QMJHL Season Begins Tonight

The 2021-22 QMJHL regular season begins this evening with the defending champion Victoriaville Tigres hosting the Shawinigan Cataractes at 8 p.m. Atlantic time. 

Some news before we get into the previews. 

Last week, the Canadian Hockey League announced that the 2021 CIBC Canada Russia Series will not be played given the ongoing challenges presented by the global pandemic. Details regarding the 2022 event will be announced at a later. This kind of sucks as it would've been nice to see if a couple of Halifax Mooseheads players were invited. We'll have to wait now most likely until December to see if Zachary L'Heureux and Elliot Desnoyers or any other guys will participate in Team Canada's world junior camp.

Three of the four current Mooseheads players that were invited to NHL main camps have been reassigned back to the junior club earlier this week. Bobby Orr and Cameron Whynot were released from the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames respectively on Saturday meanwhile Zachary L'Heureux got sent down by the Nashville Predators on Monday. From the Herd's preview for the home opener, L'Heureux is currently day-to-day with an upper body injury suffered at Predators camp last week. He is also due to serve the remaining three games of a four-game suspension to start the year after receiving the sentence on April 13th of last season. 

James Swan and Attilio Biasca will be out to start the season after both players suffered hand injuries during training camp and remain on the sideline indefinitely with a mid-to-late October return timeframe. Halifax is hopeful that they will have forwards Jordan Dumais and Vincent Gauthier in the lineup when puck drops tomorrow night after they both received injuries as well. 

Welcome back Moose Country! The Halifax Mooseheads have been permitted by the Nova Scotian government to host games at full capacity once again. Proof of full vaccination will be required meanwhile masks will still be mandatory for the immediate future. Check out the video the team put out to hype up fans. 

Even though our Halifax Mooseheads failed to make the CHL Top 10 pre-season rankings, which were released today, I thought I would share the list anyways. There are four QMJHL teams who got ranked with two of them coming from the Maritimes division. Another Maritime club is in the honourable mentions (London Knights, Charlottetown Islanders, Brandon Wheat Kings). 

Now let's get to the previews from other media personnel.

• Sportsnet has one question for every team in the Quebec league. 
• Junior hockey is finally getting back to normal after the pandemic wiped out the 2020 post-season for all 3 leagues under the CHL and the Ontario Hockey League lost it's entire 2020-21 season. 
• CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo and CHL play-by-play man Victor Findlay try to preview the season below. 
  
  
  
  
• Saltwire's Willy Palov, who has been covering the Halifax Mooseheads for years, has shared his thoughts on how good the Herd will be this year. 
• Most analysts have Halifax finishing the regular season 4th in the Maritimes division including Stephane Leroux from RDS and Palov from Saltwire

Yes it's going to be another different season but I am really excited to get back to cheering for the boys and hopefully it will be much more normal year. With a number of the Mooseheads' leading scorers returning and being a year older, Halifax should have an offensive team and could make some waves in what will be a tough Maritime division. Go Moose Go! See you Saturday Moose Country. 

Photos - QMJHL, Mooseheads & CHL websites

Stats Sunday: Pre-season

The Mooseheads have finished their pre-season schedule after playing the Saint John Sea Dogs on Friday night. 

Games played: 7
Scores*: 6-4, 1-2, 7-4, 6-1, 4-3, 2-1, 2-3 SO
Record: 5-1-0-1, 11pts
Goals for/against: 28 / 18
Powerplay: 20%
Penalty kill: 83.3%

Team leaders
Points: Robert Orr (8pts), Zack Jones (7pts), Markus Vididcek (7pts)
Goals: Robert Orr (4G), Zachary Beauregard (3G), Landon Miron (3G)
Assists: Markus Vidicek (6A), Zack Jones (5A), Robert Orr (4A)
Penalty minutes: Keegan Hunt (11 mins), Zachary Beauregard (10 mins), Landon Miron (10 mins)
Plus/minus: Robert Orr (+7), Brady Schultz (+7), Attilio Biasca (+6)

Goaltending stats
Mathis Rousseau:  3-0-0-0   1.72 GAA   0.929 SAV%
Adam Tkacz:  0-1-0-0   2.04 GAA   0.909 SAV%
Brady James:  1-0-0-1   3.08 GAA   0.911 SAV %
Jack Milner: 1-0-0-0   3.99 GAA   0.833 SAV%

