Saint John Sea Dogs
![]() | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (August 2018) |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2018) |
Saint John Sea Dogs | |
---|---|
![]() | |
City | Saint John, New Brunswick |
League | Quebec Major Junior Hockey League |
Division | Telus Maritimes |
Founded | 2005 |
Home arena | Harbour Station |
Colours | Royal blue, black, white & grey [1] |
General manager | Trevor Georgie |
Head coach | Josh Dixon |
Captain | Anthony Boucher |
Website | sjseadogs |
Championships | |
Playoff championships | 2011 Memorial Cup Champions 2011, 2012, 2017 QMJHL Champions |
The Saint John Sea Dogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team was founded as an expansion team in 2005, and play at Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick. The Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a Memorial Cup championship, with a 2011 Memorial Cup victory. Saint John has won three President's Cup championships in 2011, 2012 and 2017.
History
The Sea Dogs filled the void left in Saint John by the departure of the AHL's Saint John Flames when the city was granted a team for the 2005–06 QMJHL season, paying a $3 million expansion fee. The Sea Dogs' expansion twins were the St. John's Fog Devils.
The Sea Dogs' very first head coach was Christian La Rue under general manager Bob "Tipper" LeBlanc, and the captaincy was split between Charles Bergeron and Vincent Lambert. The Sea Dogs were also given the first overall pick at the 2005 QMJHL Draft, selecting defenceman Alex Grant. The Sea Dogs had a weak first season and missed the playoffs.
During the offseason, Christian La Rue was fired and quickly replaced with former London Knights assistant coach Jacques Beaulieu. Beaulieu served as the head coach for the entire second season. Tipper Leblanc resigned mid-season, and Beaulieu stepped into the dual role of coach-GM.
The Sea Dogs' poor performance in their first season granted them another first overall pick at the 2006 QMJHL Draft, where they selected another defenceman, Yann Sauvé. The team missed the playoffs again.
The 2007 QMJHL Draft saw the Sea Dogs land the first pick yet again, with which they selected defenceman Simon Després. In the same draft round they selected Steven Anthony 10th overall. The team also selected goaltender Robert Mayer 3rd overall at the 2007 CHL Import Draft.
The Sea Dogs did not make a first-round selection in the 2008 QMJHL Entry Draft. In the second round, the Sea Dogs used their first pick to select defenceman Kevin Gagné. Another interesting story was the addition of Jacques Beaulieu's son Nathan to the roster. In April 2008, the Sea Dogs created Sea Dogs TV, an official YouTube channel which houses various team highlights, interviews, features, and basically anything related to the Sea Dogs.[2] On November 19, 2008, the Sea Dogs hosted game 2 of the Canada Russia Challenge, before a sell-out crowd at Harbour Station. The Russians defeated Team QMJHL by a score of 4-3. The 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge in Saint John included four Sea Dogs players. They were Chris DiDomenico, Alex Grant, Yann Sauvé, and Simon Després. DiDomenico was not able to play for Team QMJHL due to an injury and was replaced by 17-year-old Steven Anthony.[3]
Before the 2008–09 season The Hockey News ranked the Sea Dogs the second-best team in the QMJHL, and 5th overall in the entire CHL. The team underperformed, traded stars such as Alex Grant and Chris DiDomenico at Christmas, and fired Jacques Beaulieu after a first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Karel_St._Laurent_Royals.jpg/125px-Karel_St._Laurent_Royals.jpg)
In the 2009 QMJHL Draft, they chose defensemen Pierre Durepos 10th overall and forward Jonathan Huberdeau 18th overall, in the same draft round. In the 2009 CHL Import Draft, the Sea Dogs chose Russian forward Stanislav Galiev first overall and Slovak forward Tomas Jurco fourth overall. In the 2009 - 2010 season, the Saint John Sea Dogs, playing in a very strong Atlantic Division, were successful in winning 22 consecutive games. During their streak, which extended from October 17 until December 12, Saint John scored 107 goals while allowing a mere 44. The offense was led mainly by Mike Hoffman (45 points and 8 game-winning goals), Nicholas Petersen (49), Michael Kirkpatrick (44) and rookie Stanislav Galiev (40 points). The strong defensive brigade saw its veteran, Yann Sauvé, register a solid +24 differential in addition to gathering 16 points. In nets, veteran Marc-Antoine Gélinas won 15 games, allowing a meager 1.83 goals per game along with a .933 save percentage. Karel St-Laurent posted the other seven wins. Following their incredible run, the Sea Dogs have taken hold of the top spot in the QMJHL overall standings, 9 points ahead of Drummondville. Their recent string of success places the franchise amongst the best in QMJHL history.[4]
In the 2010 QMJHL Draft, they chose Saint Johner, Ryan Tesink 18th overall in the first round. Canada and Russia faced off against each other on November 8, 2010.
