First round recap

Nathan MacKinnon of our Halifax Mooseheads is now a Colorado Avalanche. The Avs kept to their word that they would be taking a forward with their first overall pick and that Nate would be that forward. I had asked the question would two Mooseheads be picked in a row however, the second overall Florida Panthers decided to shake things up picking up Alexander Barkov of Tappara in Finland. MacKinnon's linemate Jonathan Drouin was picked at #3 by the other Sunshine State team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. So Seth Jones fall all the way to fourth overall to the Nashville Predators. To wrap up the top 5, the Carolina Hurricanes picked Elias Lindholm who played in Sweden this past season.

The Edmonton Oilers picked a defenseman for the first time since 1989 with their first round pick.

The number one ranked goaltender did not get picked in the first round.

Here is the first round selections

1. Nathan MacKinnon, C (Halifax, QMJHL) Colorado
2. Aleksander Barkov, C (Tappara, SM-liiga) Florida
3. Jonathan Drouin LW (Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL) Tampa Bay
4. Seth Jones D (Portland, WHL) Nashville
5. Elias Lindholm C (Brynas IF, SEL) Carolina
6. Sean Monahan C (Ottawa, OHL) Calgary
7. Darnell Nurse D (Sault Ste, Marie, OHL) Edmonton
8. Rasmus Ristolainen D (TPS, SM-liiga) Buffalo
9. Bo Horvat C (London, OHL) Vancouver
10. Valeri Nichushkin RW (HC Dynamo Moscow, KHL) Dallas
11. Samuel Morin D (Rimouski, QMJHL) Philadelphia
12. Max Domi C (London, OHL) Phoenix
13. Josh Morrissey D (Prince Albert, WHL) Winnipeg
14. Alexander Wennberg C (Frolunda HC, SEL) Columbus
15. Ryan Pulock D (Brandon, WHL) New York
16. Nikita Zadorov D (London, OHL) Buffalo
17. Curtis Lazar RW (Edmonton, WHL) Ottawa
18. Mirco Mueller D (Everett, WHL) San Jose
19. Kerby Rychel LW (Windsor, OHL) Columbus
20. Anthony Mantha LW (Val-d'Or Foreurs, QMJHL) Detroit
21. Frederik Gauthier C (Rimouski, QMJHL) Toronto
22. Emile Poirier LW (Gatineau, QMJHL) Calgary
23. Andre Burakovsky LW (Malmo, Swe-2) Washington
24. Hunter Shinkaruk LW (Medicine, WHL) Vancouver
25. Michael McCarron RW (Western Michigan, USHL) Montreal
26. Shea Theodore D (Seattle, WHL) Anaheim
27. Marko Dano RW (HC Slovan, KHL) Columbus
28. Morgan Klimchuk LW (Regina, WHL) Calgary
29. Jason Dickinson C (Guelph, OHL) Dallas
30. Ryan Hartman RW (Plymouth, OHL) Chicago

Nathan number one!!

The Colorado Avalanche had the first overall pick and they were not bluffing when Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy said they would be taking a forward with their pick. Nathan MacKinnon of our Halifax Mooseheads is now apart of the Avalanche program. Congrats to Nathan and his family.

Next up is Florida at number 2.. Will there be two Mooseheads taken right after the other? 

World Juniors camp roster announced

The development summer camp roster for the 2014 World Juniors was released today and our three star players are on it. Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Zach Fucale have been invited to the camp which will be held in August. All three boys are set to be drafted in the first round at the NHL draft on Sunday.

Connor McDavid, the 16 year old sensation who was given an exception when he was drafted to the OHL at 15, is also invited to the summer camp. Matt Cade had this to say after the release about the young hockey player.

The camp will run from August 4-10 and will be one step for these junior hockey players in their quest to represent their country. The 2014 World Juniors will be played from December 26, 2013 to January 5, 2014 in Malmo, Sweden.

Congrats to Nate, Jo and Zach and the rest of the players. For the full list of invitees click here. The 2014 team will be coached by Brent Sutter it was announced on Wednesday.


Hopefully the three boys are invited to the 2015 camp as well and get to represent Canada at home. Toronto and Montreal will co-host the 2015 and 2017 World Junior Championships. 