*Halifax's score is first

Saint John Get The Extra Point Over Halifax

Unfortunately, our Halifax Mooseheads finished the pre-season with a 3-2 shootout loss on Friday night but considering they were playing the highest scoring team during the exhibition schedule; the Saint John Sea Dogs, fans should be happy. I had said after the home game a couple of weeks ago that the real test would be against the Sea Dogs and while there was times that Halifax was flat, they didn't allow themselves to be pushed around. Saint John got on the board pretty quickly, with William Defour scoring his team leading 6th goal of the pre-season just 19 seconds into the game. The Mooseheads couldn't get anything through until late in the middle frame despite having four straight power-plays but then the referees gave the home team the next four penalties. Markus Vidicek picked up his first to tie the game up at the 17:26 mark of the second before former Herd Cole Foston gave the Dogs the lead early in the third. Senna Peeters sent the game to overtime which was entertaining and featured a few really good chances for Halifax to end it but no luck. 

Game at a Glance
FINAL: Saint John 3 at Halifax 2 SO
Saint John scorers: William Defour, Cole Foston, Riley Bezeau(SOW)
Halifax scorers: Markus Vidicek, Senna Peeters
Powerplay: SNB - 1/6, HAL - 1/7
Shots: Sea Dogs - 40, Mooseheads - 35

Photo - Shawn Davidson

Pre-season Game vs. Saint John

Opponent: Saint John Sea Dogs
Where: Scotiabank Centre
When: September 24, 2021
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Saint John Sea Dogs
Preseason record: 5-1-1-0, 11pts
Goals for: 42
Goals against: 22
Head coach: Gordie Dwyer
Scoring leader: Carter McCluskey (4G & 4A)

Halifax Mooseheads
Preseason record: 5-1-0-0, 10pts
Goals for: 26
Goals against: 15
Head coach: Sylvain Favreau
Scoring leader: Robert Orr (4G & 4A)

Notes

• This is the pre-season finale, Halifax will now take the week after the game to practice before travelling to Sydney for a meeting with the Cape Breton Eagles for the season opener 
• Saint John has recently been named the Memorial Cup hosts for 2022 meaning the should have a good team this year
• Rookies Carter McCluskey and Nico Laforge lead the Sea Dogs in scoring while the Port City club leads the league in goals during the pre-season
• Goaltender Brady James was returned to the Mooseheads on Wednesday from the Nashville Predators

4 Moose (Plus Alum) at NHL Main Camps

There are plenty of young men on NHL teams main camp rosters that have suited up for the Halifax Mooseheads sometime in their career. Many of the players are Herd alumni but there are a few who are currently on the Mooseheads' opening night roster (bolded). 

A lot of camps began over the last 48 hours after teams had their rookies participate in tournaments on the weekend.

Below you'll find a list of all the current and former Moose players on NHL teams main camp rosters:
Samuel Asselin - Boston Bruins
Justin Barron - Colorado Avalanche
Elliot Desnoyers - Philadelphia Flyers
Jonathan Drouin - Montreal Canadiens
Arnaud Durandeau - New York Islanders
Nikolaj Ehlers - Winnipeg Jets
Cavan Fitzgerald - Carolina Hurricanes
Martin Frk - Los Angeles Kings
Zach Fucale - Washington Capitals
Alexis Gravel - Montreal Canadiens
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Anaheim Ducks
Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils
Zachary L'Heureux - Nashville Predators
Raphael Lavoie - Edmonton Oilers
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand - Boston Bruins
Jared McIsaac - Detroit Red Wings
Timo Meier - San Jose Sharks
Antoine Morand - Tampa Bay Lightning
Robert Orr - Carolina Hurricanes
Ostap Safin- Edmonton Oilers
Otto Somppi - Tampa Bay Lightning
Jakub Voracek - Columbus Blue Jackets
Mackenzie Weegar - Florida Panthers
Cameron Whynot - Calgary Flames
Filip Zadina - Detroit Red Wings

Good luck to all the players in camp, especially the four guys who are currently on the Mooseheads roster. I'll try to keep you updated as best I can. Will we see any alumni move up to the NHL this year and grow the number of former players Halifax has in the big leagues? I hope we can but we may be another year or two before it happens. 

NHL pre-season matches begin on September 25 and go until October 9. 

Single Game Tickets On Sale Today

The 2021-22 QMJHL season is just a week away and Halifax has released their regular season tickets which go on sale at 10 a.m. this morning to the general public.

