Vincent Sevigny goes about his work quietly. He’s not a raw, raw type player or leader. He just goes to work every day with a smile on his face. Don’t let his quiet demeanor and smile fool you, he’s as fierce of a competitor and defender as they come and he’s looking to hoist one more trophy before his QMJHL career ends. Sevigny was an integral component of the Victoriaville Tigres President Cup Championship a season ago.
“My leadership style is simple, it’s to work hard every day and have a smile on my face and to have fun at the rink and on the ice and it’s my hope that my leadership style is contagious,” said Sevigny.
“For me the transition into the organization and dressing room was easy, I just tried to keep doing everything that I did when I was in Victo.”
“There were a lot of trades, so when I arrived with the Sea Dogs there were a lot of new faces in the room,” Sevigny said.
“We tried to build chemistry together early on and by the end of the season we had some good chemistry, but at the end of the day we lost in the first round.”
Sevigny and the Sea Dogs have tried to put that shocking first round lost behind them.
“We don’t want to just be the host team for the Memorial Cup, we want to win it,” stressed the veteran defender.
With a new coach and a new plan of attack Sevigny and the Sea Dogs have been training camp mode for the better part of month. That all changes tonight as they face the Hamilton Bulldogs.
“I was shocked a little bit when Gordie was let go, but at the end of the day that was the organizations decision, and they made that change because they thought we needed a change.”
“Gardiner is a very passionate guy, who brings a lot of enthusiasm and energy to the rink and on the ice.”
“For sure it’s been a change, but that will push the team harder to try to win the Cup, because it’s our last chance and we don’t want to miss that opportunity,” Sevigny said.
Any general manager that’s in “a load and go mentality” always wants to infuse championship pedigree within their line up during the trade period and that’s exactly what Trevor Georgie did when he acquired Sevigny and veteran netiminder Nikolas Hurtubise.
“At the start of the season, I kind of thought that I would get traded to a contending team and I was very happy to get traded to the Sea Dogs because they had a great team and because of the Memorial Cup.”
“Victo, will always be my second home,” said a reflective Sevigny.
“It would be very special,” Sevigny said when asked about potentially winning the Memorial Cup.
“Obviously, with everything being cancelled last year, the opportunity is here, and I think we can do it, it would be great to win it with this being my last year in the QMJHL and CHL, it would be amazing for the city and organization as well.”
“It will be a very special week, my family are coming down and I definitely want them to be proud of me and I’m going to do anything to succeed in doing that,” Sevigny said.
How will Sevigny and the rest of the Sea Dogs balance the nerves and pressure while performing at their best in an event like the Memorial Cup?
“For sure it’s a lot of pressure to play in the Mem Cup, but at the end of day it’s just a game, we all started playing the game of hockey to have fun and to create some memories, when the puck drops, we are going to have some fun and compete on the ice.”
“We haven’t played in a month, we don’t have any injuries, we will be ready and the possible rust that we have in our games will leave really quickly.”
“We are all very excited to have this opportunity. For every player in the tournament, it will be their best moment of their hockey careers to this point.”
“Every player won’t want to miss out on a potential chance to win the Cup and it’s something that they will never forget if they can win it.”
The anticipation and excitement are building. The Memorial Cup hiatus is over, the puck drops tonight!
FDS Podcast Network 