Saint John Sea Dogs


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 TD Station in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. 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 city of Saint John was granted a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League expansion team for the 2005–06 season along with the St. John's Fog Devils. The Saint John Sea Dogs filled the hockey void left by the departure of the American Hockey League's Saint John Flames 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 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/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. 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.
, 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, Nicholas Petersen, Michael Kirkpatrick and rookie Stanislav Galiev. 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 took hold of the top spot in the QMJHL overall standings, nine points ahead of Drummondville.
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.
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.
On June 4, 2015, The Sea Dogs became the first QMJHL team in history to draft an exceptional status player into the league, using their first round pick to select Joseph Veleno.

Championships

Regular season

QMJHL season standings.
Legend: OTL=Overtime loss, SOL=Shootout loss

Playoffs

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-FinalsFinals
20114-3 Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsBye to Finals3-1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
20113-2 Owen Sound AttackBye to Finals3-1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
20114-5 Kootenay IceBye to Finals3-1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
20123-5 London Knights4-7 Shawinigan CataractesEliminated
20125-2 Edmonton Oil Kings4-7 Shawinigan CataractesEliminated
20124-1 Shawinigan Cataractes4-7 Shawinigan CataractesEliminated
20172-3 Windsor Spitfires3-6 Erie OttersEliminated
20177-12 Erie Otters3-6 Erie OttersEliminated
20177-0 Seattle Thunderbirds3-6 Erie OttersEliminated

Team captains