As of February 15, 2011, Yann Sauvé became the first player from the Saint John Sea Dogs organization to play an NHL game with his NHL draft team, the Vancouver Canucks.[5]
In the 2011 QMJHL Draft, their first pick didn't come until the second round, where they traded up from 36th to 19th with Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and selected New Brunswick native Oliver Cooper. The Saint John Sea Dogs played their 400th Regular Season Game in the QMJHL on Sunday, February 13, 2011 VS the Moncton Wildcats. The Sea Dogs won the contest 3–2 in a shootout. The Sea Dogs tied a QMJHL record for most wins in a season with 58 in 2011. On Friday, May 13, 2011, in a playoff series against the Gatineau Olympique, the Sea Dogs welcomed their one millionth fan in team history. The fan received a signed team jersey. The Sea Dogs lost the game 3-2, forcing a sixth game in the series on May 15 in Gatineau, QC. The Sea Dogs won their first ever QMJHL presidents cup on May 15, 2011. The Sea Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a MasterCard Memorial Cup on May 29, 2011.
On June 4, 2015 The Sea Dogs became the first QMJHL team in history to draft an exceptional status player into the league, The Sea Dogs used their first round pick to select Joseph Veleno.
Championships
- 2010 Atlantic division,regular season champions
- 2011 Maritime division, regular season, President's Cup, Memorial Cup champions
- 2012 Maritime division, regular season, President's Cup champions
- 2016 Maritime division champions
- 2017 Maritime division, regular season, President's Cup champions
Season-by-season results
Regular season
QMJHL season standings.[6]
Legend: OTL=Overtime loss, SL=Shootout loss
Season | Division | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SL | Points | Pct % | Goals For |
Goals Against |
Standing | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | QMJHL | |||||||||||
2005–06 | East | 70 | 15 | 47 | 2 | 6 | 38 | 0.214 | 174 | 325 | 8th | 17th |
2006–07 | 70 | 20 | 47 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 0.286 | 209 | 337 | 8th | 18th | |
2007–08 | 70 | 41 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 89 | 0.586 | 265 | 238 | 2nd | 5th | |
2008–09 | Atlantic | 68 | 34 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 72 | 0.500 | 222 | 232 | 3rd | 9th |
2009–10 | 68 | 53 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 109 | 0.779 | 309 | 187 | 1st | 1st | |
2010–11 | Maritimes | 68 | 58 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 119 | 0.875 | 324 | 165 | 1st | 1st |
2011–12 | 68 | 50 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 103 | 0.757 | 298 | 180 | 1st | 1st | |
2012–13 | 68 | 23 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 0.346 | 173 | 271 | 5th | 16th | |
2013–14 | 68 | 19 | 44 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 0.316 | 165 | 255 | 6th | 17th | |
2014–15 | 68 | 32 | 26 | 4 | 6 | 74 | 0.544 | 237 | 241 | 2nd | 9th | |
2015–16 | 65 | 42 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 89 | 0.685 | 252 | 210 | 1st | 3rd | |
2016–17 | 68 | 48 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 102 | 0.750 | 287 | 180 | 1st | 1st | |
2017–18 | 68 | 14 | 43 | 9 | 2 | 39 | 0.287 | 181 | 301 | 6th | 18th | |
2018–19 | 2018–19 QMJHL season in progress. |
Playoffs
Season | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005–06 | Did not qualify | |||
2006–07 | Did not qualify | |||
