Trevor Georgie is the president and general manager of the Saint John Sea Dogs. (Twitter/georgietrev)
It’s been a tough few months for Saint John Sea Dogs players after COVID-19 outbreaks in New Brunswick derailed the QMJHL season last fall.
Next week, the Dogs will hit the ice for their first game in nearly four months.
Trevor Georgie, team president and general manager, says it’s always tough for players to be away from their home and families, but this year has been harder than ever.
“It’s been agonizing,” said Georgie. “Some of our players have been here since August, and they haven’t seen any family since then. Those are the sacrifices of junior hockey, but usually, it’s for the upside of getting to play games and pursue their dreams of pro hockey.”
Last week, Public Health announced relaxed guidelines under the orange and yellow COVID-19 levels which allowed the league to resume play.
The three New Brunswick teams have been scheduled eight games apiece to be played throughout the month of March.
Beginning March 9, Saint John will visit the Acadie-Bathurst Titans. They’ll be back in front of the home crowd at TD Station when the Titans visit March 14.
“It was a ray of sun through the locker room for the players,” said Georgie. “They were excited to practice with a little more purpose knowing there were actually games on the docket.”
The team had been able to conduct some practices since the layoff, but having gameplay to look forward to added intensity and competitiveness to the drills.
By scheduling only through the end of March, Georgie says the league is waiting on further provincial guidelines from neighbouring provinces which may provide the ability to play other Atlantic teams.
Though the team hasn’t played a game in months, the roster will look quite different when they hit the ice next Tuesday.
Gone is Joshua Roy, the top prospect in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, who was traded to Sherbrooke toward the QMJHL’s trade deadline.
However, the Dogs have welcomed a few new players to the locker room.
Among the new arrivals is 21-year-old forward Vladislav Kotkov, who was acquired in a trade during the pre-season, but hasn’t been able to get into the lineup after COVID-19 travel restrictions kept him overseas through the fall months.
“It took a lot of legwork to get him here,” Georgie said. “He’s this six-foot-four right-shot scorer. It’s something we haven’t had here in a long time, that combination of size and skill.”
The team also added Calgary Flames prospect Ryan Francis, and goalie Zachary Emond who, like Kotkov, is a part of the San Jose Sharks organization.
Georgie says Dogs fans may recognize some of the new faces if they look close enough.
“Fans would’ve seen Ryan Francis, except he was wearing an Eagles jersey and he was scoring on us quite a bit,” Georgie laughed. “He’s a great player, played with Cape Breton since he was 16, he’s a game-breaker. He gives us another dynamic offensive weapon. It’ll be nice having him on our side as opposed to facing him.”
He hopes fans are ready for what could quickly turn into a very busy spring.
“Fans, if they’re missing their live events and hockey: giddy up! Because if things continue to progress it’ll be a lot of hockey through the next few weeks and months.”
