Fortier, Donaghey Participate in Rookie Tournament

Some current Mooseheads are headed out of Nova Scotia today to attend rookie camps. Otto Somppi, Maxime Fortier, Jocktan Chainey and Arnaud Durandeau were all invited to participate in camps.

Photo - Leafs site

Maxime Fortier will join 22 other players at the Montreal Canadiens camp. The Habs will start their camp in Toronto, ON as they are participating in the 2017 Rookie Tournament hosted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, which will be held September 8-10. Fortier goes into camp as a try-out player after not getting selected in either of the last two NHL drafts. The 19 year old I am sure is looking forward to suiting up for his hometown team and after the season he had this past year will be looking to crack the main camp roster and possibly get signed by the Canadiens. Toronto and Montreal are joined this weekend by the Ottawa Senators who have a former Mooseheads listed on their roster. Cody Donaghey, who played for Halifax during the 2015-16 season, will be among 23 prospects suiting up for Ottawa. Donaghey, 21 years old, had his NHL rights traded to the nation's capital in early 2016 by the Leafs. As 2016-17 was the last season he was eligible to play junior hockey, the St. John's, NL native will most likely play for the Sens American Hockey League team the Belleville Senators this year. The two players will see each other on Saturday when their teams go head-to-head.

Below is the schedule for the Leafs tourney held at Ricoh Coliseum:
Friday Sept 8   7pm   Montreal vs. Toronto
Saturday Sept 9    7pm   Ottawa vs. Montreal
Sunday Sept 10    4pm   Toronto vs. Ottawa

Another team hosting a tournament this weekend are the Buffalo Sabres who will welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins September 8-11. The Devils have two Mooseheads on their roster in defenseman Jocktan Chainey, who no doubt will lead a still some what young back end in Halifax this season, and #1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier, who many believe will make the NHL in 2017-18. New Jersey will play a game against each team and you can find more info here for the Prospect Tournament.

Photo - Canucks site

Former Moose forward Danny Moynihan has been invited to the Vancouver Canucks rookie camp and is among the players listed for the Young Stars Classic which is held in Penticton, BC from September 8-11. The tournament includes prospects from the Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. After spending last season in Alaska with Vancouver's ECHL team this is a chance for Moynihan to prove he has improved and deserves to be in a higher league.

The tournament schedule is below:
Friday Sept 8     4pm    Edmonton vs. Calgary
7:30pm    Vancouver vs. Winnipeg
Saturday Sept 9    7:30pm    Winnipeg vs. Edmonton
Sunday Sept 10    2pm   Calgary vs. Vancouver
Monday Sept 11    10:30am    Winnipeg vs. Calgary
2pm    Vancouver vs. Edmonton

18 year old Arnaud Durandeau will participate in New York Islanders rookie camp from September 8-13 which includes a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. Full roster can be found here. Otto Somppi, who was drafted in 2016 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, was supposed to participate in the Florida Panthers Rookie Tournament this weekend but with Hurricane Irma projected to hit the state of Florida, the Panthers decided to cancel it. I'm sure Somppi and the other prospects will still have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves next week.



Good luck to all 7 young men at their respective camps. Moose Country will be cheering you on loud and proud.