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| St. John's Fog Devils | |
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| City: | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador |
| League: | Q.M.J.H.L. |
| Division: | Eastern |
| Founded: | 2005-06 |
| Home Arena: | Mile One Centre |
| Colours: | Black, Red, White & Silver |
| Head Coach: | Real Paiement |
| General Manager: | Real Paiement |
The St. John's Fog Devils are a junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Division of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They are based in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador and play out of Mile One Centre. The QMJHL expanded to St. John's to fill the void created by the departure of the American Hockey League's St. John's Maple Leafs. After the 2004-05 season, the Maple Leafs moved to Toronto, Ontario to become the Toronto Marlies.
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Front office
The St. John's Fog Devils are owned by Dermot Dobbin, who has been a recognizable businessman in the city of St. John's and the province of Newfoundland & Labrador for many years. The day-to-day operations are headed up by Governor Brad Dobbin and a staff of employees that include some former staff of the now departed St. John's Maple Leafs. One of these employees is Chris Schwartz who is the team's Director of Marketing. Chris was the recipient of the Ken McKenzie Award in 2003-04 for recognition of the excellence in team management among AHL franchises.
History
The city of St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador was awarded an expansion team by the QMJHL in December of 2004 with local businessmen the late Craig Dobbin and Dermot Dobbin being the successful bidders. After a dispute between the Dobbin group and the City of St. John's over the use of Mile One Stadium {now known as Mile One Centre}, the Fog Devils announced in September of 2005 they have secured a lease for the arena. The Fog Devils entered into the QMJHL Expansion Draft in the early summer of 2005 to build the core of their team for the inaugural season. The Fog Devils, along with expansion cousins the Saint John Sea Dogs, alternated between picks choosing players left unprotected by the other clubs of the QMJHL prior to the Expansion Draft. Some notable players selected by the Fog Devils included Scott Brophy, Wes Welcher, Marty Doyle, Ilia Ejov, Olivier Guilbault, Pier-Alexandre Poulin, and Nicolas Bachand. The Fog Devils took part in their first ever QMJHL Entry Draft in June of 2005. With the first ever selection in club history, the Fog Devils selected forward Jean-Simon Allard. Some other notable players selected in the Entry Draft by the club included Matt Fillier, Matt Boland, Josh McKinnon, and Pat O'Keefe. Shortly after, the team also participated in the CHL import draft, selecting highly-rated Swedish prospect Nicklas Bergfors as well as countryman Oscar Sundh; however Bergfors only played a few exhibition games for the Fog Devils before spending the 2005-06 season as the youngest player in the American Hockey League for the Albany River Rats.
Inaugural season
The Fog Devils first captain was Newfoundlander Scott Brophy. The team played its first game September 16, 2005, winning 3-2 versus the Saint John Sea Dogs in Saint John, New Brunswick at Harbour Station. Their home opener was September 23 versus the Lewiston MAINEiacs, played in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,247. The Fog Devils won 3-2 in a shootout, with Anthony Pototschnik scoring the shootout winner. St. John's recorded its first back-to-back wins in franchise history with wins against the Gatineau Olympiques on November 4 and 5, 2005. On November 5, 2005 the line of Scott Brophy, Oscar Sundh, and Nicolas Bachand combined for 12 points with 4 points each. On December 17, 2005, in a game against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Scott Brophy scored the first ever hat trick for the Fog Devils. His third goal came with 10.1 seconds left in the overtime period. St. John's made the playoffs in their first season, earning the sixth seed in the East Division and finishing with a 30-34-5-1 record and 66 points. They were the second-most successful QMJHL expansion team in league history after the 1982-83 Longueuil Chevaliers. In the playoffs the Fog Devils lost in the first round in five games to Cape Breton. The St. John's Fog Devils entered its second QMJHL Entry Draft on June 10, 2006 and selected St. John's native Luke Adam with its 1st Round pick (7th Overall). In total the team selected six Newfoundlanders and a total of fourteen players. On June 28, 2006 the St. John's Fog Devils selected Mario Kempe (31st Overall) and Joonas Salmi (66th Overall) in the 2006 CHL Import Draft.
2006-07 season
The St. John's Fog Devils opened the 2006-07 season on September 15, 2006 at Mile One Centre against the visiting PEI Rocket in front of over 5800 people. The Rocket defeated the Fog Devils by a score of 5-2. The Fog Devils rebounded the next night to win their first game of the season against the same PEI Rocket by a score of 5-3. St. John's native Wes Welcher was named the game's first star with 2 goals. The Fog Devils closed out the year at 28-36-4-2, slightly worse than their inaugural year, and lost in the first round of the playoffs again to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The 2007 NHL Entry Draft saw the first Fog Devils drafted into the NHL, with T.J. Brennan and Jean-Simon Allard both drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, Mario Kempe drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers, and Matt Fillier drafted by the Los Angeles Kings. The Fog Devils selected German goaltender Timo Pielmeier, drafted 83rd Overall by the San Jose Sharks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, with the 12th Overall selection in the 2007 CHL Import Draft. After much speculation that Pielmeier would stay in his native Germany to play in 2007-08, the young talent finally agreed to make the jump to the CHL and join the St. John's Fog Devils.
