Poll #25

Now that the roster has been released, I thought I would do this poll. With defenceman Brady Schultz moving on to university, our Halifax Mooseheads are once again in need of a captain for the 2025-26 season. 

Only two of the players who were apart of last season's leadership group will be back, they probably have the biggest chance of becoming the new captain but we'll have to wait and see. So my question is, who do you think will be captain for the upcoming season? 

Who will be captain for Halifax
A. Quinn Kennedy
B. Owen Phillips
C. Connor MacPherson
D. Liam Kilfoil

If you have another name in mind, let me know. 

The poll will be up on X, I will pin it to the top. You'll have until the end of August to vote. 

Herd Official Roster

YOUR 2025-26 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

7  Carlos Handel  D  Erlangen, Germany

9  Liam Kilfoil  C  Quispamsis, NB
10  Oleg Kulebaikin  LW  St. Petersburg, Russia*
12  William Bent  RW  Dover, MA, USA
14  Connor MacPherson  RW  Windsor, ON

17  Patrick McNab  C  Beaconsfield, QC
19  Caylen Blake  LW  Corner Brook, NL

20  Daniel Walters  C  Halifax, NS
23  Cameron Minella  D  Darien, CT, USA*

26  Owen Phillips  D  Hammonds Plains, NS
29  Owen Bresson  G  Dominion, NS

32  Alec Nasreddine  LW  Mountainside, NJ, USA

37  Amelio Santini  RW  Cote-Saint-Luc, QC
39  Nicolas Cirka  G  Westmount, QC
51  Eddy Doyle  D  Tignish, PE

55  Shawn Carrier  LW  Trois-Rivieres, QC
56  Lincoln Waugh  D  Summerside, PE

70  Jasu Mensonen  LW  Imatra, Finland*
72  Mathieu Taillefer  D  Richelieu, QC
73  Justin Chiras  D  Bedford, NH, USA

77  Malik L'Italien  D  Montreal, QC*
88  Quinn Kennedy  C  Upper Tantallon, NS

89  Antoine Fontaine  RW  Granby, QC
93  Junior Gualberto  C  Barnstable, MA, USA*

*indicates rookie

Seven players reassigned, roster set

Photo - Mooseheads Facebook

Our Halifax Mooseheads announced its regular season roster on Sunday evening after reassigning another seven players earlier in the day. Surprisingly, there were only two rounds of cuts but the NCAA rule change made it a different training camp. It was a very competitive camp as well so that made it hard for the brass to make decisions. With the roster moves today, Halifax will go into the 2025-26 season with 24 players. 

Players cut
F Callum Aucoin (returnee)
G Jack Bell (2025 pick)
D Ryan Fletcher (free agent)
F Cole MacLeod (2024 pick)
F Cade Moser (returnee)
G Olivier St-Onge (2023 pick)
D Logan Trewin (2024 pick)

The regular season roster includes 14 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders. 17 veterans will be joined by seven new players on the team. One of the new players is 20-year-old free agent signee Connor MacPherson who will start the year as the lone overager on the Mooseheads. 

Congrats to all the guys who made the team and for the new guys, welcome to Moose Country. Good luck to the guys who got cut with their respective teams this season. 

My next post will have the full roster. 

Halifax will play one more pre-season game on September 5 while the home opener is set for September 20 against the Charlottetown Islanders. 

Moose make first roster cuts

Our Halifax Mooseheads made their first round of cuts on Thursday afternoon and it was big one with 18 players being reassigned. Not surprising there was such a large amount who were sent down to their respective teams but I am a bit surprised by a couple of the guys who did get released today. The article put out by the team did not mention if any of the players left voluntarily. 

Players cut:
D Duncan Anderson
D Cole Bent
D Nicolas Blanchette
F Elie Champagne
F Nico Ciardiello 
F Thomas Cote
D Mickael Fournier
D Jameson George
G Thomas Laplante
G Sam Madgett
F Tucker Makinen
F Jayden Napon
F Noah Olmedo
F Nathan Ruel
F Sam Ryan
F Jordan Shaw
D Gavin Sudds
F Ylan Verpaelst

The training camp roster now stands at 17 forwards, 10 defencemen and four goalies. Previous years we would have seen another round of cuts before Saturday's pre-season game but its possible Cam Russell and staff will wait until after the match. We could even see the regular season roster be named after the game in Truro.  

Pre-season Game vs Cape Breton

Opponent: Cape Breton Eagles
Where: St. Margaret's Centre
When: August 20, 2025
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: $18.50

Cape Breton Eagles
Pre-season record: 1-0-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 3
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Sylvain Couturier
Scoring leader: Jacob Hartlin (1G & 1A)

Halifax Mooseheads
Pre-season record: 0-1-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 3
Head coach: Brad MacKenzie
Scoring leader: n/a

Notes

• This is the second of 4 games between these provincial rivals during the pre-season, Cape Breton took the first game last night in Sydney 3-0. 
• Here is Halifax's roster for tonight - it's a mix of veterans and 2025 draft picks 

• You can watch the game on the Mooseheads YouTube channel. 
• Roster moves will most likely be made tonight but announced tomorrow morning. 
• Tickets are sold out for this evening which is not surprising since there's only 1,000 seats.