Fans can buy tickets four different ways, just as in the past; at the Scotiabank Centre Box Office, by phone at 902-421-1221, online at www.ticketatlantic.com and at select Superstores.

The walk-up prices have gone up since two years ago. Here are the prices:
                      LB middle      LB ends       Upper-bowl
Adults              $23.00           $21.00            $19.00
Senior*            $20.00           $18.00            $16.00
Student            $16.00           $14.00            $14.00
Youth**           $12.00           $10.00             $8.00

*Seniors 60 and older
**Youth 12 years and under

All taxes included in prices

There is a service charge when buying tickets by phone, online or at the Superstore.

Halifax starts their season on the road on October 1st before hosting the Cape Breton Eagles at 7 p.m. on Saturday. 

Saint John Named Memorial Cup Hosts

The Saint John Sea Dogs have been named the 2022 Memorial Cup hosts after a short bidding process. The announcement was originally supposed to be made the week of September 6 but was delayed twice, but the Canadian Hockey League came out with a video last night showing the trophy in the back of a car on the way to the host city which you can see here. 

From the CHL 
The Canadian Hockey League announced today that the Saint John Sea Dogs have been awarded the hosting rights of the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia beginning June 3, 2022.

“We are extremely excited to be granting the rights to host this event to Saint John for the first time,” said CHL President Dan MacKenzie. “The bid committee did a fantastic job of outlining how Saint John will embrace the Memorial Cup with its Maritime hospitality to create an atmosphere that both celebrates the game and leaves a lasting legacy in the community.”

Founded in 2005, the Sea Dogs have participated in the Memorial Cup three times (2011, 2012, 2017) when the club finished as QMJHL President Cup titlists before claiming CHL supremacy in their first appearance. The 2022 rendition marks the first time the city of Saint John the year-end championship.

Finishing the 2020-21 season third place in the QMJHL’s Maritimes Division with a 15-14-3-1 record and 34 points, the Sea Dogs are led by general manager Trevor Georgie, head coach Gordie Dwyer, and returning leading scorer Ryan Francis. A Calgary Flames prospect, Francis is one of five NHL drafted prospects on the Sea Dogs alongside fellow forwards William Dufour (New York Islanders) and Cam MacDonald (Tampa Bay Lightning) as well as defencemen Jeremie Poirier (Calgary Flames) and William Villeneuve (Toronto Maple Leafs).

Saint John will be one of four teams to participate in the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia alongside the playoff champion from each of the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. All games from the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia will be nationally televised by TSN and RDS.

“Like all hockey fans across the country, Kia Canada is excited to welcome the return of the Memorial Cup tournament, which honours the men and women who have and continue to serve our great country,” said Kia Canada Director of Marketing Michael Kopke. “Congratulations to the Saint John Sea Dogs on their successful bid.”

The 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia site selection committee consisted of Colin Campbell (Sr. Executive Vice-President of Hockey Operations, NHL), Natalie Cook (Vice-President of TSN/RDS, Bell Media), Nancy Orr (P.E.I. Chief Provincial Court Judge), Dan MacKenzie (President, Canadian Hockey League), and Sébastien Vézina (Partner, Lavery Lawyers).

The Sea Dogs were one of two clubs alongside the Quebec Remparts to submit bids to host the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia. Cancelled the past two years due to the global pandemic, the Memorial Cup was last played in 2019 when it was hosted by the Halifax Mooseheads and where the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies ultimately won their first-ever CHL championship.

Congrats to GM Trevor Gregoire, the rest of the Sea Dogs organization and the city of Saint John on winning the bid and getting the tournament for the first time. Let's hope that we can get through this season without much interruption and can finally have the Memorial Cup be presented in 2022.  

#Our18: Halifax Mooseheads

The QMJHL has been doing some previews of each of their 18 teams this month and recently they did our Halifax Mooseheads. 

From QMJHL.ca

In what was a very trying year, the Halifax Mooseheads were able to put forth admirable results last season. The pro scouts paid attention, selecting three members of the squad at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Now, it's time to put the league at large on notice.

Up front, there's no question the Mooseheads display the calibre of top end firepower that could prove to be difference makers on most nights. This centers on the dynamic duo of Nashville Predators 2021 first rounder Zachary L'Heureux and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Elliot Desnoyers, who both made a distinct impression in their first seasons with the squad. A pair of 2020 QMJHL first rounders, Markus Vidicek and Jordan Dumais, will be expected to take the next step as they enter their NHL Draft campaigns. The 2020-21 QMJHL rookie scoring leader, Robert Orr, will look to improve on the performance that saw him earn a fifth-round selection by the Carolina Hurricanes last June. Belgian-born Senna Peeters will be joining them as he returns after posting over a point per game last year.

