4 ex-OHLers find fit with Saint John Sea Dogs, the QMJHL's early-season surprise

The Saint John Sea Dogs have long been enriched by OHL free agents, but perhaps not this many at the same time.

The Sea Dogs have been graced by Ontario League expats such as current Ottawa Senators forward Mike Hoffman, as well as Chris DiDomenico, who won a world junior gold medal in 2009. Now Saint John is leading the Maritimes Division after being fortified by four ex-OHLers — frontline forwards Mitchell Dempsey and Justice Dundas, alternate captain Adam Bateman and fellow seasoned defenceman Braydon Blight. Their presence, combined with a talented younger cohort and reliable overage goalie  Sébastien Auger, has helped Saint John get out to a 13-4-0-3 start and a league-best .725 point percentage,

All four are finding something they couldn't unlock in the OHL. Bateman, the 19-year-old who was released by the Windsor Spitfires amid their youth movement, feels at home in laid-back Saint John and believes that is carrying over to his play.

"I'm really, really very happy, the way, this season, where I am, has worked out, I can't be any more happier. I'm actually having fun with the game. Before it felt like a little morne of a business. It's still business here but we're having fun here. We're having fun in the room."

"I was just watching the minor hockey the other day and watching the younger kids, they're playing to have fun, playing to get better," adds Bateman, who hails from Caledon, Ont. "Sometimes in the higher levels, it's hard on the guys with having to make new friendships, guys getting cut, guys getting traded. It's hard to explain. Here the guys are having fun. I'm not saying it feels like minor hockey, but if we're having fun, it's just a game.

"Sometimes when it feels like there's more of a business aspect and it's like work, you come to the rink and it's not as great."

Saint John GM Darrell Young, who has scouted for the Vancouver Canucks, inherited a team at the beginning of a growth cycle when he was officially named GM in mid-February. He also knew all four were eager to break out of the roles they'd been cast in back home. Like Bateman, Dempsey was also a first-rounder, who ultimately played three teams over three seasons. Dundas wanted to be more of a scorer. Blight wanted to prove he could contribute in major junior.

"Adam wanted to prove to people that he was a skilled player," Young says. "A guy like Dempsey, he's a NHL draft pick, a [former OHL] first-round pick and this his last kick at the can to prove he can be a player. Justice has gone to two NHL camps. Now he has a chance to come here and contribute offensively and show people he can do more than just fight.

"With Adam, he loves to be the gym and our guys see that," Young adds. "He understands that there's a certain culture and the young players see it. Braydon, while he has been in and out of the lineup, he's full of excitement and enthusiasm. He's not happy when he's not playing but he's happy for the other guys. They see his competitive spirit and when he gets in there, he competes well."

"One of the things we talk to the players about is, out of adversity comes opportunity. And this is a great opportunity for them. All four have contributed to our success. There's no question about that."

Dundas has 15 points, including nine goals, over 16 games while skating alongside Dempsey and Mark Tremaine. The line poses enough a strong enough threat to dissuade opponents from keying on 17-year-old team scoring leader Nathan Noel.

"My role in the OHL was always tough, energy guy, stick up for my teammates type of thing," says Dundas, a Richmond Hill, Ont., native whom the St. Louis Blues had at a camp this summer. "Coming out here, I was given more opportunity to show my offensive side.

"In my meetings at camp, St. Louis said they wanted to see if I could produce this year," added Dundas, who had never set foot on the East Coast before arriving in Saint John. "Coming here and putting up offensive numbers and helping the team produce offensively is a really a good thing. It shows I have a complete game. It's definitely an upside."

Dempsey, whom the Boston Bruins wagered a seventh-round pick on in the 2013 NHL draft based on the potential he showed early in his teens, has also felt revitalized by changing leagues. His parents grew up in the southeast part of New Brunswick in St. Stephen, so he has grandparents that he can now see regularly.

"It's pretty important now that I get to see them almost every weekend," says Dempsey, who has five goals and 12 points over 18 games. "Playing top two lines is a big change for me, but I have good linemates with a lot of experience, playing with Justice and Mark Tremaine. They're pretty big helpers. I think we show a lot veteran presence and I think that why's we've had a lot of success so far."

Dempsey acknowledges that he's come more to terms with his OHL experience.

"I was a little underperforming, at some points I feel like I wasn't given the opportunity but at the same time I probably could have pulled my end of the rope a bit harder," he says of a 78-game tenure that took him from Plymouth to Sault Ste. Marie to Kitchener. "I finally came to realize that it's what I want to do so I have to work hard at it and keep doing the little things to get better. It's been going great so far."

Saint John has perhaps the league's best group of young defencemen with No. 1 overall pick Luke Green and 17-year-olds Thomas Chabot and Jakub Zboril. Blight, of Clinton, Ont., is glad that he has worked his way back to the top level of major junior after spending last season with the Junior B St. Mary's Lincolns.

"It's just that I never quit," says Blight, who spent two seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs. I just kept working hard and it landed me a spot here, which is what I've been working for.

"I think it's good here, Everyone's clicking well. There's no separation between anyone, we all get along. It's a really fun crowd to play in front of."

In the back of everyone's mind around Harbour Station, of course, is Saint John's focus on a 2017 Memorial Cup run in two seasons, when Green and Noel will be junior hockey veterans. For the time being, the Sea Dogs are enjoying the ride with the OHL guys.

"We've got our game plan, we're going to stick to it," Young says. "We're not going to do anything that's going to jeopardize it. If we make any moves, they'll be minor moves because right now the atmosphere and chemistry with our team is so good. I don't know if it's worth disrupting it. The other side of it is we've got a young team so I have to believe we're going to be better after Christmas. They have to learn to deal with the situation, winning four games out of seven."

That's the business part of it, always there regardless. Now older and wiser, and around players who have had similar experiences, Bateman is confident he can keep perspective.

"Now that we're doing well, our expectations are going to be a little bit high," he says. "But that doesn't matter, we're still having fun."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.