The Saint John Sea Dogs are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Saint John, New Brunswick. Founded as an expansion team in 2005, the Sea Dogs play their home games at TD Station and became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a Memorial Cup championship in 2011. The Sea Dogs won the 2022 Memorial Cup as the host team, and have three President's Cup championships in franchise history: 2011, 2012, and 2017.
History Saint John was granted a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League expansion team for the 2005–06 season, and chose a harbour seal for the team's logo. The Sea Dogs' first head coach was Christian La Rue under general manager Bob LeBlanc. 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 their first season of play.
During the offseason, La Rue was replaced with former London Knights assistant coach Jacques Beaulieu. Following the mid-season resignation of Leblanc, Beaulieu assumed the dual role of coach and general manager. The Sea Dogs had another first overall pick at the 2006 QMJHL Draft, where they selected defenceman Yann Sauvé. The team missed the playoffs again in 2007, and selected defenceman Simon Després first overall. The team also selected goaltender Robert Mayer third overall at the 2007 CHL Import Draft.
In 2008, the team signed coach Beaulieu's son Nathan. In the 2008–09 season, the Sea Dogs hosted the second game of the Canada–Russia Series at TD Station. The Russians defeated Team QMJHL by a score of 4–3, with the Canadian roster featuring four Sea Dogs players: Grant, Després, Sauvé, and rookie Steven Anthony (in place of an injured Chris DiDomenico). Later that season, the Sea Dogs fired Beaulieu after a first round playoff loss.
In the 2009 QMJHL Draft, the team chose future NHL forward Jonathan Huberdeau 18th overall. In the 2009 CHL Import Draft, the Sea Dogs chose Russian forward Stanislav Galiev first overall as well as Slovakian forward Tomas Jurco fourth overall. In the 2009–10 season, the Saint John Sea Dogs won 22 consecutive games beginning on October 17 until December 12. The offense was led by Mike Hoffman (45 points). Following their streak, the Sea Dogs were first place in the league.
The Sea Dogs tied a QMJHL record for most wins in a season with 58 in 2010–11, and won their first QMJHL President's Cup. In the same season, the Sea Dogs then became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a Memorial Cup. In 2011, Yann Sauvé became the first player from the Saint John Sea Dogs organization to play an NHL game with his draft team, the Vancouver Canucks.
In 2014, the Sea Dogs were purchased by Scott McCain of McCain Foods. Trevor Georgie was named president of the Sea Dogs, previously working as a senior manager of consulting at Wasserman Media Group. He sought to attract a younger demographic to the games. The Sea Dogs won their second Memorial Cup in 2022.
Players 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 2024–25 – Eriks Mateiko / Nate Tivey 2025–26 – Olivier Groulx
Sea Dogs Hall of Fame Jonathan Huberdeau (2009–2013) Mike Thomas (2006–2011) Gerard Gallant (2009–2012) Mike Kelly (2010–2014) Thomas Chabot (2013–2017)
NHL alumni The following players have played in at least one National Hockey League (NHL) game as of the 2023–24 season:
Nathan Beaulieu Thomas Chabot Charlie Coyle Simon Després Christopher DiDomenico William Dufour Stanislav Galiev Brett Gallant Julien Gauthier Éric Gélinas Alex Grant Matthew Highmore Mike Hoffman Jonathan Huberdeau Bokondji Imama Mathieu Joseph Tomas Jurco Yan Kuznetsov Yann Sauvé Joe Veleno Jakub Zboril
NHL first round draft picks List of first round selections in the NHL entry draft:
Year # Player Nationality NHL team 2009 30 Simon Després (D) Pittsburgh Penguins 2011 3 Jonathan Huberdeau (C) Florida Panthers 2011 17Nathan Beaulieu (D) Montreal Canadiens 2011 28 Zack Phillips (C) Minnesota Wild 2015 13 Jakub Zboril (D) Boston Bruins 2015 18 Thomas Chabot (D) Ottawa Senators
Season-by-season results
Regular season QMJHL season standings.OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss
Season Division Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points Pct % GoalsFor GoalsAgainst Standing Division QMJHL 2005–06East70154726380.2141743258th17th 2006–0770204712430.2862093378th18th 2007–0870412243890.5862652382nd5th 2008–09Atlantic68343022720.5002222323rd9th 2009–10685312121090.7793091871st1st 2010–11 Maritimes68587121190.8753241651st1st 2011–12685015031030.7572981801st1st 2012–1368234410470.3461732715th16th 2013–1468194423430.3161652556th17th 2014–1568322646740.5442372412nd9th 2015–1668422060900.6622582221st 3rd 2016–17684814511020.7502871801st1st 2017–1868144392390.2871813016th18th 2018–1968134924320.2351693645th17th 2019–2064303310610.4772262804th11th 2020–2133151431340.5151381363rd11th 2021–2268471713980.7213112012nd3rd 2022–2368243851540.3972333185th15th 2023–2468203954490.3601852936th16th 2024–2564214300420.3281542626th17th 2025–26Eastern64233650510.3982162658th14th
Playoffs
Season1st round2nd round3rd roundFinals2005–06Did not qualify2006–07Did not qualify2007–084–0 – P.E.I. Rocket4–2 – Acadie–Bathurst Titan0–4 – Rouyn-Noranda HuskiesDid not advance2008–090–4 – Cape Breton Screaming EaglesDid not advance2009–104–1 – P.E.I. Rocket4–0 – Gatineau Olympiques4–2 – Victoriaville Tigres2–4 – Moncton Wildcats2010–114–0 – Cape Breton Screaming Eagles4–1 – Victoriaville Tigres4–0 – Lewiston Maineiacs4–2 – Gatineau Olympiques2011–124–0 – Cape Breton Screaming Eagles4–0 – Baie-Comeau Drakkar4–1 – Chicoutimi Saguenéens4–0 – Rimouski Océanic2012–130–4 – Halifax MooseheadsDid not advance2013–14Did not qualify2014–151–4 – Baie-Comeau DrakkarDid not advance2015–164–1 – Acadie-Bathurst Titan4–3 – Cape Breton Screaming Eagles1–4 – Shawinigan CataractesDid not advance2016–174–0 – Rimouski Océanic4–0 – Val-d'Or Foreurs4–2 – Chicoutimi Saguenéens4–0 – Blainville-Boisbriand Armada2017–18Did not qualify2018–19Did not qualify2019–20QMJHL playoffs cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic2020–21Lost round-robin tournamentDid not advance2021–222–3 – Rimouski OcéanicDid not advance2022–231–4 – Gatineau OlympiquesDid not advance2023–240–4 – Drummondville VoltigeursDid not advance2024–25Did not qualify2025–260–4 – Moncton WildcatsDid not advance
Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup is contested annually by the champions of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL), as well as a predetermined host team. The competition consists of a round-robin, a semifinal game, and a final game. Below are the results of every game the Saint John Sea Dogs have competed in.
YearRound-robinSemifinalFinal20114–3 Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsBye3–1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors3–2 Owen Sound Attack4–5 Kootenay Ice20123–5 London Knights4–7 Shawinigan Cataractes5–2 Edmonton Oil Kings4–1 Shawinigan Cataractes20172–3 Windsor Spitfires3–6 Erie Otters7–12 Erie Otters7–0 Seattle Thunderbirds2022 5–3 Hamilton BulldogsBye6–3 Hamilton Bulldogs3–4 Edmonton Oil Kings5–3 Shawinigan Cataractes
See also List of ice hockey teams in New Brunswick
References
Further reading
External links