Ehlers Helps Denmark Make Olympics

Halifax Mooseheads alumni Nikolaj Ehlers could be an Olympian in February. The 25-year-old helped his Denmark team be victorious in the Olympic qualifying tournament over the weekend in Olso, Norway. 

Nikolaj had nine points over the 3 games as the Danes won all three to be first in their group to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in their history. His second goal in their opening game ended up being the game winner as Denmark picked up a 4-3 victory over Slovenia before the team dominated South Korea on Friday by a score of 11-1. Ehlers once again had the game winning goal and finished the match with 2 goals and 4 assists. Sunday's game was a big one as the red and white took on Norway for top spot in their group. The Danish team won 2-0 with Nik scoring his 5th tally of the weekend to finish the tournament as the top scorer.

I say he could be an Olympian because the National Hockey League has not yet determined if they will allow their players to participate in the 2022 Olympics. The league has released the regular season schedule with a two week break in February so it is a bigger possibility this time than it was 4 years ago in 2018. If NHLers are allowed, I imagine Ehlers will make the Denmark team as he has been pretty good for them in other tournaments as well. We may also see a few other former Mooseheads players on Olympic rosters if the NHL does participate. 

Congrats to Denmark on qualifying for the Olympics and good luck in February. Cross your fingers Moose Country that NHLers will be heading to Beijing and we will see some alum playing. 

Photo - IIHF Twitter

Herd Word

NEW COACHING POSITIONS 
More former Halifax Mooseheads coaches have been given positions with new teams. Townsend, ON native Jim Midgley has joined the National Hockey League's New York Rangers staff as an assistant coach. Midgley, who head coached the Herd during the 2017-18 season, is currently an assistant coach on Team Canada at the Women's World Championships in Calgary. Check out the reaction from the ladies when they were told of Jim's new job here. 

The Saint Mary's Huskies announced last week that Cole Harbour native Jon Greenwood has been added to their coaching staff as the new defense coach. Greenwood had spent the last 7 seasons with our Mooseheads. 

Photo - Rangers website

RECENT CUTS
After the pre-season game on Friday night, Cam Russell, Sylvain Favreau and the staff announced another round of cuts which leaves 26 players now in training camp. A surprise to many, the Herd reassigned free agent Bryson Boudreau along with Liam Welsh and Merle Putnam. Boudreau was on another level during the first week of camp, scoring 8+ goals over the multiple intrasquad games and picked up 3 assists in 3 pre-season matches. Many expected him to make the team after his performance the last two weeks. 

With the moves, the regular season roster is starting to shape up and unlike I previously thought, we could see the announcement of who made the team sometime this week. We're getting close Moose Country. 

SIGNINGS
It looks like a couple more Herd alumni will be playing in the ECHL in 2021-22. The Allen Americans announced they re-signed tough guy Kelly Bent on Tuesday. The Halifax native played for the Americans last season in 18 games and collected 71 penalty minutes. Bent was apart of the Mooseheads for two seasons (2014-16) before joining the Dalhousie Tigers for university. 

A teammate of Bent with both the Herd and Tigers, 25 year old forward Andrew Shewfelt will presumably turn pro after being signed by the Wichita Thunder late last week. He suited up for his hometown junior team for three seasons (2013-16) collecting 58 points with Halifax. Shewfelt was supposed to play in his fourth season with Dalhousie in 2020-21 but the pandemic cancelled university hockey. 

"I'm thrilled to be coming to Wichita for my first year of professional hockey," stated Shewfelt. "I've heard nothing but great things about the city, fans, and the organization. I'm excited to get down there and get to work."

Check back later in the year to see which teams the other former players are suiting up for this season in the next Where Are They Now? blog post. 

TICKETS
Some new about Halifax Mooseheads tickets for 2021-22. Previous season ticket and 15-game pack holders have until September 3 to renew their tickets or their seats will be released. The team has been told that they should be able to have full capacity this year meaning that members who had season tickets in 2019-20 should have those seats again. For fans who want to become members, full season, 15-games and family flex 20 packs go on sale tomorrow August 30 at 10 a.m. 

