks about how it likes the Sea Dogs organization and the team’s chances at winning it all this year.

The interview can be heard HERE.

DeSerres was also featured in the Brandon Sun today. If you just so happen to subscribe to the Brandon Sun online, you can check that out.

TESINK PICKS UP AWARD
Sea Dogs rookie Ryan Tesink was named the team’s mid-season top rookie last week. The award, presented by RDS, puts Tesink in some pretty high company with the likes of Martin Frk and Dillon Fournier picking up the Mooseheads’ and Maineiacs’ award, respectively.

Tesink has been solid this season, playing on a line with just about every Sea Dog at some point this season. In 28 games, the Saint John native has six goals and 12 assists.

HIGH PRAISE
Way, way back on November 26, the Red Line Report – via USA Today – had a small feature on the Sea Dogs and their cupboard full of draft eligible talent.

We’ve been to our share of Saint John Sea Dogs games already this season and can’t help but be impressed by their wealth of talent.

The Sea Dogs have no fewer than six legitimate candidates for this year’s draft and two others who are making a case to push that number to eight. We’ve loved Tomas Jurco for some time already and came away highly impressed with Nathan Beaulieu in recent viewings. We’ve already detailed our opinion on Jonathan Huberdeau and Zack Phillips as solid prospects, and it wasn’t long ago we mentioned how Ryan Tesink and Gabriel Bourret caught our eye as nice mid-round sleepers. But lately we’ve also had to put Guillaume Cloutier and Scott Oke into the conversation as potential dark horses.

With Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly teaching these kids the finer points of the game, who knows how many of them will wind up hearing their named called in June.

JURCO ARTICLE
Telegraph-Journal reporter Scott Briggs had a feature on the QMJHL website last week on Sea Dogs forward Tomas Jurco.

"I cannot say I was happy," Jurco said about his Central Scouting draft ranking. "My goal this year is to make the first round (of the NHL Entry Draft). I know why I was (sixth). I know I had a bad month."

DESPRES JERSEY SIGHTINGS
Before each Penguins home game, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Penguins blog, Empty Netters, posts some photos of jersey wearing fans around the rink. Over the past few weeks, there have been two Simon Despres jersey sightings.

WHAT CHUCKIE SCHEMBRI IS UP TO
The Amherst Daily News provides us with an update on former Sea Dog Chuckie Schembri, who is currently playing as a 20-year old with the Maritime Hockey League’s Amherst Ramblers. He was recently traded to the Ramblers from the Summerside Western Capitals.

“He brings a wealth of experience playing junior hockey,” Ramblers coach Jeff Lewis said. “He’s played in deep playoff runs, so we hope that experience will help with our group.”

GAUTHIER Q&A
Sports Junior had a question and answer session with Sea Dogs forward Danick Gauthier last week. A lot of “different” questions are asked, many of them about the life of playing in Saint John.

DeSERRES NOMINATED
This slipped under the radar a bit, but Sea Dogs goaltender Jacob DeSerres was nominated for the Canadian Hockey League goaltender of the week last week.

Red Deer Rebels netminder Darcy Kuemper won the award.

DESPRES REPORT
Hockey’s Future recently had a report on Pittsburgh Penguins junior prospects, including a feature on Simon Despres.

“Signed to an entry-level deal in 2009, Despres will join the Penguins organization when his QMJHL season is completed,” writes Ian Altenbaugh. “Considering the extensive term and dollar the Penguins have committed to their current group of NHL defenseman, expect Despres to be given as much time as he needs to blossom at the AHL level before being called upon to contribute in the NHL.”

Hockey’s Future currently has Despres listed as the No. 2 prospect in the Pens' system behind forward Eric Tangradi, who is currently in the American Hockey League.

PHILLIPS ON HOT LOST
Zach Phillips made The Hockey News’ prospect "Hot List" this week.

“Scouts have been fascinated with Phillips’ growth as the season progresses and the right winger’s bag of tricks seems to be expanding,” writes Ryan Kennedy. “Now tied for sixth in ‘Q’ scoring, Phillips hasn’t been held off the scoresheet since Nov. 14. Since then, he has 24 points in 10 games and his plus-minus for the season is up to plus-25.”