Photo: Twitter, @TSNMattCade

Ivan Hlinka coaches announced

The bench bosses for the 2013 Ivan Hlinka tournament have been announced and our very own head coach Dominique Ducharme will be an assistant coach when play gets underway in August, Hockey Canada announced this morning. Dale Hunter, who coached the London Knights this past season, will be the head coach and DJ Smith, coach of the Oshawa Generals, will be the other assistant.

The tournament will be played in mid-August in Slovakia. Team Canada will be going for their 6th straight Gold Medal at the tournament.


In other news...

• Hockey Canada also announced the coaches for the 2014 World Junior tournament. Brent Sutter will be leading the way this Christmas with Benoit Groulx and Ryan McGill helping him out.
• Ryan Jankowski was named the head scout of Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence today as well and will be in charge of the U17, U18 and U20 programs.

NHL Draft preview

Note: This post will be updated throughout the week until Draft time so check back often and there will be more stories and information everyday.

2013 NHL Draft
June 30, 2013
4:00pm Atlantic time
NBC Sports Network
Prudential Centre, Newark, New Jersey

First round: 1. Colorado, 2. Florida, 3. Tampa Bay, 4. Nashville, 5. Carolina, 6. Calgary, 7. Edmonton, 8. Buffalo, 9. New Jersey, 10. Dallas, 11. Philadelphia, 12. Phoenix, 13. Winnipeg, 14. Columbus, 15. New York Islanders, 16. Buffalo, 17. Ottawa, 18. Detroit, 19. Columbus, 20. San Jose, 21. Toronto, 22. Calgary, 23. Washington, 24. Vancouver, 25. Montreal, 26. Anaheim, 27. Columbus, 28. Calgary, 29. Dallas, 30. Chicago

Will Seth Jones go #1? Or will it be our very own Nathan MacKinnon? Could a Russian go first overall for the second year in a row? Will a goalie be picked in the top 10 for the first time in 8 years?

All these questions will be answered on Sunday but for now lets see what the probability of them happening is.

JONES
Seth Jones has been a very good defenseman in the Western Hockey League for the Portland Winterhawks and was ranked #1 in the final CSS rankings.

Stories - Denver Post (June 18), Edmonton Journal (June 24), Canada.com (June 24), Rant Sports (June 23)

My prediction -  It is very tough to pick a defenseman first overall as normally you want to build a great team around the first overall pick. Because of this I predict Seth to go 3rd overall to Tampa Bay especially after the Bolts freed up some space buying out their captain Vincent Lecavalier earlier in the week.

MACKINNON
Nathan MacKinnon was the top forward for our very own Halifax Mooseheads the past two years and led the team to a Memorial Cup championship with a hat trick and 5 points against rival Jones. He is ranked #2 in the CSS rankings.

Stories - Denver Post (June 22), Mile High Hockey (June 17), Metro News (June 24), National Post (June 17), Metro News (June 27), Sportsnet (June 28)

My prediction - Nate is everything that a team could ask for in a center, he scores A LOT, has great passing abilities and skating skills, and is also pretty good defensively. At the age of 17, he has his good games and bad but who doesn't at the age? It will be interesting to see how he will play after spending the last 17 months pretty much joined at the hip with Jonathan Drouin. With him being the best center in this year's draft, I predict Nathan will go 2nd overall to Florida, he will be a great asset and he already knows how to play with Jonathan Huberdeau.

FUCALE
Zach Fucale is the number #1 North American goalie in this year's draft and he deserves it after the two years he's had with the Mooseheads.

Stories - The Chronicle Herald (June 25), Canada.com (June 26)

My prediction - Some people predict that Zach will go in the Top 10, others believe he will be picked later in the first round. The top 10 teams, as they stand now, all need great goaltending badly and therefore will probably pick him up as soon as they can. As Paul Hollingsworth said Friday morning on CTV Morning Live, the host city of this year's draft could really use a franchise goalie now that Martin Brodeur is thinking about leaving the game. I predict that Zachary will go 14th overall to Columbus, as they really need a good solid goaltender.

DROUIN
Jonathan Drouin started out this past season with a far chance of being picked in the first round, now after taking over when MacKinnon got hurt and having an awesome World Junior tournament, he has quickly moved up to #3 on the final CSS rankings.