Individual tickets for the general public will go on sale September 23. For full info (including benefits) and prices, check out mooseheadstickets.ca 

MCKENNA

Herd alumni Jordan Mckenna had some big news come his way on Saturday evening as he was drafted by the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League. McKenna, who played 55 games for Halifax in 2019-20, plays for the Orangeville Northmen lacrosse team during the hockey off-season. The 21-year-old captained the Yarmouth Mariners last year picking up 14 goals and 41 points in 35 games. He is committed to York University for the upcoming season. The NLL is a professional lacrosse league with teams in the United States and Canada. Congrats to Jordan on being selected. 

TIM HORTONS
It looks like we'll get a new Tim Hortons commercial featuring a couple of the top Nova Scotian hockey players. Alumni Nathan MacKinnon shared an Instagram story of himself and fellow Cole Harbour native Sidney Crosby in front of a Tim Hortons store with both wearing Team Canada jerseys. The two have done many advertisements together for Canadian restaurant chain over the years. Hopefully Nathan will have another fantastic season and be able to lead the Colorado Avalanche past the second round. 

TRADE
Your Halifax Mooseheads made a minor trade on Sunday afternoon, moving prospect Alex Carr to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. In return, Halifax receives a 4th round pick in 2023. Carr was drafted by the Herd in 2020 and recently participated in the team's training camp before being reassigned on Friday. He was set to play in the Maritime Hockey League this season but could possibly make the Huskies team. 

I'm sure we will see more trades in the coming days and there have been plenty already by other teams around the league as all 18 QMJHL clubs get ready for the regular season which is set to start September 30. 

Photos - teams' Facebook pages & MacKinnon's Instagram

Orr Leads Mooseheads to Win

Our Halifax Mooseheads picked up their second win of the pre-season schedule on Friday night at the RBC Centre with a 7-4 victory over the Moncton Wildcats. Sophomore Robert Orr continued on his hot streak scoring another 2 goals while the goaltenders that suited up once again played about half a game each. Moncton got on the score board first at the 3:14 mark of the opening period but Halifax led 3-2 after 20 minutes. Senna Peeters scored early in the third for the Mooseheads 5th goal which ended up being the game winner in the high shooting match. The Herd's next exhibition game will be on September 10 against Cape Breton. 

Game at a Glance
FINAL: Moncton 4 at Halifax 7
Moncton scorers: Charles Antoine-Pilote (2), Alexis Daniel, Thomas Auger
Halifax scorers: Dylan MacKinnon, Mathieu Cataford, Robert Orr (2), Senna Peeters, Jordan Dumais, Attilio Biasca
Powerplay: MON - 2/6, HAL - 1/5
Shots: Wildcats - 41, Mooseheads - 40

Photo - Saltwire

Foston Traded To Saint John

The Halifax Mooseheads have made their first trade of the 2021-22 season after making a move with the Saint John Sea Dogs this afternoon. 

Halifax announced that they have moved forward Cole Foston to the Sea Dogs for a 2023 eighth round pick. Foston played 34 career games with Halifax after being picked in the fourth round of the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft. The Beaver Bank, NS native picked up his first career point last season and finished the 20-21 regular season with two goals and 7 points. 

This leaves 29 players on the training camp roster which means we are bit closer to the opening night roster being named. 

Good luck to Cole with Saint John. 

Photo - Elite Prospects

Pre-season Game vs. Moncton

Opponent: Moncton Wildcats
Where: RBC Centre
When: August 27, 2021
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Moncton Wildcats
Preseason record: 2-2-0-0, 4pts
Goals for: 17
Goals against: 15
Head coach: Daniel Lacroix
Scoring leader: Alex Mercer 6pts (2G & 4A)

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 1-1-0-0, 2pts
Goals for: 7
Goals against: 6
Head coach: Sylvain Favreau
Scoring leader: Robert Orr 3pts (2G & 1A)

Notes

• As announced earlier today, six more players were cut from the team leaving 30 in training camp 
• Tonight's match will again be behind closed doors so you can watch it on the Mooseheads YouTube page 
• Below is the roster for Halifax 

CAMP: 6 Players Reassigned

The Halifax Mooseheads seem to have figured out there goaltending situation after making another round of cuts on Friday morning, trimming the roster by 6 players. Goalies Adam Tkacz and Jack Milner were reassigned which leaves sophomore Brady James and rookie Mathis Rousseau as the choices for head coach Sylvain Favreau in net but there is always the possibility the Herd trade for or sign another goaltender at some point. 

