Hockey fans will want to get a season ticket if they are looking to see live Saint John Sea Dogs action this season.
The team’s president and general manager says capacity at TD Station will be reduced to around 25 per cent to comply with physical distancing.
Trevor Georgie said that means season ticket holders will likely be the only ones able to watch the action in person.
“We want to give everyone a chance to see the Sea Dogs play, but unfortunately, with our social distancing guidelines, it’s just not going to be possible for everyone,” said Georgie in a recent interview.
Existing season ticket members will have first dibs on memberships until Sept. 14. New fans who want to buy season tickets are asked to join a waitlist.
Like many other venues, fans will be required to wear masks inside TD Station until they get to their seat, said Georgie.
Action will also be a bit different on the ice, with the Sea Dogs playing fewer teams during the regular season.
The QMJHL says the regular season will include a 60-game schedule — 30 home games and 30 away games — and the league will be divided into three divisions.
The Sea Dogs will exclusively be playing against the other five Maritimes Division teams, which Georgie thinks will create lots of excitement and rivalry.
“There’s already rivalry with the Maritime teams as our fans know, so when you get to play a team that often it’s going to really create, I think, a deeper rivalry,” he said.
On the ice, there have been several big additions to the team since the season was ended abruptly back in March, said Georgie.
Fredericton’s Peter Reynolds and Cam MacDonald of Hammonds Plains, N.S., de-committed from Boston College to join the Port City team.
The Sea Dogs added 19-year-old defenseman Christopher Inniss, 19-year-old forward Nicholas Girouard, and 20-year-old forward Liam Leonard during a trio of trades.
The team also had two first-round selections in the 2020 QMJHL Draft. Forward Leighton Carruthers was selected third overall and defenseman Nathan Drapeau was selected 15th overall.
Behind the bench, the Sea Dogs hired Greg Gilbert, a former NHL head coach and three-time Stanley Cup champion, to lead the team.
Georgie said the sudden end to the last season gave them a chance to focus on “strategic projects” which they would typically have less time to work on.
“We spent a lot of time working through a Memorial Cup bid. That’s still our intention, despite the pandemic and despite different challenges, is to put a bid in for the Memorial Cup,” he said.
The Sea Dogs begin their pre-season Tuesday night against Acadie-Bathurst with a 7 p.m. puck drop at TD Station. The regular season home-opener is Oct. 3.
After a successful 1st day of renewals, we're preparing to open up sales to the general public on Sept 14th. With limited seating available, we're asking new fans who plan on purchasing Season Tickets for the 2020-21 season to join our waitlist. ⬇️https://t.co/b98Nti4pJh
— Saint John Sea Dogs (@SJSeaDogs) August 25, 2020