Stories - Canada.com (June 25), The Hockey Writers (June 17), The Gazette (June 27), The Chronicle Herald (June 27)

My prediction - Colorado keeps saying that they will pick a forward and that they would pick Nathan MacKinnon, but I believe they need a good winger to balance out their talented centers they already have. Therefore, I predict that Jonathan will go 1st overall to Colorado.

NURSE
Darnell Nurse of the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds was not able to help his team past the first round but he has stayed in the top 10 in the North American rankings.

Stories - Rant Sports (May 30), National Post (May 30), NHL.com (May 31)

My prediction - I predict that Darnell will go 5th overall to Carolina, he seems like he would fit with that group of young guys.

BARKAROV
As the top ranked European skater at the end of the season by CSS, there is little chance I believe that he will go top 3. I predict Alexander will go 7th overall to Calgary who seem to have a lot of Euro players on their team.


June 27 - The players are in New York City now and a few of them visited Yankee Stadium today to the watch the Yankees and Texas Rangers game. Here are some pictures...

        Here is Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones and Jonathan Drouin on the big screen.

Final Central Scouting Services Rankings and Bob MacKenzie's Final TSN Rankings

Photos: Instagram accounts: Nathan MacKinnon, National Hockey League and Seth Jones

Herd Word

DRAFTEES
Mike Morreale twitted a picture yesterday of our top guns looking very "dapper", according to Halifax Mooseheads twitter who retweeted the picture, in their suits.

I must say they look very handsome in suits. It will be interesting to see where each guy goes in the NHL draft coming up on Sunday in Newark. Who do you think will be drafted first out of the Mooseheads players on June 30? Hit the comments below.

MACAULAY
Press release.

According to Andrew Rankin, Stephen MacAulay has been signed to a tryout contract by the Montreal Canadiens. MacAulay, who is from Cole Harbour, was drafted in 2011 by the St. Louis Blues but never signed with the team. He was invited to the Hamilton Bulldogs training camp last season but didn't make the team. He spent 5 years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, playing the first 4 and a half years with the Saint John Sea Dogs and finishing his career in Halifax. He helped the Mooseheads win the Memorial Cup this past season. He ahs a very impressive trophy record winning 4 Jean Rougeau trophies, 3 President's Cups and 2 Memorial Cups.

Lower Sackville native and former PEI Rocket player Ben Duffy was also signed to a tryout contract by the Canadiens. He was the regular season scoring champion this past season for the PEI Rocket who lost in the first round and played their last game as the Rocket on April 1st.

Good luck to both boys in training camp.

MACKINNON
There was a nice column in today's paper by Willy Palov talking about Nathan MacKinnon and former Herd player Freddy Cabina. A decade ago, Cabina was living with the MacKinnons as their billet child. He played three years with the Mooseheads and spent all three under the same roof as Nathan and giving the young boy tips about hockey. Freddy used to tell young Nate that he would be drafted first overall in the NHL draft one day and now that might actually happen.

Herd Word

DND DAY
It is DND Family Day here in Halifax with a few things happening today. There were kids out in the harbour riding around on skidoos at lunch time and the Memorial Cup trophy made an appearance at CFB Halifax.

NHL DRAFT
Earlier in the week, Joe Sakic made the statement that the Colorado Avalanche would not be taking Seth Jones first overall in the upcoming NHL draft and will instead chose one of three forwards. Willy Palov has a good article breaking down this new drama of the draft analyzing the statement that Sakic told the Denver Post. You can read that analysis here. On the other hand, Andrew Rankin has now reported that former NHL coach Doug MacLean would "be shocked if [Nathan MacKinnon] isn't No. 1". Here is that story.

MACKINNON
Talking about MacKinnon, he was in Toronto this week after spending the Monday night in Boston. He posted this picture on Twitter this afternoon mentioning that he was doing training.

ALBERTA
I would like to send my prayers and thoughts out to the city of Calgary and cities in Southern Alberta as they are struggling with flooding. According to pictures and Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun the water level of the flood, which started last week in Fort MacMurray, is up to Row 10 at the Calgary Saddledome. The Calgary Saddledome is home to the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League. According to the release, the dressing rooms are also flooded and there is one miilion dollars worth of damage so far.

Story of the flood first hit the news last Wednesday with Fort Mac having heavy rains for days in a row which caused the flooding. Obviuosly the weather travelled down to Calgary and Southern Alberta.