Below are the 6 players that were cut from the training camp roster.
D  Alex Carr    Draft '20
D  Jack Martin    Draft '21
D  Michael Sack    Draft '19
F  Brandon Abbass    FA invite
G  Jack Milner    Draft '21
G  Adam Tkacz    FA invite

It was also announced that three more players left earlier in the week for different reasons. They are forwards Ethan Landry and Braeden MacPhee and defenceman Sid McNeill. 

This leaves 30 guys on the current training camp roster. 

Photo - Mooseheads website

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads have announced their promotional schedule for the 2021-22 regular season and there are a change to one of the yearly charity events. Pink in the Rink will not be played in October like normal, instead it is being replaced by a Mooseheads Fights Cancer night. The full list of promotional nights can be found in the schedule tab above but below you will find the yearly charity events.

HOME OPENER - October 2 vs. Cape Breton Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss - December 17 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
Battle of Nova Scotia - December 31 vs. Cape Breton Eagles
DND Appreciation Night - January 21 vs. Quebec Remparts 
Mooseheads Fight Cancer - February 18 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
Fan Appreciation Night - April 2 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

Pre-season Game vs. Cape Breton

Opponent: Cape Breton Eagles
Where: RBC Centre
When: August 24, 2021
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Cape Breton Eagles
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Jake Grimes
Scoring leader: n/a

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 0-0-0-0, 0pts
Goals for: 0
Goals against: 0
Head coach: Sylvain Favreau
Scoring leader: n/a

Notes

• This is the first pre-season match for both teams and continuing on from last season, these provincial rivals will see each other in 2021-22
• Halifax announced that it had trimmed their training camp roster by 3 this afternoon
• RBC Centre will host the game tonight and as such, fans will not be allowed to attend. You can watch the battle unfold on the club's Official YouTube page
• Cape Breton has put out their lineup for tonight's match while Halifax has not

First Cuts Made at Camp

General manager Cam Russell and the coaching staff announced the first round of cuts on Tuesday afternoon before the Halifax Mooseheads pre-season opener against Cape Breton. Three players were released and reassigned to their respective clubs. 

Players cut:
D  Keiran Burke    Draft '19
D  Travis Badcock    Draft '20
D  Noah Razon    Draft '21

There was also multiple roster changes in the first week of camp that I did not mention here on the blog. American draft selection Chris Battaini had problems with his paperwork so was unable to report which left a space open for Halifax MacDonald's forward Bryson Boudreau to receive an invite to camp. US players Jake Freelove and Henry Wilson voluntarily left to keep their NCAA eligibility while Ben Wallace has also gone home on his own accord. Defenceman Joseph Power and forward Alexandre Freechette were forced to leave camp recently because of injury. Veteran Alexandre David decided not to report to camp on Saturday and Ethan Landry was added to the roster. 

All this leaves 38 players on the current training camp roster. Veteran Elliot Desnoyers is the only player who is on the roster not currently in Halifax as he is in Philadelphia after having surgery recently with the Flyers medical staff looking after him. 

The rookies have given the team staff lots to think about already so we could see another cut announcement tomorrow or not until later in the week. The opening night roster is normally released before the end of August during when the QMJHL takes a break in their pre-season schedule but I have a feeling it will not be announced that quickly this year. 

Photo - Herd website

Updated Pre-Season Schedule

Pre-season hockey begins tomorrow with three games this week! 

Due to building maintenance at Scotiabank Centre, the Halifax Mooseheads training camp is being held at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth which means that a couple of the pre-season games will not be played at the team's home arena like originally announced. As such, I thought I would share the updated exhibition schedule and give some reminders. 