HUSSEY ON DESPRES
Sea Dogs assistant coach Marc Hussey had a question and answer session with InsidePittsburghSports.com yesterday. Among the things asked were his thoughts on Despres making the national junior team.

JURCO LEAVING
If this NHL.com article is still accurate, Tomas Jurco will be unavailable for Saint John this weekend in Cape Breton due to his duties with the Slovakian junior team that will participate in the World Junior Hockey Championships.

The remaining players and the coaching staff, including coach Stefan Mikes, will fly to the U.S. and join eight Slovakian players currently starring in the Canadian Hockey League to play a pre-tournament schedule in Jamestown, N.Y., starting Dec. 16. Slovakia will play exhibition games against Russia, Norway and the United States, and then will finalize its roster.

GALIEV AND THE RUSSIANS
We have no idea what’s going on with Stanislav Galiev. Two Russian websites have him listed on the Russian world junior camp roster but apparently nothing is official as of yet.

Emily B. from Japers’ Rink came through in the clutch again, sending us this article that states Galiev and the rest of the Canadian Hockey League Russians will join the team when they arrive in North America this Sunday, December 19.

Photo Credits: Marc Henwood, Empty Netters, Empty Netters, Marc Henwood, Marc Henwood

YOUNG GUNS GETTING IT DONE

Another big win for the Saint John Sea Dogs last night produced another big game for a talented trio of players.

The line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips, and Tomas Jurco combined for four goals and six assists in a 7-2 road win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last night.

The “Bachelor Line,” as Sea Dogs play-by-play man Tim Roszell has coined them, has produced well all season. But in the last six games – all wins for Saint John – the line has taken it up a notch.

Here is a look at their production during the Sea Dogs’ six game winning streak:

Zach Phillips
November 13 vs Bathurst: 0G-1A-1Pts
November 14 vs Quebec: 0G-0A-0Pts
November 21 at Moncton: 2G-1A-3Pts
November 26 vs Bathurst: 2G-1A-3Pts
November 28 vs Halifax: 2G-1A-3Pts
December 1 at Bathurst: 1G-4A-5Pts

Total points over past six games: 7G-8A-15Pts
Total points this season: 27GP-20G-18A-38Pts

Jonathan Huberdeau
November 13 vs Bathurst: 0G-0A-0Pts
November 14 vs Quebec: 1G-1A-2Pts
November 21 at Moncton: 0G-2A-2Pts
November 26 vs Bathurst: 0G-2A-2Pts
November 28 vs Halifax: 1G-3A-4Pts
December 1 at Bathurst: 3G-1A-4Pts

Total points over past six games: 5G-9A-14Pts
Total points this season: 27GP-19G-23A-42Pts

Tomas Jurco
November 13 vs Bathurst: 1G-0A-1Pts
November 14 vs Quebec: 1G-1A-2Pts
November 21 at Moncton: 0G-2A-2Pts
November 26 vs Bathurst: 1G-0A-1Pts
November 28 vs Halifax: 1G-0A-1Pts
December 1 at Bathurst: 0G-1A-1Pts

Total points over past six games: 4G-4A-8Pts
Total points this season: 27GP-14G-14A-28Pts

To put it another way, the three have combined to score 16 of the Sea Dogs’ 40 goals over the past six contests.

All three players are highly touted for the upcoming National Hockey League Entry Draft, and producing in their selection year will definitely help their cause.

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

JOB WELL DONE
Summerside Journal Pioneer columnist Joe MacIntyre had some nice words for the Prince Edward Island members of the Sea Dogs coaching staff.

Here’s an excerpt:

Gallant has had great success at the junior level, and has the ability to get everything and more out of a player. He is a "players' coach" and has an impressive résumé since taking over Saint John at the beginning of the 2009-10 season. Gallant and Kelly led a youthful Saint John team to the league final last season, before bowing out to the much-more experienced Moncton Wildcats.

One of the true measurements of a good coach is developing a player into a better player, and both Gallant and Kelly have certainly demonstrated that.

MacIntyre also brings up that, if the Sea Dogs make the Memorial Cup, Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly would join Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors head coach Dave Cameron as Islanders behind the bench.

RANKINGS AFTERMATH
More NHL Central Scouting Rankings aftermath has been discovered.