Press release.

Photo: Nathan MacKinnon's Instagram account

Pre-season matches set

HALIFAX - The schedule for the Halifax Mooseheads pre-season for their 20th anniversary has been released.

The Herd will play four games against their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, as well as two against the Moncton Wildcats. This seems like a very short preseason schedule with the team only play 6 games while they were scheduled for 8 last year.

The pre-season will start with a game at the Halifax Forum on August 17 and will than travel to Sydney for a game the next afternoon. Information on tickets have not been released but I will certainly be trying to go to the home games at the very least.

Here is the 2013-14 pre-season schedule:
          Saturday August 17 - 4pm vs. Eagles (Halifax Forum)
          Sunday August 18 - 4pm at Eagles (Centre 200)
          Friday August 23 - 7pm vs. Wildcats (Rath Eastlink Community Centre - Truro)
          Sunday August 25 - 4pm at Wildcats (Centre Aitken - Fredericton)
          Friday August 30 - 7pm vs. Eagles (Metro Centre)
          Saturday September 8 - 4pm at Eagles (Centre 200)

The Mooseheads will begin the regular season on Thursday, September 12 in Halifax against the Moncton Wildcats.

Photo: HalifaxForum.ca

Jones still #1?

Not according to Joe Sakic says a new story in the Denver Post. Appearantly Sakic told the newspaper that the Colorado Avalanche will not be taking Seth Jones with the first overall pick on June 30th. "If we do pick first, we're leaning more toward on of those three forwards," Sakic told the paper. The three forwards that he is talking about are Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Alexander Barkov. Nate and Jo were ranked #2 and #3 respectively in the last CSS report of North American skaters while Barkov was number one in the European skaters.

I really don't know how I feel about this, the Avs definitely need help at all positions considering they were 27th in both goals for and against. However, I think their biggest issue is defense and goaltending. You do take a risk though drafting a defenseman first overall and it is possible that Jones would go back to Portland if he does not perform while MacKinnon and Drouin would make the team right away I am sure. We will just have to see though come next Sunday.

Press release.

This news comes a day after the top four ranked North American players hit up the Stanley Cup finals Game 3 in Boston on Monday. It has become tradition for prospects to go and watch a Finals game. This year, Nate, Jo, Seth and Darnell Nurse travelled to the Massachusetts city to catch the action between the home town Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks. It was the first game in this year's Finals that didn't go to overtime as the Bs shutout the Hawks 2-0. This gave the Bruins a 2-1 series lead. Mooseheads alumni Brad Marchand is now two wins away from winning his second Stanley Cup.

Comment below who you think will go number one and if you think Colorado will even keep thier first overall pick.

20th season sked released

The schedule for the 2013-14 season was released today and for the first time in franchise history, your Halifax Mooseheads will open the season on opening night after winning the President's Cup. The winner always plays on the first night of the season which is normally a Thursday and will be the only game played that night. The Moose will raise the banners on September 12th against the Moncton Wildcats.

The upcoming season is the 20th anniversary season and it's awesome that the team will raise a championship banner to kick it off. Halifax will play its first game against the newly renamed Charlottetown Islanders the next night, September 13, on the island. The Patrick Roy era in Quebec is now over with and your Mooseheads will play the first game against the new coached team when they visit Halifax on December 6. The final two teams in the 2013 Quebec league playoffs will meet again for the first time since that Game 5 series clinching win on September 28 in a game at the Metro Centre. Halifax will play 4 home and home series in the first half of the season, two of them will be against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The Battle of Nova Scotia will be the last of the home and homes when the teams meet in the last weekend of the year. The two teams will meet on December 28 in Halifax and December 29 in Cape Breton. The season ends on March 15 with another game against our provincial rivals in Halifax and a total of 9 games will be played that day which means every team.

The annual events dates have not been released yet but when they are check back here and I will have a full list of all the exciting things happening this season.

For the full schedule click here.

