Development Camp Invites

Alex Gravel - 6th round pick
Photo - Getty Images

Now that the NHL draft is over, teams start having their development camps which are used to help determine who to invite to the rookie camps in September and main camps after that. The Halifax Mooseheads saw 4 players get drafted this past weekend and they are joined by other current and former Herd on camp rosters.

The 6th overall pick by Detroit, Filip Zadina leads a crop of players that will or have been participating in camps trying to prove they have what it takes to make the NHL next season.

Below you'll find a list of Mooseheads who are attending development camps this summer:
Alexis Gravel - Chicago (2018) - Chicago Blackhawks development camp July 16-24
Filip Zadina - Detroit (2018) - Detroit Red Wings development camp June 26-30
Maxime Fortier - undrafted - invited to Columbus Blue Jackets development camp June 25-28
Jocktan Chainey - New Jersey (2017) - New Jersey Devils development camp July 10-14
Arnaud Durandeau - New York (2017) - New York Islanders development camp June 25-30
Otto Somppi - Tampa Bay (2016) - Tampa Bay Lightning development camp June 26-30
Cavan Fitzgerald - undrafted - invited to San Jose Sharks development camp July 3-6
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Anaheim (2018) - Anaheim Ducks development camp June 28-July 1
Jared McIsaac - Detroit (2018) - Detroit Red Wings development camp June 26-30
Connor Moynihan - undrafted - invited to Chicago Blackhawks development camp July 16-24
Antoine Morand - Anaheim (2017) - Anaheim Ducks development camp June 28-July 1
Jake Ryczek - Chicago (2016) - Chicago Blackhawks development camp July 16-24

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads released their schedule for the upcoming season earlier this month and have announced the events happening during the 2018-19 season. With such a late home opener this year, some of the events are in different months than they are normally. Check out below for the dates of the yearly special games.

Annual events
HOME OPENER – October 27 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
DND Appreciation Night – November 9 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss – December 14 vs. Moncton Wildcats
Battle of Nova Scotia/Hurley Cup – December 31 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Pink in the Rink 10 – January 18 vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Fan Appreciation Night – March 16 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

NHL Draft

The 2018 National Hockey League entry draft was held this weekend in Dallas, Texas.

• Defenceman Rasmus Dahlin became only the second Swede to be drafted first overall when the Buffalo Sabres selected him on Friday evening to begin the draft but no one was surprised the Sabres chose him.
• Montreal Canadiens fans weren't very happy after the team decided to pick based on positional need instead of the best player, selecting centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall.
• As a result, Filip Zadina slid down and was still available when the Detroit Red Wings were up to make their first selection, selecting the Halifax Mooseheads forward 6th overall. Zadina was the first QMJHL player drafted this weekend while there was 23 selected overall, a jump from the previous two drafts.
• The 3 other Mooseheads players had to wait until Day 2 to hear their names as Jared McIsaac (36th, Detroit) and Benoit-Olivier Groulx (54th, Anaheim) dropped to the second round while Alexis Gravel was picked 162nd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 6th round.
• The 2019 NHL draft will be hosted by the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver, BC.

Pre-season Schedule Announced

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

The Mooseheads will play 3 teams this year for a total of six games. The QMJHL along with the Moncton Wildcats decided to not continue with the HubCity Showcase this year so the brass will have a smaller selection of game opportunity to see the new and returning players. Like the last couple of seasons, there will be a two week break between the first 4 exhibition matches and the final two.

Halifax will play 3 homes but two will be in the club's new practice arena; the Dartmouth 4Pad in Burnside. They'll also play an away game in Springhill, NS against the Moncton Wildcats.

Here is the 2018-19 pre-season schedule:
August 19 at 4pm - at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Centre 200)
August 21 at 7pm - vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Dartmouth4pad)
August 22 at 7pm - at Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Centre Regional KC Irving)
August 24 at 7pm - vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Dartmouth4pad)
September 7 at 7pm - at Moncton Wildcats (Dr Carson/Marion Murray Community Center - Springhill, NS)
September 15 at 7pm - vs Moncton Wildcats (Halifax Forum)

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

Herd Word: Four Herd on Final Ranking

The top 5 prospects including Filip Zadina
Photo - TSN Hockey

CRAIG'S LISTWith the National Hockey League draft just around the corner, Craig Button has announced his final draft rankings for the upcoming 2018 NHL entry draft. The Mooseheads have four players who are eligible to be selected this month when the pro teams meet in Dallas, TX. Craig Button, a TSN analyst, named his Top 100 players which includes the first 6 being born from outside of Canada. The first Canadian young gun named to Button’s list is Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds forward Barret Hayton at number 7. Below you’ll find how the four Herd have been ranked.

Filip Zadina; #3
Jared McIsaac; #26
Benoit-Olivier Groulx; #53
Alexis Gravel; #99

AMERICAN DRAFT
On Monday the QMJHL held its first ever American draft for players eligible to play in the QMJHL. The Mooseheads had selections at 16th and 34th overall in the two round draft and picked up goaltender Gavin Fitzpatrick out of Thayer Academy.as well as forward Riley Duran from Malden Catholic High School. Both players were born in 2002. For more info click here.

