Sea Dogs name Young as GM, ending two-headed power at the top

The Saint John Sea Dogs ended their two-man experiment on Thursday, naming Vancouver Canucks scout Darrell Young as their new general manager.

Young signed on for three years at the helm of the port city’s junior franchise. Terms were not disclosed. He will man his post starting March 1, when current co-GMs Ross Yates and Christian Vermette will go back to their old jobs of head coach and head scout, respectively.

"I'm very excited to be joining the Saint John Sea Dogs organization," Young said. "In meetings with management and ownership, I can tell they are committed to bringing another championship to Saint John. It's an opportunity I could not pass up."

Young is the latest addition in a season of struggle and turnover for the Sea Dogs, who canned former head coach and GM Mike Kelly in October. Kelly was a major part of the Memorial Cup-winning unit in 2011, and the President’s Cup-winning team in 2012, and his firing came as a shock to Sea Dogs fans. Yates was promoted to head coach, and took over the GM job with Christian Vermette as co-GMs.

The Sea Dogs made one move during the 2013-14 trading period, acquiring forward Nicolas Hébert for a fifth round pick, giving indication that the two-pronged GM plan wasn’t a long-term solution. The Sea Dogs were 5-10-0-2 when they sent Kelly packing, and they’ve since gone 12-24-1-1. They are tied for the last playoff spot in the QMJHL with 38 points, and they’ve lost seven of their last 10 games.

Young brings an extensive resume in the AUS and CIS with Dalhousie University, where he played and coached. He since became a scout, working for four NHL teams in a 25-year scouting career. He also runs Darrell Young Inc. in Halifax, a summer training and development program.

"We are thrilled to add Darrell's experience to the organization," said Sea Dogs President Wayne Long. "His hockey connections in North America and Europe are second to none. We intend to host the Memorial Cup in 2017, and having Darrell in place for three seasons will ensure we are prepared to win in short order."

In between scouting stops, he spent two seasons as director of hockey operations of the Moncton Wildcats, where his record was sub-par. From 2000 to 2002, admittedly between strong teams, he helped build the foundation of the early-2000s Wildcat teams that would ultimately reach the Q finals in 2004, and then host the Memorial Cup in 2006.

His draft in 2001 for Moncton led to his first nine picks to have roles on those teams, including forward Steve Bernier, picked first overall, and goaltender Corey Crawford. His teams suffered on the ice, though, with a combined record of 43-82-10-9 in his two seasons at the helm.

There is no doubt he has great ties to the hockey world, but is he out of touch with the Q? Twelve years is a long time to be away from the inner workings of a team, whether you scout the league or not. However, with the 12-24-1-1 record so far under the Yates-Vermette tandem, it is clear there’s nowhere to go but up.

The team is very young, with only four 19-year-olds to go with five 16-year-olds on the active roster. They are gearing up for a long rebuild. Young brings connections and networking that can help the Sea Dogs continue to bring top-tier talent to Saint John.