Herd Word

IMPORT GOALIES
The Canadian Hockey League in association with Hockey Canada announced on Tuesday that the 2013 CHL Import Draft will be the last for European goalies to be drafted. Current goaltenders are able to continue to play with their junior teams until their eligibility has expired while goalies selected in this year's draft can play their four or five years in the CHL. The biggest issue that Hockey Canada is seeing with European goalies playing in the CHL is that they learn how to play our style of game and become better goaltenders thus beating Team Canada at national competitions and in the National Hockey League. "In partnership with Hockey Canada, the CHL has identified the need to further develop Canadian goaltenders by providing increased opportunities for them to compete in our league and succeed at the next level," David Branch, CHL president, said in a statement explaining the reason behind the change.

Press release.

TICKETS
Season tickets and 15-game packs for the Mooseheads 20th season will go on sale on Monday June 17 at 9am for fans who do not currently have either or. Current holders were supposed to renew their seats by May 31 and those seats that did not get renewed were released for the public and other current holders who wanted to change seats. I do not believe that the prices have changed since last season. For the full list of prices and benefits of being a holder click here.

BANNER
Not only is the 2013-14 season the Herd's 20th season in Halifax as a member of the Quebec league, it is also #Banneryear. The Mooseheads will raise their 3 banners on home opening night in September. They will raise the most likely raise a banner for being Regular Season Champs, as well as the customary President's Cup and Memorial Cup Champions banners. I cannot wait for the home opener and I will have lots of pics posted on here so stayed tuned. I think they should invite Nathan, Jonathan and Zach back if they make the NHL and they should also invite back Konrad, Stephen and Stefan back because they were the biggest part of this championship season.

NHL DRAFT
I guess Chris Clarke is going to go support his Moose teammates in New Jersey at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. He had this to say on twitter today:

The National Hockey League Entry Draft is on June 30 this year and is being held by the New Jersey Devils. It is only one day this year and it is on a Sunday. Normally it is a Friday and Saturday I believe with Round 1 being on Friday and Rounds 2 through 7 on Saturday.

SCHEDULE
The schedule for the 2013-14 QMJHL season should be out really soon which is good I am excited to find out when the season opener is. According to @HFXMooseheads twitter in a reply to a fans question if it was out already, "Should be in the next few weeks. In the final stages right now." Come back in July (probably) and I will have the schedule posted under the 'Schedule' tab above.

Photo: Twitter

Roy selected 1st overall

Nicolas Roy is now a Screaming Eagle. Roy was selected 1st overall in this year's QMJHL draft by Cape Breton. This is an interesting story in of itself. Earlier in the week, Nicolas' father mentioned that his son would go up on stage and wear the jersey but will not report to the Nova Scotian team next season. I wonder what he will do come August.

Cape Breton had to wait for a little bit after 11 am to make their pick as there were introductions including the Mooseheads were congratulated by the league for winning the Memorial Cup and a standing ovation by the crowd. Highlights of the season were also shown and President Gilles Courteau made his speech.

The top 3 picks went as projected with Antoin Belliveaur and Nathan Noel after Roy going #2 and #3 overall respectively. Noel is yet another hockey player who has trained at Shattuck St-Mary's. He is also from Atlantic Canada being born in Newfoundland.

FUN FACT: This was the first draft for the newly renamed Charlottetown Islanders. According to the Saint John Sea Dogs twitter page, the Dogs and Halifax Mooseheads also had their first drafts in Chicoutimi.

Here is the full list of the first round selections;
1. ROY, Nicolas - Cape Breton
2. BEAUVILLIER, Anthony - Shawinigan
3. NOEL, Nathan - Saint John
4. ROY, Jeremy - Sherbrooke
5. BRISEBOIS, Guillaume - Acadie-Bathurst
6. GAUTHIER, Julien - Val-d'Or fromGatineau
7. BOUCHARD, Jeremy - Chicoutimi
8. HENLEY, David - Val-d'Or from Victoriaville
9. ALAIN, Alexandre - Gatineau from Val-d'Or
10. DOSTE, Alex - Gatineau from Val-D'Or
11. ASKEW, Cameron - Drummondville
12. BELL, Jason - Cape Breton from Rouyn-Noranda
13. SPRONG, Daniel - Charlottetown
14. BROWN, Christophe - Val-d'Or from Moncton
15. MELOCHE, Nicolas - Baie-Comeau from Quebec
16. GALIPEAU, Olivier - Val-d'Or from Blainville-Boisbriand
17. THOMPSON, Will - Saint John from Rimouski
18. ALLARD, Frederic - Chicoutimi from Baie-Comeau
19. GOULET, Alexandre - Charlottetown from Halifax

Stefan Fournier's younger brother Ty was drafted at 24th overall by the Victoriaville Tigres. Congratulations to the Fournier family, they now have 3 sons drafted to the Q league. The oldest Fournier was drafted by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 2008 17th overall, while Dillon was drafted first overall by the Lewiston MAINEiacs in 2010.

