The Saint John Sea Dogs have a 15-12-0-3 record so far this season.
At the end of the first half of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season, the Sea Dogs sat fifth in the Maritime Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference.
During a year-end interview, president and general manager Trevor Georgie said the team had stretches of great play, however, they were also inconsistent at times.
“We will have to clean up the second half to be more consistent because we left a lot of points on the table in games we should have won, but I’m pleased with a lot of what we saw, and it should be a really good second half.”
Looking at some of the Sea Dogs, Georgie said Jérémie Poirier set the team’s scoring record for defencemen.
“I expect him to continue to produce offensively because that’s his gift … but I expect him to round out his defensive game more … I expect a second half where the points will still be there, but I expect him to take more steps defensively.”
So far this season, Poirier has nine goals and 23 assists.
Georgie also mentioned forward William Dufour who the Sea Dogs required last season from Drummondville.
Dufour currently has 22 goals, 25 assists, for a total of 47 points.
“He has a pro-shot, that’s his defining quality, but I expect him to scratch the surface and potentially get 50 goals, and maybe setting a Sea Dogs record for goals scored in a season.”
Heading into the second part of the season, Georgie expects the Charlottetown Islanders and Acadie-Bathurst Titan to be the team’s biggest competition.
“And even in our division, although they are a little behind on the cycle of junior hockey Halifax has a really good team, I think they are going to be competitive down the stretch.”
The Sea Dogs return to TD Station on January 21 to face off against Gatineau.
As a reminder, due to rising COVID-19 cases across Eastern Canada, the league’s holiday break was extended, and teams will return to the regular schedules the week of January 17.