Bruins 2011 Draft Watch, a hidden gem in the world of hockey prospects websites, spoke with some scout about the players ranked from the QMJHL.

"We knew he had the offense prior to the season," the scout said when asked about the #2 ranked Jonathan Huberdeau. "But the goal scoring has been a bonus. He's a very smart, instinctive player. I think he's still learning and needs to improve his complete game, but he's on the rise with the kind of start he's had."

"Beaulieu is a very good skater," the scout said. "He didn't get off to a great start, but he's done better over the last month or so, and has the skills to be a fine NHL prospect. I'm not sure of his upside, but with his size and mobility, he's up there."

BEAULIEU ON THE RADIO
Sea Dogs defenseman Nathan Beaulieu went on RBC Junior Hockey Radio this week to talk about his game and the releasing of the NHL Central Scouting’s first set of draft rankings.

Interview starts around the 14:30 mark.

The legendary Gino Reda has an interesting pronunciation of Beaulieu’s name.

TSN RANKINGS
We forgot the TSN QMJHL Power Rankings even existed until last week. This year, TSN has expanded the list to 40 players.

Sea Dogs on the list this week include:

2 – Jonathan Huberdeau
12 – Michael Kirkpatrick
21 – Tomas Jurco
22 – Steven Anthony
38 – Stanislav Galiev

Victoriaville Tigre forward Philip-Michael Devos is ranked first overall.

Player rankings are based on statistical production and are intended to value the impact a player has on the game.

STILL STUNNED
The Moncton Wildcats are still recovering from their 9-7 loss against Saint John on Sunday.

"I can't remember the last time I was involved in a game where my team gave up that many goals,” said Wildcats head coach Danny Flynn to the Times & Transcript. “I always say that when you lose you analyze why you lost so that hopefully you don't lose again for the same reasons. We'll spend a fair amount of time looking at the tape of that game."

"I think as we watch the tape of that game we will definitely see some areas of our game that we need to solidify," said Flynn. "Sometimes it comes down to just winning your one-on-one battles and wanting the puck more than the other team. Saint John outmuscled us on some pucks in front of our net and that resulted in goals against."

The Sea Dogs and Wildcats do not play again until New Year’s Eve at Harbour Station.

A LOOK BACK
Steve Turcotte had an interesting article earlier this week which featured a look back to the 2007 QMJHL Entry Draft. Turcotte “corrected” the first round selections, placing severall big time players that slipped into the later rounds as first round picks.

Simon Despres remained the first overall selection of the draft. The Sea Dogs also selected 10th overall that year, drafting Steven Anthony. The Vancouver Canucks pick did not make Turcotte’s first round list though. Instead, he was replaced by Acadie-Bathurst Titan goaltender Olivier Roy.

It’s worth checking out to see the players Saint John could have taken.

STILL ON TOP
The Sea Dogs remain atop the Open Ice Hockey weekly QMJHL power rankings.

The Sea Dogs played just one game this week, a 9-7 win in Moncton, but have not lost a game in regulation since October 22 in Bathurst.

The rankings are calculated using a formula based on weekly and season long play.

SEA DOGS NOTEBOOK

DELISLE PLAYING TONIGHT
Steven Delisle is expected to suit up for his first professional hockey game tonight with the Central Hockey League’s Fort Wayne Komets, reports The Journal Gazette.

The 20-year old defenseman had spent the earlier portion of the 2010-11 campaign with American Hockey League’s Springfield Falcons but had not played in a game.

If you haven’t heard, his rights were traded to Saint John last week from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in exchange for a 12th round draft pick in the 2012 QMJHL Entry Draft. At the moment, it looks unlikely that he will return to junior for an overage season. But crazier things have happened.

"If he comes great, it's just an asset we have,” said Sea Dogs associate coach and director of hockey operations Mike Kelly said to the Telegraph-Journal on Monday. “If he doesn't, then he doesn't. At the very least, we have control over where he goes if he comes back (to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League). Right now, he's focused on being a professional hockey player.''

Judging by the comments sections of a few Fort Wayne newspapers, Komets fans are in panic mode after a disappointing start to the season. They sit last in the Turner Conference with a 2-6-1 record.

