The Sea Dogs celebrate a 4-2 win over Moncton on November 10. Photo provided by the Saint John Sea Dogs.
The Saint John Sea Dogs are one of the only junior hockey teams in Canada that will compete in a playoff tournament this year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Memorial Cup was scrapped. On Tuesday, the Ontario Hockey League cancelled its return-to-play plan and the Western Hockey League will conclude its season with no playoff.
Sea Dogs president and CEO Trevor Georgie says he’s honoured to be able to watch playoff-level QMJHL hockey in Saint John.
“I’m ecstatic for sure,” said Georgie. “You look back to a year ago, and there was just so much uncertainty about everything. About hockey, about sports, about life as we know it.”
“Although it’s still really challenging, the fact that we’re playing playoff games… it’s really something. I’m super proud.”
While the Maritime Division was shut down by COVID outbreaks last fall, the Sea Dogs front office stayed busy.
Georgie added big pieces ahead of the trade deadline, including the team’s new leading scorer Ryan Francis, and former Memorial Cup-winning netminder Zachary Emond.
Overseas import Vladislav Kotkov, whose rights belong to the San Jose Sharks, was also able to join the team during the pause.
The general manager believes preparing for the playoffs is a bit easier given all the experience they’ve been able to bring in to the locker room.
“Our younger players, even our 18-year-olds, haven’t played one game of playoffs yet,” Georgie said. “This will be an eye-opener for them, and I’m sure they’ll be leaning on those guys who are older and have seen a bit more.”
Playoff format changes
The playoffs will look different in the Q league this year as well. Rather than having a seeded tournament featuring best-of-seven series, the Sea Dogs will compete to be named the best team in the Maritime Division.
The three New Brunswick teams will compete for the best record over nine games, and the winner will take on Charlottetown to earn the 2021 Maritime Division crown.
Georgie says the playoff tournament was designed very quickly due to the changing nature of provincial COVID-19 guidelines.
Now, the players will need to prepare to face the Moncton Wildcats and Acadie-Bathurst Titans three times apiece over the next two weeks.
“You’re preparing with your cheat sheet and your notes for two series at once, which is pretty unique,” Georgie said.
The playoff schedule began Tuesday as the Sea Dogs downed the Moncton Wildcats 6-2. The Dogs have a quick turnaround with a home game again Thursday when they’ll welcome the Wildcats to TD Station.
After that, the Dogs have two more games to look forward to this weekend.
“It’s a lot of games in a short period,” Georgie said. “That doesn’t provide much opportunity for those guys to heal their wounds.”
The Sea Dogs sat some of their players in the regular-season finale in order to give them a bit more rest before playoffs began Tuesday night.
Pandemic effects
Overall, the pandemic season has been a drastic change for Dogs players, staff and ownership.
The team has not turned a profit for several seasons, which has been exacerbated by Public Health restrictions limiting them to 25 per cent capacity for home games.
However, Georgie says the team’s professional relationships have helped keep the squad afloat during the uncertainty of the 2020-21 season.
“Understand, we’re not in this to make money,” he said. “We have one single owner that funds this team and loves hockey, and loves the region. It’s really meant for the benefit of the community.”
Georgie says the city has stepped up in a big way this year, both financially with key sponsorships, and with fans showing the team support through the strangeness of the pandemic.
He believes the tradeoff is well worth it for the city.
“Financially, the economic spinoff of having the Sea Dogs here and putting on live events is really important to the community,” Georgie said. “It’s important for local restaurants, hotels, different shops, even keeping people employed.”
