The Saint John Sea Dogs
are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, entering the league as an expansion team in 2005. The Sea Dogs play at Harbour Station, New Brunswick, with a capacity of 6,701.
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SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
|---|
| Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Charlottetown Islanders Tickets 11/22 | Nov 22, 2024
Fri, 7:00 PM |  | | Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Charlottetown Islanders Tickets 11/23 | Nov 23, 2024
Sat, 7:00 PM | | | Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Gatineau Olympiques Tickets 11/29 | Nov 29, 2024
Fri, 7:00 PM | | | Halifax Mooseheads vs. Saint John Sea Dogs Tickets 11/30 | Nov 30, 2024
Sat, 7:00 PM | | | Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan Tickets 12/4 | Dec 04, 2024
Wed, 7:00 PM | |
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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 1st 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 1st overall pick at the 2006 QMJHL Draft, where they selected another defenceman, Yann Sauve. The team missed the playoffs again.
The 2007 QMJHL Draft saw the Sea Dogs land the 1st pick yet again, with which they selected defenceman Simon Despres. In the same draft round they selected Steven Anthony 10th overall. The team also selected goaltender Robert Mayer 3rd overall at the 2007 CHL Import Draft.
The Sea Dogs did not make a first round selection in the 2008 QMJHL Entry Draft. In the second round, the Sea Dogs used their first pick to select defenceman Kevin Gagne. Another interesting story was the addition of Jacques Beaulieu's son Nathan to the roster.
Before the 2008–09 season The Hockey News ranked the Sea Dogs the second-best team in the QMJHL, and 5th overall in the entire CHL. The team underperformed, traded stars such as Alex Grant and Chris DiDomenico at Christmas, and fired Jacques Beaulieu after a first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
Canadian Flag incident
In
December 2006, the Sea Dogs cut 20 year-old player Dave Bouchard after he did not sign a flag the team was sending to
Canadian Forces troops stationed in
Afghanistan. Sea Dogs coach Jacques Beaulieu stated that there were ongoing problems with this player, but that any player who refused to sign would have been cut from the team: "It wouldn't matter who it would have been. It could have been one of our best players, our first round pick." Bouchard explained that he thought one of the other players had already added his name.
[1]
Sea Dogs TV
In
April 2008, the Sea Dogs created Sea Dogs TV, an official youtube channel which houses various team highlights, interviews, features, and basically anything related to the Sea Dogs.
[2]
2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge Co-Host
On November 19, 2008, the Sea Dogs hosted game 2 of the Canada Russia Challenge, before a sell-out crowd at
Harbour Station. The Russians defeated Team QMJHL by a score of 4-3. The 2008 ADT Canada Russia Challenge in Saint John included four Sea Dogs players. They were Chris DiDomenico, Alex Grant, Yann Sauvé, and Simon Despres. DiDomenico was not able to play for Team Canada due to an injury and was replaced by 17-year-old Steven Anthony.
[3]
Season-by-season results
Regular season
Legend
:
OL
= Overtime loss,
SL
= Shootout loss
| Season
| Games
| Won
| Lost
| OL
| SL
| Points
| Pct %
| Goals
For
| Goals
Against
| Standing
|
| 2005–06
| 70
| 15
| 47
| 2
| 6
| 38
| 0.214
| 174
| 325
| 8th East
|
| 2006–07
| 70
| 20
| 47
| 1
| 2
| 43
| 0.286
| 209
| 337
| 8th East
|
| 2007–08
| 70
| 41
| 22
| 4
| 3
| 89
| 0.586
| 265
| 238
| 2nd East
|
Playoffs
- 2005–06
– Out of playoffs.
- 2006–07
– Out of playoffs.
- 2007–08
– Defeated PEI Rocket 4 games to 0 in opening round.
Defeated Acadie-Bathurst Titan 4 games to 2 in quarter-final.
Lost to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4 games to 0 in semifinal.
- 2008–09
- Lost to Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 0 in opening round.
Team Captains
- 2005-06 Vincent Lambert/Kevin Coughlan
- 2006-07 Charles Bergeron 31 Games/David MacDonald 28 Games
- 2007-08 Alex Grant
- 2008-09 Alex Grant 36 Games/David Stich 21 Games
Team records
| Individual Player Records For A Single Season
|
| Statistic
| Player
| Total
| Season
|
| Most goals
| Scott Howes
| 42
| 2007–08
|
| Most assists
| Christopher DiDomenico
| 56
| 2007–08
|
| Most points
| Christopher DiDomenico
| 95
| 2007–08
|
| Most points (rookie)
| Christopher DiDomenico
| 75
| 2005–06
|
| Most points (defenceman)
| Alex Grant
| 48
| 2007–08
|
| Most penalty minutes
| Brett Gallant
| 192
| 2006–07
|
| Most wins (goaltender)
| Travis Fullerton
| 24
| 2007–08
|
| Best GAA (goaltender)
| Travis Fullerton
| 2.98
| 2007–08
|
See also
- List of ice hockey teams in New Brunswick
References
- Hockey player fired for not signing flag for troops, Some support coach of Saint John Sea Dogs; others defend young Quebecer's freedom of expression.
- {{Sea Dogs TV - Official You Tube Channel|http://www.youtube.com/user/seadogstv}}
- Saint John To Host Game Two Of 2008 Canada-Russia Challenge.