Saint John Sea Dogs

The city of Saint John was granted a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) 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 (AHL) 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.[2] 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.

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 took hold of the top spot in the QMJHL overall 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.

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

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

• 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

• Jonathan Huberdeau (2009–2013)[6]
• Mike Thomas (2006–2011)

• List of ice hockey teams in New Brunswick

• Official website