2007–08 | 4-0 P.E.I. Rocket | 4-2 Acadie–Bathurst Titan | 0-4 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies | Eliminated |
2008–09 | 0-4 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles | Eliminated | ||
2009–10 | 4-1 P.E.I. Rocket | 4-0 Gatineau Olympiques | 4-2 Victoriaville Tigres | 2-4 Moncton Wildcats |
2010–11 | 4-0 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles | 4-1 Victoriaville Tigres | 4-0 Lewiston Maineiacs | 4-2 Gatineau Olympiques |
2011–12 | 4-0 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles | 4-0 Baie-Comeau Drakkar | 4-1 Chicoutimi Saguenéens | 4-0 Rimouski Océanic |
2012–13 | 0-4 Halifax Mooseheads | Eliminated | ||
2013–14 | Did not qualify | |||
2014–15 | 1-4 Baie-Comeau Drakkar | Eliminated | ||
2015–16 | 4-1 Acadie-Bathurst Titan | 4-3 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles | 1-4 Shawinigan Cataractes | Eliminated |
2016–17 | 4-0 Rimouski Oceanic | 4-0 Val-d'Or Foreurs | 4-2 Chicoutimi Saguenéens | 4-0 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada |
2017–18 | Did not qualify |
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is contested annually by the champions of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and Western Hockey League, as well as the host team. The competition consists of a round robin, a semi-final game, and a final game. Below are the results of every game the Saint John Sea Dogs have competed in.
Year | Round Robin | Semi-Finals | Finals |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Did not qualify | ||
2007 | Did not qualify | ||
2008 | Did not qualify | ||
2009 | Did not qualify | ||
2010 | Did not qualify | ||
2011 | 4-3 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors | Bye to Finals | 3-1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors |
3-2 Owen Sound Attack | |||
4-5 Kootenay Ice | |||
2012 | 3-5 London Knights | 4-7 Shawinigan Cataractes | Eliminated |
5-2 Edmonton Oil Kings | |||
4-1 Shawinigan Cataractes | |||
2013 | Did not qualify | ||
2014 | Did not qualify | ||
2015 | Did not qualify | ||
2016 | Did not qualify | ||
2017 | 2-3 Windsor Spitfires | 3-6 Erie Otters | Eliminated |
7-12 Erie Otters | |||
7-0 Seattle Thunderbirds | |||
2018 | Did not qualify |
Team captains
- 2005–06 Vincent Lambert / Kevin Coughlin
- 2006–07 Charles Bergeron / David MacDonald
- 2007–08 Alex Grant
- 2008–09 Alex Grant / David Stich
- 2009–11 Mike Thomas
- 2011–12 Jonathan Huberdeau
- 2012–13 Jonathan Huberdeau / Pierre Durepos
- 2013–14 Sébastien Auger
- 2014–15 Olivier LeBlanc / Mark Tremaine
- 2015–17 Spencer Smallman
- 2017–18 Joe Veleno / Bailey Webster
- 2018–present Anthony Boucher
Sea Dogs Hall of Fame
- Jonathan Huberdeau (2009-2013)[7]
NHL alumni
See also
References
- ^ "SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS MAKE A SPLASH INTO THE Q". QMJHL. March 24, 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
- ^ Sea Dogs TV - YouTube Channel
- ^ "Saint John To Host Game Two Of 2008 Canada-Russia Challenge". OurSports Central. August 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ "22 Game Winning Streak". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. December 15, 2009. Archived from the original on December 20, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=552759&int
- ^ "QMJHL standings". theqmjhl.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
- ^ "Saint John Sea Dogs Hall of Fame Ceremony – Jonathan Huberdeau – On Sale Now! – Saint John Sea Dogs". sjseadogs.com. Retrieved 2018-09-22.