NHL Dev Camp Invites

After the completion of the National Hockey League Entry Draft, teams release rosters for their development camp. A few current and former Halifax Mooseheads have been invited to camps.

Newly drafted Herd player Otto Somppi was listed on Tampa Bay Lightning's development camp roster that starts today and goes until July 2. You can find out more here. Former Halifax dman Cody Donaghey will also be at development camp as he was listed on the Ottawa Senators roster. The 20 year old was traded to the Senators in February from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Read more here.

Former Mooseheads defenseman Matt Murphy and current forward Maxime Fortier got invites from the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens respectively. Neither team has officially announced their camp rosters or the dates of the camp but according to TVA's Mikael Lalancette both players received invitations on the weekend.

NHL Draft

The 2016 National Hockey League entry draft was held this weekend in Buffalo, New York

• Once again, for the first two picks of the draft it went the way everyone was expecting it to with the Toronto Maple Leafs selecting American Auston Matthews number one and Patrik Laine of Finland going to the Winnipeg Jets second overall.
• The 1st surprise of Friday night was when the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Pierre-Luc Dubois of the QMJHL's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles with the 3rd overall selection. Many thought that the QMJHL player would be drafted somewhere between 5 and 10. Only 14 Q players were selected in this year's draft, the lowest number in years.
• Halifax Mooseheads forward Otto Somppi was drafted in the 7th round 206th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, dropping below where many predicted him to go.
• 18 year old Maxime Fortier did not get drafted on the weekend while Herd prospect Joachim Blichfeld was selected 210th overall by San Jose.
• The 2017 NHL draft will be hosted by the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, IL.

Poll #15

With the NHL draft coming up this weekend, there are two Halifax Mooseheads players who hope that they will hear their name called in Buffalo, NY so I thought I would ask you will they get drafted. Forwards Maxime Fortier and Otto Somppi probably won't be heading south since they both are anticipated to be drafted in the later rounds of the entry draft if at all. 18 year old Fortier was eligible to be picked last year but he was skipped over, his play this past year should have helped his stock. 17 year old Somppi was in the top 10 of rookie scorers for the 2015-16 season which led to an invite to the draft combine a few weeks ago. Below you will find each player's rankings from various hockey related personnel.

POLLS ARE CLOSED

Considering where Maxime is ranked where do you think the Montreal, QC player will be drafted?
No. 104 by HockeyProspect.com
No. 65 by ISS Hockey
No. 70 by TSN (Craig Button)
No. 73 by Future Considerations
No. 145 by NHL Central Scouting (NA skaters)


Considering where Otto is ranked where do you think the Helsinki, FIN player will be drafted?
No. 112 by HockeyProspect.com
No. 59 by ISS Hockey
No. 97 by The Hockey News
No. 105 by Future Considerations
No. 110 by McKeen's Hockey
No. 78 by NHL Central Scouting (NA skaters)

Flower & Prospects Invited To Hockey Canada Camps

Hockey Canada announced the invitees to their summer showcase camps on Monday in preparation of the 2016-17 hockey season. The announcement comes just 2 weeks after team coaches were named with former Halifax Mooseheads head boss Dominique Ducharme being appointed as the World Junior team's head coach.

Alexis Gravel
Photo - Gravel's Twitter

Defenseman Walter Flower was invited to the under-18 selection camp. "From July 29-Aug. 2, 44 players – four goaltenders, 16 defencemen, and 24 forwards – will participate in practices and three Red-White intrasquad games." Twenty-two men will be selected to play on the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Canadian team after the five days in Calgary.

During the same time, "111 players – 12 goaltenders, 36 defenceman and 63 forwards – will participate in practices and games on one of six teams: Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Red, and White." Four kids that your Herd drafted at the beginning of the month were invited to participate in the U-17 development camp. Goaltender Alexis Gravel, defenseman Jared McIsaac along with forwards Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Raphael Lavoie were amoung the players heading to Calgary for a chance to be on 1 of three national teams at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge held in early November.

Congratulations to all five young men and good luck next month.

Pre-season Schedule Announced

Photo - Mooseheads Twitter

HALIFAX, NS - The Halifax Mooseheads released their pre-season schedule for the upcoming season.

The Moose will play 5 different teams this year between August 19 and September 16. The schedule will include two home and home series against the Charlottetown Islanders and Moncton Wildcats. With the regular season starting later than normal this year, there will be a larger gap between the first few pre-season games and the last few. Home games will be played at the Halifax Forum like normal.

Halifax will also participate in the inaugural Hub City Showcase, a division wide rookie tournament being hosted by Moncton on the first weekend of the pre-season. Each team will play 3 games during the weekend with the last one being determined by the standings after the first two matches.This will undoubtedly change how training camp works. More details will be announced later in the summer.