Your Halifax Mooseheads picked the following players at the 2013 Draft in Chicoutimi today:
#34 Maxime Fortier (Lac St-Louis of the AAA in Quebec)
#38 Taylor Ford (Lac St-Louis of the AAA in Quebec)
#57 Vincent Watt (Lac St-Louis of the AAA in Quebec)
#91 Jean-Sebastien Talleter {EDIT: JS Taillefer} (Wilkes/Barre Scranton of the Junior in Quebec)
#92 Connor Moynahan {EDIT: Connor Moynihan} (Middlesex Islanders of U16 in New Hampshire)
#128 Jordan King (Western of the AAA in Newfoundland)
#146 Brandon Worthen (Dartmouth of the AAA in Nova Scotia)
#164 Andrew Shewfelt (Dartmouth of the AAA in Nova Scotia)
#182 Jean-Philippe Brais (Chateauguay of the AAA in Quebec)
#200 Alexandre Sanfacon (Notre-Dame of the AAA in Quebec)
#218 Bob Carpenter (Austin of HS in Massachusetts)
#236 Mark Vokey (Pictou of the AAA in Nova Scotia)
#254 Jacob Jacques (Jonquiere of the AAA in Quebec)

With the 254th pick by the Herd, that concludes the first step in the 2013-14 season. Congrats to all players and welcome to the new Halifax Mooseheads.

For complete list of draft picks click here.

Photo: Saint John Sea Dogs twitter page

Beauchemin traded

The Halifax Mooseheads have traded 20-year old Dominic Beauchemin to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan during the 5th round of today's QMJHL draft. The Titan traded their 91st overall pick in the fifth round in return for Beauchemin and they also received 19 year old Joel Blanchard. This caused the Mooseheads to pick back to back to end round 5 of the draft. With the 91st pick, Halifax chose Jean-Sebastien Tallefer who played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Junior in the Quebec Midget AAA league. At their original 92nd pick, the Herd chose Islanders Junior Hockey Club player Connor Moynahan.

TRADE
To Acadie Bathurst - Dominic Beauchemin and Joel Blanchard
To Halifax - Acadie's 5th round 91st pick in the 2013 Draft, originally Cape Breton's


The Herd will now pick at 128th overall in the 7th round next.

National Championship caps off perfect season (overview)