The two August games (Tuesday August 24th & Friday August 27th) will be held at the RBC Centre. Both games will be closed to the public because of Covid-19 protocols at the arena, but free live streaming will be available on the Mooseheads Official YouTube channel with play-by-play from Garreth MacDonald and Scott MacIntosh. Season Ticket Members will receive free tickets to the two September games (Saturday Sept. 11 and Friday Sept. 24) at the Scotiabank Centre while an on sale date for General Public tickets will be announced in the coming weeks according to the team. 

The venue for two of the Mooseheads away games has also changed after the Cape Breton Eagles announced recently that their training camp will be held in Glace Bay this year. 

August 24         Halifax vs. Cape Breton        7 p.m.        RBC Centre 
August 25         Cape Breton vs. Halifax        7 p.m.        Glace Bay Miners Forum
August 27         Halifax vs. Moncton              7 p.m.        RBC Centre
September 10    Cape Breton vs. Halifax        7 p.m.        Glace Bay Miners Forum
September 11    Halifax vs. Cape Breton        4 p.m.        Scotiabank Centre
September 18    Moncton vs. Halifax             7 p.m.        Superior Propane Centre
September 24    Halifax vs. Saint John           7 p.m.        Scotiabank Centre

Our Halifax Mooseheads home opener at Scotiabank Centre is set for Saturday, October 2nd at 7 p.m. versus Cape Breton.

Photo - Mooseheads website

Herd to be on Eastlink TV 13 Times

Eastlink has released its television schedule for the three Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams that the network showcases and our Halifax Mooseheads are on the schedule 13 times this season. 

Here are the games that will be shown on Friday Night Hockey: 
October 1 at Cape Breton Eagles 
October 2 vs. Cape Breton Eagles
October 8 at Charlottetown Islanders
October 15 vs. Shawinigan Cataractes
October 29 vs. Gatineau Olympiques
November 12 at Cape Breton Eagles
January 15 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
January 21 vs. Quebec Remparts
January 28 at Cape Breton Eagles
February 11 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
February 18 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
March 4 vs. Moncton Wildcats
April 2 vs. Charlottetown Islanders 

For April 1, Eastlink will either show Halifax at Charlottetown OR Saint John at Cape Breton

The full schedule can be found here. 

CAMP: Rookies Report on Wednesday

Photo - Herd website

A new Halifax Mooseheads season will begin in a few days when training camp opens on Wednesday with player registration and the prospects arriving. The team announced schedule details for camp last week, which you can find here. 

The Mooseheads released the names today of the 47 players that will be participating in training camp over the next month. The roster breaks down to 4 goaltenders, 24 forwards and 19 defenceman. It consists of 22 returning players,  ten of the 12 2021 draft selections along with four free agent invitees plus more. I suspect the first cuts may be made by the end of the weekend before the veterans arrive. 

Below is the 2021 Training Camp roster. Asterisk (*) denotes players attending rookie camp. 

Forwards
Brandon Abbass*                Chris Battanini*                Attilio Biasca
Mathieu Cataford*                Logan Crosby*                Alexandre David
Elliot Desnoyers                Jordan Dumais                Cole Foston
Alexandre Frechette*            Vincent Gauthier*            Zack Jones
Zachary L'Heureux            Braeden MacPhee*            Landon Miron
Bobby Orr                        Senna Peeters                    Merle Putnam*         
William Robitaille            James Swan                    Markus Vidicek
Ben Wallace*                      Liam Welsh*                    Henry Wilson*                                                  

Defenceman
Travis Badcock*            Kieran Burke*                Alex Carr*

Stephen Davis             Jake Freelove*                Jake Furlong

Keegan Hunt                David Lafrance             Dylan MacKinnon*
Jack Martin*                  Sid McNeill*                 Joseph Power*
Noah Razon*                Lucas Robinson              Michael Sack*           
Brady Schultz*            Alexandre Tessier             Brendan Tomilson
Cam Whynot

Goaltenders
Brady James        Jack Milner*        Mathis Rousseau*        Adam Tkacz*                

More info on each player can be found here.  Good luck to all the players on making the team this season. 