SEA DOGS TOP POWER RANKINGS

After earning 17 of a possible 18 points in their last nine games, the Sea Dogs are the toped ranked QMJHL team in this week’s edition of the Open Ice Hockey Power Rankings.

Only the Sea Dogs, Lewiston Maineiacs, and Shawinigan Cataractes were 2-0-0-0 last week.

The rankings are calculated using a formula based on weekly and season long play.

SAUVE SKATING

Former Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve and his mysterious ways are still with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose.

“Sauve is skating as he plods his way back from a concussion suffered in September,” reported the Winnipeg Free Press on Saturday.

Sauve is still a long shot to return to Saint John despite the bizarreness surrounding the 20-year old's injury after her was hit by a car in Vancouver during Canucks rookie camp.

“I don’t have a target date, if that’s what you’re asking,” said Moose head coach Claude Noel to the Winnipeg Sun on November 11. “He doesn’t look good for a guy who hasn’t been on the ice for awhile.”

BTN DYNAMIC DOZEN

The crew over at Buzzing The Net have created a revolutionary new program to help determine the question that has been asked for years – who really is Canada’s best junior hockey team? As just about everyone has come to accecpt by now, the BMO CHL MasterCard Top Rankings are a corrupt system based more on opinion than hard, cold, solid, statistics.

“So, our alternative: periodically, we'll give the top 12 teams across the three leagues listed by RPI, as calculated by friend of the blog Rob Pettapiece,” wrotes BTN’s Neate Sager. More info on the system can be found in the post.

The Sea Dogs, ranked third in the CHL Rankings, are listed seventh in the Dynamic Dozen.

The Sea Dogs are crazy talented, with QMJHL highs of 18 wins and 105 goals scored, but drop down thanks to weak schedule through the first third of the season. (How weak? Fifty-seventh of 60 teams.)

Saint John is No. 3 in the poll and has shown enough to convince almost anyone they are favourites to win the Presidents' Cup after falling two wins short last May.

The Montreal Juniors are ranked sixth and the Quebec Remparts are tied for eleventh.

FC’S DRAFT RANKINGS
Scouting services across the land are slowly producing their first batch of draft rankings for the 2011 crop of prospects.

The website Future Considerations released their top 60 earlier this week. Sea Dogs on the list were defenseman Nathan Beaulieu at #15, forward Tomas Jurco at #21, forward Jonathan Huberdeau at #23, and forward Zach Phillips at #51.

HOLIDAY PRICES
‘Tis the season for Sea Dogs holiday ticket packages. There is no greater gift.

AT THE STATION
The annual Rhoda’s Christmas Festival thing is at Harbour Station all weekend long as the Sea Dogs hit the road for their only trek this month.

On Thursday, Mamma Mia is in town which means that commercial that has been played at games over the past few months will no longer be stuck in everyone’s head. The Sea Dogs return to home ice Friday against Bathurst.

FLEABURN WEEKEND
The official Facebook page of the official Sea Dogs mascot Fleaburn indicates that he will be attending the Saint John Christmas parade on Saturday.

“Way pumped for the Santa Clause parade Saturday Night,” wrote the furry beast.

MOCK DRAFTS
Two NHL.com writers released their first mock drafts for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Adam Kimelman has three Sea Dogs as projected first rounder’s.

#6 Florida Panthers – Jonathan Huberdeau: “Big (6-foot-1) and talented -- just what GM Dale Tallon likes.”
#13 Tampa Bay Lightning – Nathan Beaulieu: “Talent is obvious; he was one of two Draft-eligibles invited to Canada's summer WJC camp.”
#14 Minnesota Wild – Tomas Jurco: “Size, skating and puck skills make him a good fit for coach Todd Richards' system.”

Mike Morreale has three Dogs in the top 30 as well:

#10 Carolina Hurricanes – Jonathan Huberdeau: “Size, skating and puck skills make him a good fit for coach Todd Richards' system.”
#16 New York Rangers – Nathan Beaulieu: “Beaulieu could turn out to be the next Mike Green or Duncan Keith; great off the transition.”
#17 Phoenix Coyotes – Tomas Jurco: “Slovakian star is a big-bodied forward offering exceptional skill and fantastic vision.”