From Cats to Dogs

A day after seeing his National Hockey League dreams put on hold, Jonathan Huberdeau did little to downplay the hype surrounding his return to junior.

The third-overall pick by the Florida Panthers in last summer’s NHL draft was sent back to the Saint John Sea Dogs on Monday and he’s already setting some lofty goals for his third season of major junior. All the talk surrounding his team since they were crowned junior hockey champions last May was about a repeat, something Huberdeau won’t deny.

"Two Memorial Cups?" he began. "Taylor Hall did it. If I can do it again, it will be great."

Those talks of a repeat only intensified with Monday’s decision by the Panthers. With Huberdeau now the 15th returning player to have played full-time on last year’s team, there’s no questioning the talent or experience in Saint John.

The only question now is whether the Sea Dogs have the same desire as they did a year ago.

“The bottom line is it all depends on how hungry you are and how much you want to compete for a championship,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “Last year is in the past and we know we have a good team. We’re definitely one of the top four or five teams in our league and we just have to be hungry and play the way we played last year and compete and get back to it.”

Huberdeau was surprisingly upbeat Tuesday, considering his shot at playing in the NHL was whisked away less than 24 hours earlier. Some players have been known to lower their intensity for junior after getting a taste of the NHL lifestyle. Huberdeau doesn’t plan on being one of them.

“I’m not going to go there and say, ‘Ahhh, I’m going to go play junior again,’” he said. “It will be a great season. We have a great team and I’m going to work very hard to bring this team -- and we can do it all together -- and bring another Memorial Cup if we want.”

Huberdeau wants to get to work on that repeat bid quickly. He will join his teammates in Saint John on Friday and plans on playing on Saturday against Rimouski, even if his coach is willing to give him the night off.

“We’ll see how he feels and go from there,” Gallant said Monday.

“I’ll be playing for sure,” Huberdeau responded on Tuesday. “Why not? Of course I want to play the first game. I’m excited to see how it’s going to be.”

The MasterCard Memorial Cup is but one of Huberdeau’s championship aspirations this season. Huberdeau could be a vital piece on the Canadian world junior team this December and he’s already relishing the idea of capturing a gold medal on Canadian soil.

“It’s a very big experience wearing the Maple Leaf on the front of your jersey,” he said. “To have the chance to work at it will be unbelievable. I did it under-18 (Ivan Hlinka 2010 tournament) and if I can do it under-20 in Edmonton and Calgary, it’s going to be great.”

There was little disappointment in his voice over the demotion from Florida. Standing just 6-foot-1 and a slight 171 pounds, Huberdeau’s size was the biggest factor in his returning to Saint John. Gallant felt strongly that the Panthers were making the right call, but not just because it helps strengthen his team.

“We all had our opinions,” said Gallant, who spoke with Panthers GM Dale Tallon and head coach Kevin Dineen on Monday. “They had the same vision as I did that he would do real well and play well, but over the long haul of 82 games in the National Hockey League with big men, it would really wear him down and put him open to injuries. They thought another year in junior would be the best thing for him.

“They were happy with his camp and very excited with how good a hockey player this kid is going to be for them.”

Huberdeau took it all in stride, including the fact he left Florida without a contract from the Panthers, simply saying, “It’s more my agent’s business. I work hard on the ice and I leave that to my agents.”

He’s ready to keep working hard on the ice because winning the Memorial Cup once is nice, but winning it twice is that much sweeter.

“We’ll try to do like last year,” he said. “We don’t have the same team, but we have good potential, good talent, all the NHL guys are back.

“We’re going to have a great team this year.”