2007-08 season
On Sept 21, 2007, the Fog Devils retired the first jersey in team history; the inaugural captain, No. 12, Scott Brophy. Head coach Real Paiement tied the QMJHL record for most games as head coach on October 3rd and then surpassed this, setting the new record at 989 games, with a game against the Lewiston Maineiacs on October 5th. During the week of October 22, 2007, the Fog Devils' goalie Timo Pielmeier was named the QMJHL defensive player of the week. Luke Adam broke the franchise record for scoring the most goals in a single game, scoring 4 goals on November 9, 2007. In early December, Fog Devils President Brad Dobbin made it publicly known that the Fog Devils were in serious financial trouble and relocation may be in the cards if things don't look up. Dobbin stated that the team lost nearly $750 000 in year two and things look to be heading in the same direction this season following a drop in average attendance for a third straight season. Dobbin mentioned that he has had numerous offers by possible bidders to purchase the team and relocate to the mainland. While nothing will be finalized before the end of the current season, Dobbin mentioned that attendance would have to rise in order for the team to be back on the ice in 2008-09. This news comes after the Fog Devils put in a bid to host the 2009 Memorial Cup and as the team negotiates a new lease with Mile One Centre.
NHL players
The Fog Devils have had several players drafted by National Hockey League teams. They are:
- 2007 NHL Draft
- T.J. Brennan (2007 2nd Round, #31 overall by Buffalo Sabres
- Timo Pielmeier (2007 3rd Round, #83 overall by San Jose Sharks
- Mario Kempe (2007 5th Round, #122 overall by Philadelphia Flyers
- Jean-Simon Allard (2007 5th Round, #147 overall by Buffalo Sabres
- Matt Fillier (2007 7th Round, #188 overall by Los Angeles Kings
Players
Team captains
- Matt Fillier - 2006-Present(Became Captain in November)
- Zach Firlotte - 2006 (Sept-Nov)
- Scott Brophy - 2005-06
Retierd numbers
- #12 Scott Brophy
Current roster
| Goaltenders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Place of Birth | |
| 89 |  |
Timo Pielmeier | Germany |
| 29 |  |
Jake Allen | New Brunswick |
| Defensemen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Place of Birth | |
| 3 | |
Kyle Stanley | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 5 | |
Alex Wall | St. John's, Newfoundland |
| 6 | |
Maxime Pomerleau | LaSalle, Quebec |
| 7 | |
Maxime Dubuc | Saint-Mathias, Quebec |
| 11 | |
Pat O' Keefe | St. John's, Newfoundland |
| 17 |  |
T.J. Brennan | Willingboro, New Jersey |
| 23 | |
William Beaudoin | St.-Etienne, Quebec |
| 26 | |
Matt Boland | Gander, Newfoundland |
| 44 | |
Tyler Gale | Mount Pearl, Newfoundland |
| Forwards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Place of Birth | |
| 4 | |
Jean-Simon Allard | St-Bruno, Quebec |
| 9 | |
Luke Adam | St. John's, Newfoundland |
| 10 |  |
Mario Kempe | Kramfors, Sweden |
| 14 | |
Wes Welcher | St. John's, Newfoundland |
| 16 | |
Ryan Graham | St. John's, Newfoundland |
| 21 | |
Olivier Guilbault | Montreal, Quebec |
| 22 | |
Nick Layton | Wheton Settlement, New Brunswick |
| 24 | |
Taylor MacDougall | Fredericton, New Brunswick |
| 27 | |
Matt Fillier | New Glasgow, Nova Scotia |
Award winners
Raymond Lagacé Trophy
Defensive Rookie of the Year
- 2006-07 - T.J. Brennan
Record breakers
- Oct 5, 2007 - Coach Real Paiement broke the record for most games in the QMJHL as head coach with 989 games.
- Nov 9, 2007 - Luke Adam broke the franchise record for scoring the most goals in a single game, scoring 4 goals in a game against the Lewiston Maineiacs.
Yearly results
Regular season
Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shoot Out Loss
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | SL | OTL | Points | Pct % | Goals For |
Goals Against |
Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 70 | 30 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 66 | 0.429 | 219 | 286 | 6th East |
| 2006-07 | 70 | 28 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 62 | 0.400 | 280 | 310 | 7th East |
| 2007-08 | Season in progress. See 2007-08 QMJHL season. | |||||||||
Playoffs
- 2005-06 - Lost to Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
- 2006-07 - Lost to Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
See also
References
External links
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| Eastern Division | Acadie-Bathurst Titan • Cape Breton Screaming Eagles • Halifax Mooseheads • Lewiston MAINEiacs • Moncton Wildcats • P.E.I. Rocket • Saint John Sea Dogs • St. John's Fog Devils |
| TELUS Division | Baie-Comeau Drakkar • Chicoutimi Saguenéens • Drummondville Voltigeurs • Gatineau Olympiques • Québec Remparts • Rimouski Océanic • Rouyn-Noranda Huskies • Shawinigan Cataractes • Val-d'Or Foreurs • Victoriaville Tigres |
| CHL: Memorial Cup · President's Cup · QMJHL seasons · Awards · OHL · WHL | |
