The Saint John Sea Dogs are gearing up for the President Cup playoffs, which start this week.
Saint John capped off the regular season with a 15-game winning streak and finished third overall in the QMJHL standings.
Trevor Georgie, president and general manager of the Sea Dogs, said it has been a special season for the team.
“We had a number of records broken for our team — team records, personal records. It was a great year and we’re excited about the playoffs,” Georgie said in an interview.
The season got off to a rough start for the Sea Dogs, who won just 15 of their 30 games played before the Christmas break.
But the break, which was extended due to COVID-19, was enough to give the team the extra boost they needed.
Of the 38 games they played since action resumed in early February, the Sea Dogs won all but six games.
Georgie believes adding several key players during the trade period was instrumental to their success.
“We have eight NHL-drafted players, we have 13 players who have been to NHL camps or have been drafted overall. The depth of our team is so strong,” he said.
Georgie also credited the rebuilding of the team which has been taking place since the 2018 QMJHL draft.
“So it’s been a few years of this core group of players together and developing here. Certainly for them, I’m really happy that they’re hitting their stride and setting personal bests and breaking records that were historically held by guys like Jonathan Huberdeau and Thomas Chabot,” he said.
In addition, Georgie said the team’s coaching staff has done a great job at getting them to this point. Ahead of the 2021-22 season, the Sea Dogs named former NHL forward Gordie Dwyer as the team’s new head coach.
The team will begin their post-season action on Thursday night as they open a best-of-five series at home against Rimouski. Puck drop at TD Station is 7 p.m.
