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 Sea Dogs became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win a Memorial Cup championship, with a 2011 Memorial Cup victory. 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. 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.
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.
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.
===Championships===
*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.
Legend: OTL=Overtime loss, SOL=Shootout loss 
Season 	Division 	Games	Won	Lost	OTL	SOL	Points	Pct %	GoalsFor	GoalsAgainst	Standing	Standing
Season 	Division 	Games	Won	Lost	OTL	SOL	Points	Pct %	GoalsFor	GoalsAgainst	Division	QMJHL
2005–06	East 	70 	15 	47 	2 	6 	38 	0.214	174 	325 	8th 	17th
2006–07	East 	70 	20 	47 	1 	2 	43 	0.286	209 	337 	8th 	18th
2007–08	East 	70 	41 	22 	4 	3 	89 	0.586	265 	238 	2nd 	5th
2008–09	Atlantic 	68 	34 	30 	2 	2 	72 	0.500	222 	232 	3rd 	9th
2009–10	Atlantic 	68 	53 	12 	1 	2 	109 	0.779	309 	187 	1st 	1st
2010–11	Maritimes	68 	58 	7 	1 	2 	119 	0.875	324 	165 	1st 	1st
2011–12	Maritimes	68 	50 	15 	0 	3 	103 	0.757	298 	180 	1st 	1st
2012–13	Maritimes	68 	23 	44 	1 	0 	47 	0.346	173 	271 	5th 	16th
2013–14	Maritimes	68 	19 	44 	2 	3 	43 	0.316	165 	255 	6th 	17th
2014–15	Maritimes	68 	32 	26 	4 	6 	74 	0.544	237 	241 	2nd 	9th
2015–16	Maritimes	68 	42 	20 	6 	0 	90 	0.662	258 	222 	1st 	3rd
2016–17	Maritimes	68 	48 	14 	5 	1 	102 	0.750	287 	180 	1st 	1st
2017–18	Maritimes	68 	14 	43 	9 	2 	39 	0.287	181 	301 	6th 	18th
2018–19	Maritimes	68 	13 	49 	2 	4 	32 	0.235	169 	364 	5th 	17th
2019–20	Maritimes	64 	30 	33 	1 	0 	61 	0.477	226 	280 	4th 	11th
2020–21	Maritimes	33 	15 	14 	3 	1 	34 	0.515	138 	136 	3rd 	11th
2021–22	Maritimes	68 	47 	17 	1 	3 	98 	0.721	311 	201 	2nd 	3rd
2022–23	Maritimes	68 	24 	38 	5 	1 	54 	0.397	233 	318 	5th 	15th
2023-24	68 	20 	29 	5 	4 	49 	 	185 	293 	6th 	16th 	
===Playoffs===
Season 	1st round 	2nd round 	3rd round 	Finals 	
2005–06	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	
2006–07	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	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 	Eliminated 	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 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	
2013–14	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	
2014–15	1–4 Baie-Comeau Drakkar 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	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 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	
2018–19	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify 	
2019–20	QMJHL playoffs cancelled 	QMJHL playoffs cancelled 	QMJHL playoffs cancelled 	QMJHL playoffs cancelled 	
2020–21	Lost round-robin tournament 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	
2021–22	2–3 Rimouski Océanic 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	
2022–23	1–4 Gatineau Olympiques 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	
2023-24	 	0–4 Drummondville Voltigeurs 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	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.
Year	Round-robin 	Semi-finals 	Final
2011	4–3 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors	Bye to Final 	3–1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
2011	3–2 Owen Sound Attack 	Bye to Final 	3–1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
2011	4–5 Kootenay Ice 	Bye to Final 	3–1 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
2012	3–5 London Knights 	4–7 Shawinigan Cataractes	Eliminated
2012	5–2 Edmonton Oil Kings 	4–7 Shawinigan Cataractes	Eliminated
2012	4–1 Shawinigan Cataractes 	4–7 Shawinigan Cataractes	Eliminated
2017	2–3 Windsor Spitfires 	3–6 Erie Otters 	Eliminated
2017	7–12 Erie Otters 	3–6 Erie Otters 	Eliminated
2017	7–0 Seattle Thunderbirds 	3–6 Erie Otters 	Eliminated
2022	5–3 Hamilton Bulldogs 	Bye to Final 	6–3 Hamilton Bulldogs
2022	3–4 Edmonton Oil Kings 	Bye to Final 	6–3 Hamilton Bulldogs
2022	5–3 Shawinigan Cataractes 	Bye to Final 	6–3 Hamilton Bulldogs
==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
==Sea Dogs Hall of Fame==
* Jonathan Huberdeau (2009–2013)
* Mike Thomas (2006–2011)
==NHL alumni==
*Nathan Beaulieu
*Thomas Chabot
*Charlie Coyle
*Simon Després
*Christopher DiDomenico
*Stanislav Galiev
*Brett Gallant
*Julien Gauthier
*Éric Gélinas
*Alex Grant
*Matthew Highmore
*Mike Hoffman
*Jonathan Huberdeau
*Bokondji Imama
*Mathieu Joseph
*Tomas Jurco
*Yann Sauvé
*Joe Veleno
*Jakub Zboril
==See also==
*List of ice hockey teams in New Brunswick
==References==
==External links==
* 
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team
Category:Established in 2005