SUMMERSIDE -- When the Saint John Sea Dogs line up against the Prince Edward Island Rocket at the Charlottetown Civic Centre as part of Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada on Saturday afternoon, they will take the visitors' bench.

But in many respects, the defending Memorial Cup-champion Sea Dogs will be the home team. They have a couple of native islanders in centre Jason Cameron of Clyde River and Charlottetown's Spencer McDonald, a defenceman. Associate coach and director of hockey operations Mike Kelly was raised in Shamrock.

And, of course, there is the Sea Dog's biggest connection to Prince Edward Island in head coach Gerard Gallant, the former NHLer who hails from Summerside.

"We do have some island flavour on the team," the 48-year-old Gallant said. "As the saying goes, everybody knows everybody here. You know the background of the kids. You know their parents. You know more about them than you probably should."

While the Rocket have struggled this season and find itself near the bottom of the standings, Gallant and the Sea Dogs continue to flourish. At 37-14-2, Saint John is tied for first overall in the QMJHL with the Shawinigan Cataractes, who will host the 2012 Memorial Cup in May. The Sea Dogs currently are riding a seven-game win streak.

Gallant feels confident about his team's chances at another national championship.

"It was a special year for the kids and we have most of those kids back this year," Gallant said. "So we have another good chance at it this year."

A few weeks after the Sea Dogs won the Memorial Cup, Gallant and Kelly watched from the stands at the 2011 NHL entry draft in St. Paul, Minn. to see four Saint John players selected among the first 35 picks.

Jonathan Huberdeau (third overall, Florida Panthers), Nathan Beaulieu (17th, Montreal Canadiens), Zack Phillips (28th, Minnesota Wild) and Tomas Jurco (35th, Detroit Red Wings) are all back with Saint John this season. When a team can bring back this sort of talent core, and with Gallant behind the bench, the Sea Dog's chances are solid of matching the Windsor Spitfires feat of back-to-back titles in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Gallant preceded all his young talent with a trip to the Memorial Cup three decades ago. He was a tough-as-nails goal left wing in junior and made it to back-to-back Memorial Cup tournaments with Sherbrooke and Verdun in 1982 and 1983, respectively. But, unlike last year, Gallant lost in the final with Sherbrooke and was ousted in the semifinal with Verdun.

"That was a long time ago," Gallant said. "I played with some outstanding players like Pat Lafontaine [in Verdun] and it was definitely disappointing to lose. But to come back with this group and coach and win was an outstanding feeling.

"When you're a player you just go out and play. I felt more pressure as a coach because I wanted to give the players the best chance to win."

After his 615-game NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning concluded, Gallant returned to PEI to begin his coaching career. He guided the Summerside Western Capitals to the 1996-97 Maritime Junior Hockey League championship.

A few seasons later, he was added to the Blue Jackets coaching staff and after he was replaced as the Columbus head coach in early in the 2006-07 season, Gallant joined the New York Islanders as an assistant before he landed in Saint John in 2009.

He is on pace to record his third consecutive 50-plus win season. And this has some in the hockey community wondering if he doesn't deserve a chance at another coaching gig in the NHL.

"I'd like to get back to the NHL," said the former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach. "But if that doesn't happen I have a good situation in Saint John and I'm quite happy to stay there.

"I'm 2 ½ hours from home. I built a home here. We have beautiful weather in the summer. It's a small community. It's laid back. There is no traffic. You can just be yourself, spend time with your friends, play a little golf and enjoy life."