Former Moose Get New Teams for 16-17

A few former Halifax Mooseheads players will be on different teams in 2016-17 than they were last season. If you follow me on Twitter, most of this will be old news but I thought I would put all this news in one post for readers.

Photo - Nauss Facebook

During training camp, the Herd made a few transactions that moved veteran players to other teams. Halifax traded defensemen Morgan Nauss and Jean-Sebastien Taillefer to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Gatineau Olympiques respectively, towards the end of August for a few draft picks. 18 year old Nauss has no points in 3 games played and a minus-3 so far this season for the Sags while 19 year old Taillefer has 3 assists in 11 games and is minus-1 with the Piques. Sophomores Ilya Putintsev and Dominik Blain-Dupuis apparently didn't fit in to the direction that new head coach Andre Touriney was looking to go as the team put both players on waivers. Putintsev was picked up by the Moncton Wildcats and has since played 8 games assisting on three goals. Blain-Dupuis was picked up by the Olympiques and has gotten a lot of ice time that he probably wouldn't with the Moose, playing all 11 games for Gatineau while picking up an assist. The Mooseheads also released overager Andrew Shewfelt toward the end of camp and he now plays for the Amherst Ramblers of the MJAHL. Shewfelt has 2 assists in 8 games played.

Photo - Florida Everblades Twitter

In mid-September it was announced by the Florida Everblades of the ECHL that they signed former Herd forward Stephen MacAulay for the 2016-17 season. The 24 year old has yet to play a game this season for the Everbaldes but they're only two games into the ECHL season. MacAulay, a native of Cole Harbour, NS, spent the last two and a half seasons with the Saint Mary's Huskies. This will be Stephen's second crack at securing a pro career after he split the first half of the 2013-14 season between the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) and the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) before coming home to play university hockey.

Over the summer, the Moncton Wildcats announced that the team had traded Herd alumni Cody Donaghey to the Charlottetown Islanders. The defenseman has benefited from a high-skilled Islanders team and is currently 7th in league scoring with 15 points, twelve of which are assists. He's played 10 games and is a minus-1. This will be Donaghey's last season in the QMJHL. The St. John's, NL native played the first half of 2015-16 with the Mooseheads and recorded 11 points in 21 games.

Boston, MA native Danny Moynihan was a free-agent invite to Vancouver Canucks training camp last month before being reassigned to the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets who signed Moynihan to a two-way AHL/ECHL contract on October 4. The Comets reassigned the 20 year old to the Alaska Aces of the ECHL a few days later where it is unknown right now if he'll make the team. Moynihan, who split the 2015-16 season between the Mooseheads and Shawinigan Cataractes, will be on a new team this year even if he doesn't make the Aces as he has been recruited by the Dalhousie Tigers. The Tigers' coach, Chris Donnelly, discussed the prospect of Moynihan coming back to Halifax should his professional aspirations not work out with John Moore, the voice of the Mooseheads News 95.7 broadcasts (see below).

After aging out of juniors, Matt Murphy has joined the University of New Brunswick Varisty Reds hockey team for the 2016-17 season. The former Herd was invited to Winnipeg Jets training camp last month but was later released. Murphy will try to help the V-Reds repeat as University Cup champions and isn't doing to bad to start the season. The 21 year old has 5 assists in 4 games played to go with 8 penalty minutes. The defenseman played two and a half seasons in front of the Moose Country faithful and also spent time with the Val-d'Or Foreurs, Quebec Remparts and Saint John Sea Dogs while in the Q.

There will be one former Moose to start the season in the National Hockey League. It was announced last Sunday that the Carolina Hurricanes claimed alum Martin Frk off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings. Frk, from Pelhrimov, Czech Republic, spent the 2015-16 season with the Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins collecting 27 goals and 44 points in 67 games. The 23 year old was named to the Hurricanes opening night roster but did not play. He is expected to make his NHL debut tonight when Carolina visits the Edmonton Oilers.

Photo - NHL.com

Former captain Timo Meier participated in San Jose Sharks training camp last month and looked like he might make the NHL this season. However, it was announced at the end of September that he would be out for four weeks with mononucleosis. The Sharks than announced that they had reassigned the Swiss forward to their minor league team, the San Jose Barracuda, on Friday and that the 20 year old will stay in the Bay area to train as he recovers. Meier will most likely begin the season with the Barracuda, possibly by the end of this month. After that it shouldn't take too long for the former Mooseheads and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies player is back with the big club.

Good luck to all the players with their new teams the rest of the season. Check back here in a few weeks for a list of where more Herd alumni are playing and the first month stats.