Here is the 2016-17 pre-season schedule:
August 19 at 4pm - at Saint John Sea Dogs (Superior Propane Centre - Moncton)
August 20 at 1pm - vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Superior Propane Centre - Moncton)
August 24 at 7pm - at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Cape Breton County Recreation Centre - Coxheath, NS)
August 27 at 3pm - at Charlottetown Islanders (Pownal Sports Centre)
August 28 at 3pm - vs. Charlottetown Islanders (Halifax Forum)
September 10 at 7pm - at Moncton Wildcats (Dr Carson/Marion Murray Community Center - Springhill, NS)
September 11 at 3pm - vs. Moncton Wildcats (Halifax Forum)
September 16 at 7pm - vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Halifax Forum)

Check back in August when I'll have more information on ticket prices and camp news.

Events

The schedule for the upcoming season was released earlier this week and the Halifax Mooseheads announced the dates for most of their 2016-17 season events. The date for the DND Appreciation night game has yet to be released but it's possible we'll see it being played on Remembrance Day. 

Annual events
HOME OPENER - September 24 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
Pink in the Rink 9 - October 21 vs. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
DND Appreciation Night - not yet announced
Battle of Nova Scotia - December 31 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss - January 6 vs. Moncton Wildcats
Fan Appreciation Night - March 18 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs

Mooseheads Schedule Released

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced the 2016-17 regular season schedule today.

Your Halifax Mooseheads will begin the season on the road yet again, travelling to Moncton to take on the Wildcats on September 23 at 7pm. Luckily we won't have to wait until October to see hockey at the Scotiabank Centre as the home opener for the Herd is the next night with a matchup versus the Saint John Sea Dogs.

Some highlights from the schedule:

• In an interesting scheduling quirk, the Moose are set to welcome the Gatineau Olympiques on Thanksgiving Day (3pm) and host the Sherbrooke Phoenix on Remembrance Day (7pm). We may see special DND-themed jerseys during the game on November 11.
• Halifax will have it's first 3 games in 3 nights trip between October 14 and October 16. This also happens to be the first Quebec trip of the season too and the team will visit Shawinigan, Blainville and Victoriaville during the weekend.
• For a third straight year, your Herd will host a game on New Year's Eve. This year it will be apart of the Battle of Nova Scotia event when Cape Breton visits Moose Country for a game currently scheduled at 2pm. The two teams will play in Sydney on December 30 at the normal 7pm.
• The Mooseheads will have it's longest road trip February 26-March 11 when they play 5 games away while the longest home stand is 3 games which happens 4 times.
• Halifax will finish the season on home ice, hosting 3 games to end the year. The fan appreciation game will be March 18 at 4pm. A full slate of 9 games will be played on this date.

Halifax have yet to announce their pre-season schedule or the dates of the annual events. The Moose said that they would announce the specialty games around the same time as the regular season schedule announcement so expect by the end of the week to get that info.

Q Draft: Trades Change Aspect of Draft Day

Jared McIsaac & the Mooseheads brass
Photo - QMJHL Facebook page

The Halifax Mooseheads made some good decisions today in Charlottetown, PEI to help make the team a strong one in a few years after selecting the top two players in the 2016 QMJHL draft.

Halifax didn't originally own the 2nd overall pick but traded it to Baie-Comeau for the 7th, 14th and 24th overall picks in the draft, which will undoubtedly add fire to the Moose/Drakkar rivalry. With it being in PEI, the Herd invited their islander players Darcy Ashley and Brent Andrews to announce the 1st overall pick. Once again the Moose chose homegrown players with 5 being selected this year from the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League. A total of 15 young men were drafted by the Mooseheads.


Here is who the Moose selected today: 

RD 1, #1 - C Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Gatineau L'Entrepide, QMAAA
RD 1, #2 - D Jared McIsaac - Cole Harbour Wolfpack, NSMMHL
RD 2, #20 - G Alexis Gravel - Mississauga Senators, GTMMHL
RD 2, #29 - C Raphael Lavoie - College Antoine-Girouard Gaulois, QMAAA
RD 3, #39 - RW Frederik Theoret - College Charles-Lemoy
RD 4, #57 - D Peter Diliaberatore - Steele Subaru Major Midgets, NSMMHL
RD 5, #75 - LW Jordan McKenna - Steele Subaru Major Midgets, NSMMHL
RD 7, #111 - C Jake Wise - Central Catholic HS Raiders, USHS
RD 8, #129 - G Cole McLaren - Valley Wildcats, NSMMHL
RD 8, #133 - LW Brandon Stone - Fredericton Major Midget Caps, NBPEIMMHL
RD 10, #165 - D Jack Rathbone - Dexter School, USHS
RD 11, #183 - D William Smith - Ulysse Prep, CAHS
RD 12, #201 - D Brian Scoville - Winchendon School, USHS
RD 13, #219 - RW Ian MacPhee - Halifaax McDonald's, NSMMHL
RD 14, #237 - D Cedric Matte - Bishop's College U16

Congratulations to all the young men who were drafted today by the 18 teams and welcome to the new Herd players to the team.