BODNARCHUK
The American Hockey League finals recently got underway with the Texas Stars and the Toronto Marlies battling each other for the Calder Cup. Former Herd player Andrew Bodnarchuk has spent most of his professional career in the minor leagues and is now an assistant captain on the Stars team. Bodnarchuk has a goal in 18 playoff games played so far this year while Texas finds themselves down 2-1 in the series after Game 3 last night. You can watch the whole series on TSN2 in Canada.

Photo - Naples Daily News

KELLY CUP
A champion is about to be named in the ECHL as the Kelly Cup finals are almost complete with a Mooseheads alumni on one of the last two teams. Stephen MacAulay, who is probably the winningest player in the QMJHL with 2 Memorial Cups & 3 President's Cups, joined the Florida Everblades in 2016-17. The Everblades are one win away from winning the Kelly Cup with a 3-2 series lead over the Colorado Eagles. MacAulay has 5 goals and 4 assists along with 17 penalty minutes in the 2018 playoffs. Game 6 will be played tonight in Florida.

Q Draft: No Trades on Day by Moose

Here's a recap of today's QMJHL Entry Draft that was held in Shawinigan, Quebec. A list of the players your Halifax Mooseheads drafted are below.

12th overall pick Samuel Dube's grandfather
Photo - Mooseheads Twitter

For the first time in awhile, Cam Russell didn't make any trades on draft day but he had moved two picks yesterday leaving the club with 15 selections to make. The Moose had a pick in all 14 rounds except for the 10th round. Halifax drafted 5 Nova Scotians while 27 were selected throughout the day. The club also picked a German-Canadian with their first selection in Samuel Dube, who did not attend the draft but his grandfather did and he was very proud that Samuel had been drafted by the Herd.

Here is who the Mooseheads selected today:
#12  C Samuel Dube  (EC Red Bull Salzburg U18 AKA of the Erste League in Austria)
#34  D Cole Larkin (Charlottetown Pride of the AAA in Prince Edward Island)
#52  G Simon Bucheler (Lac St-Louis Predateurs of the AAA in Quebec)
#66  RW William Dagenais (Gatineau L'Intrepide of the MAAA in Quebec)
#80  F Sonny Kabatau (Cape Breton Tradesmen of the AAA in Nova Scotia)
#88  D Zacharie Bordeleau (Saint-Francois Seminaire Blizzard of the MAAA in Quebec)
#106  RW Yannic Bastarche (Moncton Flyers of the AAA in New Brunswick)
#124  G Jonathan Pickrem (Valley Midget Wildcats of the AAA in Nova Scotia)
#130  C Victor Czerneckianair (South Kent Selects Academy of the Minor in Connecticut)
#142  D Jason Marsella (North Jersey Avalanche U16 of the AAA in New Jersey)
#160  C Olivier Fizet (Bishop's College U18 of the Prep in Ontario)
#196  LW Nathan MacMillan (Cape Breton Tradesman of the AAA in Nova Scotia)
#214  D Zachary Byard (Halifax Macs of the AAA in Nova Scotia)
#232  RW Ethan Phillips (South Kent Selects Academy of the Minor in Connecticut)
#249  D Stephen Davis (Boston Advantage 15's of the AAA in Massachusetts)

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

Click here for the full list of players drafted.

TRADE: Herd Make Trade With Champion Bathurst

The summer trade period has opened for QMJHL clubs today meaning that there will be lots of movement in the league for the next little while. Your Halifax Mooseheads made one trade so far that completed the Jake Ryczek transaction at Christmas time.

Antoine Morand
Photo - acadienouvelle.com

Halifax received Antoine Morand and Jordan Maher from the Memorial Cup champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan in exchange for 4 drafts picks; the first (16th) and third (43rd) round picks for 2018 plus a first in 2019 and a third rounder in 2020. The trade will help bolster a front end on the Mooseheads that will lose a number of players.

Morand, a 19 year old, is a more than point per game scorer in the regular season with 200 points recorded in just 181 games played over 3 years with Bathurst. The Mercier, QC native had his best season in 2017-18 scoring 26 goals and 76 points, leading the Titan in points while also helping them win the Maritimes division title. He followed that up by scoring 19 points during 20 games in the 2018 playoffs. Antoine recently signed a 3 year entry level contract with the Anaheim Ducks this week so we most likely won't see him in a Mooseheads uniform until October.

Jordan Maher
Photo - Q website

Maher is expected to fill one of the Herd's three overage spots during the upcoming season, meaning we'll see more moves soon. The 20 year old also had a career year in 2017-18 scoring 19 goals and recording 61 points in 63 games. Jordan, a Gander, NL native, will be playing in his 5th season and has 173 points in 255 games played. This past year was also the first time he had a positive plus/minus rating, being third on Bathurst with a plus-36.

Welcome to the team Antoine Morand and Jordan Maher. Looking forward to seeing them in Mooseheads gear in a few months.