Sea Dogs shake off branding blunder at Memorial Cup
WINDSOR, Ont. — The Saint John Sea Dogs shook off an embarrassing branding blunder at the Memorial Cup this week, taking it in stride in true Maritime spirit.
The Sea Dogs arrived in Windsor for the Canadian Hockey League championship only to find their merchandise being sold at WFCU Centre included items with Saint John misspelled as St. John.
Mixing up Saint John, N.B., and St. John’s N.L., or combining the two names happens all the time, according to Sea Dogs communications assistant Jamie Tozer, who was made aware of the mistake by a fan.
“Rarely happens on merchandise but it’s in the media all the time,” said Tozer. “It’s nothing new, but I will say it’s a problem that’s decreased since the Sea Dogs have been in the national spotlight the last seven or eight years.”
The spelling mistake, which occurred on shirts and pucks, was corrected once it was pointed out to organizers. A new shipment of apparel was on display by Wednesday.
It’s not clear exactly how the error occurred. Tournament organizers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Regardless, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions are putting it behind them, said Sea Dogs president Trevor Georgie.
“I think the Maritimes’ way is to forgive and move on,” he said in an interview.
Tozer, from St. Stephen, N.B., says that many people also mistake his major junior team with the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League.
“It’s something that bothers people back home because the Maritimes, you sometimes feel it’s us against the world and (people) can’t spell the name correctly, a lack of respect kind of thing.
“I’ve seen it all, stories wondering how the IceCaps and Sea Dogs play in the same city.”
Georgie acknowledged that mistakes can happen, especially when so much goes into organizing a large event.
“It’s not uncommon, which is unfortunate,” said Georgie. “But this won’t dampen our moods. (Organizers) have done an amazing job, it’s a huge undertaking.
Georgie said when he took the job with the Sea Dogs in 2016, people in his hometown of Mississauga, Ont., advised him that he had to check out George Street when he arrived in town.
George Street is famous for its bars and pubs. Only problem is that it’s in St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador.
All the corrected apparel was on display in the merchandise shop Friday before the Sea Dogs faced the Ontario Hockey League champion Erie Otters in the semifinals. Fans who had purchased the misspelled merch could exchange their items.
Tozer, who plans to keep one puck as a collectible, was pleased to see organizers make the correction once it was identified.
“They could have just took everything off shelves and pretended it didn’t happen,” he said.