Eastlink to show 9 Herd games

Eastlink TV has announced their QMJHL Friday Night Hockey schedule for the 2025-26 season. A total of nine Halifax Mooseheads games will be shown on the regional network. The Herd's season opener against the Islanders in Charlottetown is set to be broadcasted. 

Below are the games featuring Halifax (puck drop is 7pm & Friday evenings unless otherwise stated)

September 19 at Charlottetown Islanders
September 26 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs

October 17 vs. Newfoundland Regiment

January 9 at Charlottetown Islanders 

January 23 vs. Sherbrooke Phoenix 

February 6 at Cape Breton Eagles

February 13 vs. Moncton Wildcats

February 27 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs

March 6 vs. Cape Breton Eagles

I think this is the least amount of Moose games shown in a season. The Cape Breton Eagles and Charlottetown Islanders also have home contests on Eastlink. You can view the full 20-game schedule here. 

49 players on camp roster

Photo - Herd website

A total of 49 players have been invited to the Halifax Mooseheads 2025 training camp that will start in a few days. The roster includes 27 forwards, 16 defencemen and six goaltenders. It consists of 19 returning players from the 2024-25 season so that will make for a very competitive camp over the next number of weeks. 

The lone 20-year-old on the camp roster is the recently acquired forward Connor MacPherson who was signed by Cam Russell as a free agent, the team announced on Friday. Defenceman Malik L'Italien - the third overall pick in June's QMJHL Entry Draft - headlines the new crop of 16-year-olds arriving in Moose Country along with Americans Cameron Minella and Paulo Gualberto. 2025 CHL import picks Oleg Kulebyakin (Russia) and Jasu Mensonen (Finland) will join Carlos Handel as the Herd's European players this year, however Mensonen won't arrive to Halifax until later in camp after concluding his mandatory military service. 

Roster below
Duncan Anderson   D   Antigonish, NS   (draft '25)
Callum Aucoin   F   Hammonds Plains, NS   (trade)
Jack Bell   G   Antigonish, NS   (draft '25)

Cole Bent   D   Halifax, NS   (draft '24)

William Bent   F   Dover, MA   (draft '24)

Caylen Blake   F   Corner Brook, NL   (draft '24)

Nicolas Blanchette   D   St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC   (draft '25)
Owen Bresson   G   Dominion, NS   (trade)
Shawn Carrier   F   Trois-Rivieres, QC   (trade)

Elle Champagne   F   St-Georges-de-Beauce, QC   (draft '24)

Justin Chiras   D   Bedford, NH   (free agent)

Nico Ciardiello   F   Guilford, CT   (draft '24)

Thomas Cote   F   Quebec, QC   (draft '24)

Eddy Doyle   D   Tignish, PE   (draft '23)

Ryan Fletcher   D   Brookfield, NS   (free agent)

Antoine Fontaine   F   Granby, QC   (draft '22)

Mickael Fournier   D   Laval, QC   (draft '24)

Jameson George   D   Rothesay, NB   (draft '23)

Nicolas Gilham-Cirka   G   Westmount, QC   (draft '24)

Paulo Gualberto   F   Bamstable, MA   (draft '25)

Carlos Handel   D   Erlangen, Germany   (import)

Quinn Kennedy   F   Upper Tantallon, NS   (trade)

Liam Kilfoil   F   Quispamsis, NB   (draft '23)

Oleg Kulebyakin   F   St. Petersburg, Russia   (import)

Malik L'Italien   D   Montreal, QC   (draft '25)

Thomas Laplante   G   Rosemare, QC   (draft '24)

Cole MacLeod   F   Porters Lake, NS   (draft '24)

Connor MacPherson   F   Windsor, ON   (free agent)

Sam Madgett   G   Stillwater Lake, NS   (draft '23)

Tucker Makinen   F   Bedford, NS   (draft '23)

Patrick McNab   F   Beaconsfield, QC   (draft '23)

Jasu Mensonen   F   Imatra, Finland   (import)

Cameron Minella   D   Darien, CT   (draft '25)

Cade Moser   F   Linacy, NS   (draft '22)

Jayden Napon   F   Montreal, QC   (draft '25)

Alec Nasreddine   F   Mountainside, NJ   (draft '23)

Noah Olmedo-Matte   F   Repentigny, QC   (draft '24)

Owen Phillips   D   Hammonds Plains, NS   (draft '22)

Nathan Ruel   F   Riviere-du-Loup, QC   (draft '25)

Sam Ryan   F   Dartmouth, NS   (draft '25)

Amelio Santini   F   Cote-Saint-Luc, QC   (draft '24)

Jordan Shaw   F   Coleman, PE   (free agent)

Olivier St-Onge   G   Edmundston, NB   (draft '23)

Gavin Sudds   D   Sydney, NS   (draft '24)

Mathieu Taillefer   D   Richelieu, QC   (draft '22)

Logan Trewin   D   Halifax, NS   (draft '24)

Ylan Verpaelst   F   Magog, QC   (draft '25)

Daniel Walters   F   Halifax, NS   (draft '24)

Lincoln Waugh   D   Summerside, PE   (trade)

I suspect we will see first cuts before Tuesday's pre-season game, and the release of the official regular season roster I'm sure will be announced before the end of August. Follow along on this blog and on social media for camp news and updates.