Saint John Sea Dogs
CitySaint John, New Brunswick
LeagueQuebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League
DivisionMaritimes
Founded2005
Home arenaTD Station
ColoursRoyal blue, black, white & grey [1]
       
General managerAnthony Stella
Head coachTravis Crickard
Websitesjseadogs.com
Championships
Playoff championships2011, 2022 Memorial Cup Champions
2011, 2012, 2017 QMJHL Champions

The Saint John Sea Dogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The team was founded as an expansion team in 2005 and play at TD Station in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. In 2011, the Sea Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a Memorial Cup championship. In June 2022, the Sea Dogs won the 2022 Memorial Cup. The team has also won three President's Cup championships in 2011, 2012, and 2017.

History

The city of Saint John was granted a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League expansion team for the 2005–06 season alongside the St. John's Fog Devils. The team replaced the American Hockey League's Saint John Flames that had relocated in 2003. The Sea Dogs' 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 did not qualify for the playoffs in the first season of play.

During the offseason, Christian La Rue was fired and replaced with former London Knights assistant coach Jacques Beaulieu. Beaulieu served as the head coach for the entire second season. Bob Leblanc resigned mid-season, and Beaulieu stepped into the dual role of coach/general manager. 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 and received another first overall pick in the 2007 draft where 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, as well as signing Jacques Beaulieu's son Nathan to the roster. On November 19, 2008, the Sea Dogs hosted the second game of the Canada Russia Challenge, with a sell-out crowd at TD Station. The Russians defeated Team QMJHL by a score of 4–3. The 2008 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.[2] Due to high expectations before the 2008–09 season and the team under performing, the Sea Dogs traded stars such as Alex Grant and Chris DiDomenico during the Christmas trade deadline, and fired Jacques Beaulieu after a first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Karel St. Laurent, shown here with the Reading Royals, won seven games during the winning streak.

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 2009–10 season, the Saint John Sea Dogs, playing in a 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 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 +24 differential in addition to scoring 16 points. Veteran goaltender Marc-Antoine Gélinas won 15 games, allowing 1.83 goals per game along with a .933 save percentage. Following their streak, the Sea Dogs came in first place in the league standings, nine points ahead of Drummondville.[3]

In the 2010 QMJHL Draft, they chose Saint Johner, Ryan Tesink 18th overall in the first round. On 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.[4]

The Sea Dogs tied a QMJHL record for most wins in a season with 58 in 2010–11. The Sea Dogs won their first QMJHL President's Cup on May 15, 2011. The Sea Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a Memorial Cup on May 29, 2011.

Championships

Saint John Sea Dogs celebrate winning the 2011 Memorial Cup championship.
  • 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
  • 2022 Memorial Cup champions

Season-by-season results

Regular season

QMJHL season standings.[5]

Legend: OTL=Overtime loss, SOL=Shootout loss

Season Division Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points Pct % Goals
For		 Goals
Against		 Standing
Division QMJHL
2005–06 East 70154726380.2141743258th17th
2006–07 70204712430.2862093378th18th
2007–08 70412243890.5862652382nd5th
2008–09 Atlantic 68343022720.5002222323rd9th
2009–10 685312121090.7793091871st1st
2010–11 Maritimes 68587121190.8753241651st1st
2011–12 685015031030.7572981801st1st
2012–13 68234410470.3461732715th16th
2013–14 68194423430.3161652556th17th
2014–15 68322646740.5442372412nd9th
2015–16 68422060900.6622582221st3rd
2016–17 684814511020.7502871801st1st
2017–18 68144392390.2871813016th18th
2018–19 68134924320.2351693645th17th
2019–20 64303310610.4772262804th11th
2020–21 33151431340.5151381363rd11th
2021–22 68471713980.7213112012nd3rd
2022–23 68243851540.3972333185th15th

Playoffs

Season1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals
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 Océanic 4–0 Val-d'Or Foreurs 4–2 Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4–0 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
2017–18 Did not qualify
2018–19 Did not qualify
2019–20 QMJHL playoffs cancelled
2020–21 Lost round-robin tournament Eliminated
2021–22 2–3 Rimouski Océanic Eliminated
2022–23 1–4 Gatineau Olympiques Eliminated

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.

YearRound-robinSemi-finalsFinal
2011 4–3 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors Bye to Final 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
2017 2–3 Windsor Spitfires 3–6 Erie Otters Eliminated
7–12 Erie Otters
7–0 Seattle Thunderbirds
2022 5–3 Hamilton Bulldogs Bye to Final 6–3 Hamilton Bulldogs
3–4 Edmonton Oil Kings
5–3 Shawinigan Cataractes

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
  • 2018–19 Anthony Boucher / Michael Campoli
  • 2019–20 Nicolas Guay
  • 2020–21 Vacant
  • 2021–22 Vincent Sévigny
  • 2022–23 Charlie DesRoches
  • 2023–24 Peter Reynolds

Sea Dogs Hall of Fame

NHL alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS MAKE A SPLASH INTO THE Q". QMJHL. March 24, 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Saint John To Host Game Two Of 2008 Canada-Russia Challenge". OurSports Central. August 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  3. ↑ "22 Game Winning Streak". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. December 15, 2009. Archived from the original on December 20, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  4. ↑ "Canucks recall Yann Sauve".
  5. ↑ "QMJHL standings". theqmjhl.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  6. ↑ "Saint John Sea Dogs Hall of Fame Ceremony – Jonathan Huberdeau – On Sale Now! – Saint John Sea Dogs". sjseadogs.com. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  7. ↑ Perry, Brad. "Thomas Chabot To Join Sea Dogs Hall Of Fame". Country 94. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
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