August 18 - start of preseason with a game against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, rookies versus rookies. The Mooseheads won 3-2 at the Halifax Forum .
September 9 - end of preseason, Herd finished with a 4-2-0 record playing two home-and-home series against Cape Breton on either side of a home-and-home against the Moncton Wildcats.
September 16 - Second pre-season game against Saint John Sea Dogs cancelled because too many players are sick with the flu.
September 21 - Halifax opens regular season playing against Cape Breton winning in overtime with a goal by Nathan MacKinnon.
September 23 - first big night for top line as MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Stefan Fournier record 11 points in 8-1 stomping over PEI Rocket.
September 25 - Drouin named CHL Player of the Week.
September 28 - Halifax plays home opener with a game against the Gatineau Olympiques and lose 6 to 1.
October 6 - after a couple of years being the weaker team between arch rival Saint John, Halifax manhandled them in the second game of a home and home at the Metro Centre winning 11-2 with MacKinnon and Ciampini scoring hat tricks.
October 19 - the 5th annual Pink in the Rink event and first sellout of the season in a 4-3 Moose win over Sherbrooke Phoenix.
November 4 - The Mooseheads win streak came to an end in a 6-5 shootout loss after leading 5-1 with 20 minutes to go. Herd won 14 straight games.
November 9 - Halifax play first game on national television in a game versus the Olympiques on Sportsnet.
November 16 -  DND Night with special Navy jerseys. Herd win 8-3 over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
November 25 - Halifax shutout for the first and only time of the season in Moncton against the Wildcats losing 3-0.
November 27 - PA announcer Pat Connolly passes away after losing his battle with cancer. A moment of silence was held before the November 30th game.
November 28 - Nathan MacKinnon named captain of Team Cherry for the 2013 CHL Top Prospects game. Linemate Jonathan Drouin was named his alternate.
December 5 - Halifax ranked #1 CHL team for 5th straight week, new franchise record.
December 12 - Zach Fucale added to Team Cherry along with Nate and Jo. The other 34 players were announced too.
December 13 - MacKinnon and Drouin named to Canada U-20 team.
December 29 - annual Battle of Nova Scotia event played between Halifax and Cape Breton. The Mooseheads won both games of the home-and-home series by scores of 4-1.
January 4 - Teddy Bear Toss game against Saint John and lost in overtime. First home loss in 16 games. It was also 1300th franchise game.
January 10 - Moose trade for Stephen MacAulay from the Sea Dogs and trade Randy Gazzola for Matt Murphy with the Val-d'Or Foreurs. They also released Steve Gillard and Anthony Terenzio.
January 16 - Metro Centre hosts the CHL prospects game. Team Cherry loses 3-0 to Team Orr.
January 18 - team books their ticket to the 2013 QMJHL playoffs.
January 30 - Halifax are knocked out of top spot in CHL rankings after spending 11 weeks on top.
February 20 - Maritime Division champs! Halifax wins 5th division title in franchise history after beating the Sea Dogs
February 20 - surpassed previous high for games won in a season with a win against SJ. New record is now 47 wins in one single season.
March 11 - nominees for Golden Puck awards are announced with 5 Mooseheads listed.
March 17 - played season finale. Finished season not losing in regulation for past 16 games.
March 17 - tied CHL record for most wins in a season after beating Cape Breton 5-2 in front of a sellout crowd.
March 22 - starts playoff against 16th seed Saint John with a big 11-2 win.
March 27 - SWEEP! Halifax wins game 4 on the road in Saint John to sweep the Sea Dogs and start out the playoffs just like 2012.
April 4 - QMJHL Awards night, Jo, Dom, Cam and Konrad win big.
May 10 - Halifax ends playoff run with an almost perfect record losing only one game. The Mooseheads are presented with the president's cup.
May 26 - Mooseheads win Memorial Cup against the #2 ranked CHL team, the Portland Winterhawks, in an almost exact score as first game between the two teams. Nathan scored a hat trick and added 2 assists. Drouin recorded 5 assists, while it was the last junior game for MacAulay, Konrad and Fournier.
May 26 - Nathan is awarded the Memorial Cup MVP and was also the tournament's top scorer. MacKinnon, Fucale, Abeltshauser and Frk were named to the All-Star team.
May 27 - fans gather at airport to welcome the team home.
May 28 - Mooseheads Day! cup parade and autograph session put on for fans.

Marchand to Finals

Halifax Mooseheads alumni Brad Marchand is off to the Stanley Cup finals once again after he and the Boston Bruins swept the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight with a 1-0 Game 4 win. Marchand assisted on the only goal of the game which came at 5:01 of the third period. With the assist, the fourth year player concluded the Eastern Conference Finals with 2 goals and 2 assists in 4 games. He now has 13 points in the first three rounds. The Bruins will now play the winner of the Chicago/Los Angeles series. I believe that Chicago will win tomorrow night in Game 5.

The Boston Bruins have now beat both of my favourite teams in this year's playoffs. The funny thing is that the Toronto Maple Leafs (who were not projected to make the playoffs let alone as the 5th seed in the East) were a tougher opponent to beat than the New York Rangers and the Penguins combined.

Marchand, who grew up in the St. Margaret's Bay area of Nova Scotia, was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2004 QMJHL draft by the Moncton Wildcats. He played two seasons with the Wildcats before being traded to Val-d'Or Foreurs and finally playing his last 26 junior games with the Herd in the 2007-2008 season. He recorded 29 points while with his hometown team and added 19 more points in 14 playoff games that season as the Moose went on to the QMJHL semifinals only to lose in a sweep to Gatineau.

It's official

It's finally official. Dominique Ducharme, the Head Coach of your 2013 Memorial Cup champions Halifax Mooseheads, will return next season to coach the team hopefully to another awesome season. General Manager Cam Russell has also signed a new contract with the Herd. Dom signed a 3-year contract extension while Russell also signed a 3 year deal. It was also announced that Goalie coach Eric Raymond, assistant head coaches Jim Midgley and Steve Hartley will be back for the 2013-14 season. Here is the press release.