Click here for the full list of players drafted.

TRADE: Moose acquire Kennedy for picks

Photo - QMJHL site

Your Halifax Mooseheads have acquired a 20 year old forward. The Herd announced just before the 6th round at the QMJHL draft this afternoon that they had traded their 93rd overall pick and 9th rounder to the Charlottetown Islanders for Antigonish native Bradley Kennedy.

The Islanders also received Halifax's 4th round pick in 2017.

Kennedy, who turned 20 on March 24, had 25 goals and 56 points in 54 games last season with Charlottetown. He also added 85 penalty minutes during the regular season while recording 12 points in the playoffs. He's another big forward, listed at 6'01" and 194 pounds on the Q website.

Welcome to Moose Country Bradley.

First Round Recap: Halifax Makes Trade

Photo - QMJHL Facebook page

Not only did Halifax make team history on Saturday morning by making only their second 1st overall pick in their 23 years as a QMJHL franchise, but they also made even more noise by trading this year's 7th, 16th & 24th overall picks to Baie-Comeau for the Drakkar's 2nd overall selection. With the pick, the Mooseheads drafted Nova Scotian defenseman Jared McIsaac. The 16 year old reportedly had told Baie-Comeau that he would not report to the team if they drafted him today.

The trade between the two rivals was not the only trade made in the first round. I can't even tell you how many there were as picks just kept changing hands.

Below is a recap of who was drafted in the first round:
1. GROULX, Benoit-Olivier - Halifax Mooseheads
2. MCISAAC, Jared - Halifax Mooseheads
3. RODRIGUE, Olivier - Drummondville Voltigeurs
4. FORTIER, Gabriel - Baie-Comeau Drakkar
5. BOUCHARD, Xavier - Baie-Comeau Drakkar
6. DOBSON, Noah - Acadie-Bathurst Titan
7. LAFERRIERE, Mathias - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
8. HOUDE, Samuel - Chicoutimi Sagueneens
9. ELEMENT, Shawn - Baie-Comeau Drakkar
10. MACDONALD, Anderson - Sherbrooke Phoenix
11. MATHIEU, Olivier - Saint John Sea Dogs
12. BERNARD, Xavier - Drummondville Voltiguers
13. MANDOLESE, Kevin - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
14. COXHEAD, Andrew - Quebec Remparts
15. BUCHELER, Jeremy - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
16. ST-LAURANT, Edouard - Baie-Comeau Drakkar
17. DESRUISSEAUX, Cedric - Victoriaville Tigres
18. ALAIN, Marc-Olivier - Charlottetown Islanders
19. MACKINNON, Evan - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Welcome to the Mooseheads Benoit-Olivier and Jared and congratulations to the 19 players who were drafted in the first round.

Moose Pick Benoit-Olivier Groulx 1st Overall

Photo - Jason Mitchell Twitter

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI - "With the first overall pick in the 2016 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft, the Halifax Mooseheads select..."

Words that every 16 year old in Eastlink Centre heard this morning but only one player's name was at the end of that sentence. Your Herd announced shortly after 10 a.m Atlantic time that they selected Gatineau L'Entrepide forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx with their 1st pick of the morning. Former Moose players Brent Andrews and Darcy Ashley were on stage to help the brass make the selection.

Groulx, 16, scored 21 goals and 51 points in 41 games last season in the QMAAA. Benoit also participated in the Youth Olympic Games in February and record 6 points for the U16 Canada team. The team won a silver medal. He was impressive in the Gatorade Excellence Challenge as well.

The Gatineau, QC native was ranked first by HockeyProspect.com as well as by QMJHL Central Scouting. He is listed as 6'00", 176 pounds.

Halifax is also picking 7th overall and 24th in this morning's first round.

QMJHL Draft Day Info

Here is some info to get you ready for the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft.

When: Saturday June 4 at 10 a.m.

Where: Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, PEI

Follow: TVA Sports is broadcasting the draft on TV. For those who don't have the channel you can see the picks selected on the Q website while junior hockey personnel will be using Twitter to update their followers during the day. This blog will also be updated through out the day.

Halifax's picks:
Round 1 - 1st overall
Round 1 - 7th overall
Round 1 - 16th overall
Round 2 - 21st overall
Round 2 - 24th overall
Round 3 - 39th overall
Round 3 - 52nd overall
Round 4 - 57th overall
Round 5 - 75th overall
Round 6 - 93rd overall
Round 7 - 111th overall
Round 8 - 129th overall
Round 8 - 133rd overall
Round 9 - 147th overall
Round 10 - 165th overall
Round 11 - 183rd overall
Round 12 - 201st overall
Round 13 - 219th overall
Round 14 - 237th overall

Good luck to all the players who are eligible to be drafted.