Post by dogcatcher on Sept 20, 2007 6:06:51 GMT -4
A shot in the arm
QMJHL Sea Dogs host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in their home opener on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station.
Andrew Mcgilligan
Telegraph-Journal
Published Thursday September 20th, 2007
Appeared on page B12
SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs might want to weigh in on the current issue surrounding the University of New Brunswick at Saint John.
A recent government commissioned report suggested UNBSJ be turned into a Polytechnic school rather than a university.
If it wasn't for the city having a university, then the Sea Dogs may not have landed their newest player - Alexandre Picard-Hooper.
The 20-year-old forward was acquired by Saint John on Monday after he asked the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to be traded.
"I'm done CGEP and I wanted to be in a city with a university," the Montreal native said. "I wanted to play in the Maritimes to improve my English."
He'll be taking courses in both math and English until Christmas, then he hopes to enroll in some UNBSJ courses in the second half of the year.
The forward takes his education seriously and was the 2007 recipient of the Marcel-Robert trophy as the QMJHL scholastic player of the year.
"That was my greatest achievement in junior, it was something that was really important to me," he said.
The Sea Dogs gave up third- and fifth-round picks in the 2008 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League entry draft along with a third-round selection in 2009 for the forward. Coming back to Saint John, along with Picard-Hooper, is a sixth-round selection in the 2009 entry draft.
No matter the reasons for his arrival, the Sea Dogs are happy to have him. Picard-Hooper should help put the puck in the net, something Saint John head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu said the team might struggle with this season.
In 207 games over three QMJHL seasons, Picard-Hooper has 255 points. Not bad for a sixth-round pick in the 2004 QMJHL entry draft.
A big part of increasing the offence is the power play, a specific part of Picard-Hooper's game. The forward has 44 power-play goals over the last two seasons.
"He's a proven power-play guy, so it can only get better with him on it," Beaulieu said.
He can also adapt his game to the way opponents play him. In the 2005-06 season he registered 57 goals, but the number dropped to 32 last year. Picard-Hooper said teams began to focus on him as the trigger man. Because of this, he became more of a playmaker as his linemates had more room to maneuver because of the emphasis put on his scoring touch.
Besides scoring, he said he's going to bring something else to the team.
"I know it's a young team, but there are a lot of good skilled players here," he said. "Hopefully I can help some of the younger guys be successful in this league."
Friday's home opener against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station will be the first game of the season for Picard-Hooper.
As for the month-long pursuit by Beaulieu to acquire Picard-Hooper, the forward said it's nice to be wanted.
"I'm happy to be here, I think they're happy to have me, so it's good for both sides," he said.
QMJHL Sea Dogs host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in their home opener on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station.
Andrew Mcgilligan
Telegraph-Journal
Published Thursday September 20th, 2007
Appeared on page B12
SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Sea Dogs might want to weigh in on the current issue surrounding the University of New Brunswick at Saint John.
A recent government commissioned report suggested UNBSJ be turned into a Polytechnic school rather than a university.
If it wasn't for the city having a university, then the Sea Dogs may not have landed their newest player - Alexandre Picard-Hooper.
The 20-year-old forward was acquired by Saint John on Monday after he asked the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to be traded.
"I'm done CGEP and I wanted to be in a city with a university," the Montreal native said. "I wanted to play in the Maritimes to improve my English."
He'll be taking courses in both math and English until Christmas, then he hopes to enroll in some UNBSJ courses in the second half of the year.
The forward takes his education seriously and was the 2007 recipient of the Marcel-Robert trophy as the QMJHL scholastic player of the year.
"That was my greatest achievement in junior, it was something that was really important to me," he said.
The Sea Dogs gave up third- and fifth-round picks in the 2008 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League entry draft along with a third-round selection in 2009 for the forward. Coming back to Saint John, along with Picard-Hooper, is a sixth-round selection in the 2009 entry draft.
No matter the reasons for his arrival, the Sea Dogs are happy to have him. Picard-Hooper should help put the puck in the net, something Saint John head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu said the team might struggle with this season.
In 207 games over three QMJHL seasons, Picard-Hooper has 255 points. Not bad for a sixth-round pick in the 2004 QMJHL entry draft.
A big part of increasing the offence is the power play, a specific part of Picard-Hooper's game. The forward has 44 power-play goals over the last two seasons.
"He's a proven power-play guy, so it can only get better with him on it," Beaulieu said.
He can also adapt his game to the way opponents play him. In the 2005-06 season he registered 57 goals, but the number dropped to 32 last year. Picard-Hooper said teams began to focus on him as the trigger man. Because of this, he became more of a playmaker as his linemates had more room to maneuver because of the emphasis put on his scoring touch.
Besides scoring, he said he's going to bring something else to the team.
"I know it's a young team, but there are a lot of good skilled players here," he said. "Hopefully I can help some of the younger guys be successful in this league."
Friday's home opener against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles at 7:30 p.m. at Harbour Station will be the first game of the season for Picard-Hooper.
As for the month-long pursuit by Beaulieu to acquire Picard-Hooper, the forward said it's nice to be wanted.
"I'm happy to be here, I think they're happy to have me, so it's good for both sides," he said.