All I have to say about this is: smart move Bobby Smith. Congratulations to both Dom and Cam, hoping you will bring many more Cups to the city of Halifax.

The Matt Boudreau trade became official on Friday as well after rumors started early last week that he would be traded to Shawinigan. He officially is a Cataract now with Halifax receiving a first round pick in 2014.

In other draft news, Halifax and Val-d'Or traded first round picks with the Mooseheads receiving one in 2015 and the Foreurs getting our 2014 pick.

That would be all during the trade period on Friday morning. Look back tomorrow for all of Halifax's draft choices as they start the day off in the second round in Chicoutimi picking at 34th.

Subway Series hosts announced

The Canadian Hockey League, along with Subway and the other 3 leagues, announced yesterday the hosts for the 2013 Subway Super Series which will be played November 18 to 28, 2013.

Each of the three leagues host two games in two different cities. Once again the Russian Selects will play the QMJHL all-stars in the first two games followed by the OHL and finally the WHL. The Gatineau Olympiques and Sherbrooke Phoenix will be the host cities for Quebec. The OHL hosts will be the Oshawa Generals and Sudbury Wolves while the Red Deer Rebels and Lethbridge will be the final two hosts. The all star teams for each league contains players from that league who are selected, mainly candidates from each league who have a chance to play for the Canadian World Junior Team. The Russian Selects are players from the country's Junior Team including some of the Russians in the CHL.

The full schedule is as follows:
November 18 - Quebec vs. Russia - Gatineau
November 20 - Quebec vs. Russia - Sherbrooke
November 21 - Ontario vs. Russia - Oshawa
November 25 - Ontario vs. Russia - Sudbury
November 27 - Western vs. Russia - Red Deer
November 28 - Western vs. Russia - Lethbridge

For the full press release click here.

Herd Word

2013 QMJHL DRAFT
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft will be happening this weekend on Saturday in Chicoutimi. Most teams from the Maritimes already made their way to the Quebec city yesterday, including our very own Halifax Mooseheads. Since the Moose won the Memorial Cup they are lined up to draft last in each round but because of previous trades that is not usually the case including the first round pick which is now Gatineau's. Halifax has 12 picks in total.

According to QMJHL.ca this is where your Mooseheads will be picking on Saturday:
2 - 34 (look below)
2 - 38th
4 - 57th (from Cape Breton)
5 - 92nd
7 - 128th
8 - 146th
9 - 164th
10 -182nd
11 - 200th
12 - 218th
13 - 236th
14 - 254th

For a full list click here.

AMERICAN PICKS
The two American picks from the 2012 Q draft that Halifax picked have said they will pass on joining the team next year. Jack Eichel and John Hayden were drafted in last year's draft and were not ready to join the Herd this past season. Eichel told the team that he wanted to return to his country's development program for next season while Hayden said he has committed to Yale University. It would've been nice to see both boys play next season. I think they would've been good additions from what I have seen of course playing in the world juniors is a lot different than playing a full season.

All teams are required to pick two Americans in each year's draft. It will be interesting to see what happens on Saturday. Halifax gets to pick at number 34 now as compensation for forfeiting his rights.

CHARLOTTETOWN
Are we going to see the new jerseys for the Charlottetown Islanders this weekend? I guess we will have to wait and see. The more I look at the logo and other pictures of it, the more the colors are growing on me. It actually does look nice.

DUCHARME
According to Metro Halifax, Head Coach "Dominique Ducharme has no plan of leaving the Halifax Mooseheads anytime soon." This is good news for Moose fans but as real hockey knows it doesn't take just a coach to form a championship team. Coach Ducharme is looking to sign a multi-year deal with the team and told the Metro that "there is no other place that I would coach junior." He is currently in Chicoutimi for the QMJHL draft.

FUCALE
I'm a little late on this news but I have been trying to get the season recap post done and I'm still not. Anyways, Zach Fucale has been invited to Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence Goaltending Camp later this month. He is one of 8 Quebec League goalies that were invited. The camp will run from June 13-16 in Calgary. Practices are open to the public.