Herd Add Veteran Defenceman

The Halifax Mooseheads announced this morning that they have added a 20-year-old defenceman to the roster which will solidify the over-age situation on the team to start the season. 

Halifax has gained the services of Orleans, ON native David Lafrance and general manager Cam Russell says he will be on the roster when the regular season opens in October. He joins forward Zack Jones and fellow defenceman Brendan Tomilson as the three 20-year-old players on the team. 

Lafrance played in 111 CCHL games between the Gloucester Rangers and Rockland Nationals collecting seven goals and 44 points before playing the 2020-21 season in the NCAA at Robert Morris University. He will report to training camp on Saturday along with the other veteran players. 

Welcome to Moose Country, David. 

Photo - Mooseheads website

Training Camp Details Released

Photo - Herd website

Our Halifax Mooseheads are ready to return to action with the start of 2021 Training Camp presented by Eastlink on Wednesday August 18 at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth.

Two waves of players will register at camp with prospects arriving on Wednesday and the veterans arriving on August 21st. All practices and intrasquad games will be closed to the general public unfortunately due to current Covid-19 protocols at the RBC Centre.  The Mooseheads will keep fans up to date throughout camp with articles and video interviews on HalifaxMooseheads.ca and social media platforms. I of course will share updates on this blog as they become available. 

Below, you can find the Training Camp schedule through to September 2. 
August 18
3-5pm         Prospect arrival registration & medicals

August 19-20
9-11am        Practice/Intrasquad game
3-5pm          Practice/Intrasquad game

August 21
10am-12pm    Veteran arrival & medicals
3-5pm             Practice

August 22-23
9-11am        Practice/Intrasquad game
3-5pm          Practice/Intrasquad game

August 24
10-11am       Gameday skate
11am-1pm    Skate for players not in game
7pm              Preseason Game vs Cape Breton @ RBC Centre

August 25
10-11am        Practice for players not in game
7pm               Preseason Game @ Cape Breton (Glace Bay Miners Forum)

August 26
3-5pm            Practice/Intrasquad game

August 27
10-11am       Gameday skate
11am-1pm    Skate for players not in game
7pm              Preseason Game vs Moncton @ RBC Centre

August 28-29
10am-12pm    Practice
3pm                Off-ice workout

August 30-September 2
10am-12pm    Practice
12:15pm         Off-ice workout

The remainder of the camp schedule will be released at a later date. 

Free live streaming will be available for the two home pre-season games in August on the Mooseheads Official YouTube channel with play-by-play from Garreth MacDonald and Scott MacIntosh. An on sale date for General Public tickets for the September exhibition matches will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Season Ticket Info for 2021-22

It's August which means we are getting close to hockey season once again. Our Halifax Mooseheads have released information about ticket prices and just like the schedule for 2021-22, the set up seems to be similar to what it was pre-pandemic. 

Certain health protocols may still be in place for the start of the home schedule such as mask requirements. These protocols will be updated as the start of the season nears. 

Along with the normal savings over individual tickets, the same great seat and discounts on merchandise and concessions, there are a few new benefits this year for Season Ticket Holders;

• Free access to the Mooseheads lounge 
• Two pre-season games free 
• Online ticket transfers
• A new Never Waste a Ticket online exchange (this program replaces the redemption ticket program in the past)

For a full list of benefits and information can be found here. Halifax is continuing with digital ticketing for season ticket members to provide a safe and seamless ticketing experience. Printed tickets will be available upon request through the Season Ticket office for a $20 fee per account which will include couriering of the tickets. 

The three different areas of the arena are as follows

                Gold       Red       Green
Adult        $509      $479       $459
Senior      $409      $379       $359
Student    $309      $279       $259
Youth       $209      $179       $159

Senior is 60+, Youth is 12 and under
Students need an ID to receive the student price
Prices above do not include HST and service charges if applicable