GELINAS DEAL MAY BE COMPLETED AT DRAFT

Speculation has already begun about who may go from the Saint John Sea Dogs to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens at the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft to, possibly, complete the Eric Gelinas transaction.

In today’s Chronicle Herald, Willy Palov noted that the deal, which saw 17-year old rookie defenseman Guillaume Cloutier go to the Sagueneens in exchange for Eric Gelinas, may not yet be complete.

"The Sea Dogs pulled off their best move with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Wednesday, landing impact defenceman Eric Gelinas for young blue-liner Guillaume Cloutier. It’s also believed the Sagueneens will receive a solid 20-year-old forward at next year’s draft so that makes the price more realistic."

Speculation has already begun about which overage forward may end up in Chicoutimi next season. Both Palov and other QMJHL insiders tweeted on Thursday that the Sags will have the chance to choose between Danick Gauthier and Steven Anthony.

“From what I hear, Chicoutimi can choose between Gauthier/Anthony in June,” tweeted Palov. “Will want to wait on whether Anthony signs with Canucks or not.”

Of course, none of this will be conformed until June. There have been plenty of times that transactions like these have had false rumours attached to them.

Although Cloutier has proven to be a solid rookie defenseman this season, the price does seem a bit low to acquire Gelinas, a New Jersey Devils second-round pick. The Sagueneens have stated though that they were after Cloutier.

"Chicoutimi really wanted him and a lot of teams called about him,'' said Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant to the Telegraph-Journal of Cloutier. "It's tough to give up any of your young kids. We draft kids to play here and that's been our goal, but we want to make sure we push hard and that we're ready to play in the playoffs."

We shall see if these speculations become true at June’s entry draft.

Meanwhile, Gelinas has arrived in the Port City and joined his new team for Sea Dogs night at the Saint John Mill Rats game last evening. The defenseman was spotted wearing a No. 4 jersesy.

The 19-year old could make his Sea Dogs debut tomorrow night when the team visits Halifax at 7:00 pm.

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.