The Newfoundland Regiment (0-0-0-0) kick off the 2026-27 season at home this weekend, hosting the talent-laden Saint John Sea Dogs (0-0-0-0) for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday night at the Mary Brown’s Centre.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Friday night’s game will be the season-opener for both clubs.
The Sea Dogs finished their preseason schedule with two wins and two losses in four games played and scored 13 goals while allowing 16 against.
The Regiment logged an extra preseason contest compared to the Sea Dogs, and finished with a 3-2-0-0 record.
While individual preseason statistics aren’t always the most reliable indicators of regular season success, several players on both the Regiment and the Sea Dogs compiled some impressive numbers during their respective preseasons and are certainly worth mentioning.
Returning Regiment skaters Liam Arsenault (3G, 2A), Louis-Francois Belanger (3G, 2A) and Alexis Michaud (5A) each collected five points in just three preseason contests.
While no Sea Dogs managed to record north of three points during their preseason schedule, goaltender Sam Pitcher found himself among the league leaders in goals against average (0.67) and save percentage (.967%) in two preseason appearances.
Also worth noting, the Sea Dogs start the season as the seventh-ranked team in the entire Canadian Hockey League according to the league’s official power rankings ahead of the 2026-27 season. The Regiment were not ranked.
LAST SEASON
A season ago, the Regiment finished the year with 80 points (38-22-3-1), good for third place in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and sixth place overall.
Saint John’s 51 points (23-36-5-0) placed them in eighth in the Eastern Conference and 14th in the QMJHL.
While it likely holds little bearing when starting a brand new season, the Regiment absolutely dominated the Sea Dogs during the 2025-26 season, with the Regiment winning all eight games (8-0-0-0) by a combined score of 43-24.
Of the returning players, Alexis Michaud fared the best against the Sea Dogs a season ago, collecting three goals and six assists for nine points in just five games against Saint John.
On the other side of the ice, Sea Dogs forward Alexis Joseph amassed 14 points (6G, 8A) in eight games against the Regiment last season, including two goals and three assists at the Mary Brown’s Centre.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Having lost their top two point-producers against the Sea Dogs from last season in Justin Larose (6G, 7A) and Marek Danicek (6G, 5A), that leaves plenty of room for Newfoundland natives Ben Veitch and Quinn Norman to seize the opportunity in front of them and continue in their development following a successful summer with Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton.
Veitch and Norman’s Team Canada teammate Alexis Joseph will certainly be a player to keep your eye on this weekend.
Pegged as a top prospect ahead of the upcoming 2027 NHL Entry Draft, Joseph was a point-per-game player as a rookie in the QMJHL last season with 24 goals and 36 assists in 54 games, and is primed to take a big step forward in his final season before the draft.
Sea Dogs rookie forward Jamie Glance will be making his QMJHL debut on Friday night, and, like Joseph, is considered a future first-round pick ahead of the 2027 NHL Entry Draft.