On the blueline, 2021 Calgary Flames draftee Cameron Whynot returns for a third season already used to eating up big minutes in all situations. He’ll lead a relatively young defense corps that also features second-year rearguard Jake Furlong and rookie Dylan MacKinnon, the fifth overall selection at the 2021 QMJHL Entry Draft. Joining them is overager David Lafrance, who arrives in Halifax for his first major junior season after stints in the Ontario Jr. A ranks as well as one season in the NCAA with Robert Morris University. In nets, Brady James takes over the reigns from the graduating Alexis Gravel.

With the league getting back to some sense of normalcy this season, the Mooseheads are no doubt eager to get back in the swing of things as they put a collection of potential impact players to the test.

2020-2021 Mooseheads Stats:

Team Record	15-19-5-4 (39 points)
Division Ranking	4th Maritimes
Overall Ranking	13th
Goals For	152 (2nd)
Goals Against	183 (17th)
PP (Overall)	18.1% (14th)
PK (Overall)	74.4% (13th)
Leading Rookie (PTS)	Orr (15-17-32)
Leading Scorers (PTS)	Desnoyers (21-28-49)
	L’Heureux (19-20-39)
	Orr (15-17-32)
	Vidicek (10-21-31)
	Barron (8-23-31)

To hear interviews from 2nd year forward Markus Vidicek and head coach Sylvain Favreau, check the videos below. 

Poll #22 results

A week ago, I posted a poll to ask who you think should be named Captain of our Halifax Mooseheads. I left the poll open for a week and we now know the results. 

Here they are: 

Elliot Desnoyers - 54.2%
Zachary L'Heureux - 25%
Zack Jones - 12.5%
Other - 8.3%

Thank you Moose Country for taking the time to cast your vote. We'll know soon who officially will be the captain of the 2021-22 team, most likely by the end of the month. I kind of hope that they wait until the home opener and make the announcement in the pre-game ceremony as they announce the roster. I think the 54 percent of you who voted for Desnoyers will be correct. 

Around the CHL ~ volume #1 preview edition #9

The Canadian Hockey League regular season begins in a couple of weeks so to get you ready I thought I would recap how last season went. With all three associations getting back in action come October, I wanted to start these again. This edition will look a little different than other season previews I have done because of the weird circumstances of the previous year. Check back all year long for more stories about the CHL and your Mooseheads.

here are last year's leaders:
Division champions 2020-21
WHL - Edmonton Oil Kings 23 games played, 20-2-0-1 record, 0.891 point percentage, 104 goals for/41 goals against; Everett Silvertips 23 games played, 19-4-0-0 record, 0.826 point percentage, 91 goals for/45 goals against; Kamloops Blazers 22 games played, 18-4-0-0 record, 0.818 point percentage, 87 goals for/51 goals against; Brandon Wheat Kings 24 games played, 18-4-2-0 record, 0.792 point percentage, 104 goals for/61 goals against
OHL - Didn't have a season
QMJHL - Charlottetown Islanders (Maritimes) 40 games played, 35-5-0-0 record, 0.875 point percentage,  197 goals for/89 goals against; Val-d'Or Foreurs (West) 36 games played, 29-3-2-2 record, 0.861 point percentage, 141 goals for/78 goals against; Chicoutimi Sagueneens (East) 29 games played, 17-7-3-2 record, 0.672 point percentage, 105 goals for/77 goals against

League championships 2021
President's Cup - Val-d'Or Foreurs vs. Victoriaville Tigres (Tigres won series 4 games to 2 games)
J. Ross Robertson Cup - no playoffs
Ed Chynoweth Cup - no playoffs

Memorial Cup 2021
Not played 


Team changes


Rouyn-Noranda will look to repeat as Memorial Cup champions from 2019. This year Memorial Cup's host has yet to be revealed but they will be in the tournament no matter what. Prospects will look to continue impressing scouts during the season as some will be eligible to be invited to World Junior camps in early December, which might include a couple of Halifax Mooseheads. The 2022 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects game possibly may not be played this year but no official announcement has been made. 

Herd Word

MESSAGE TO MOOSE COUNTRY
With the news on Tuesday afternoon that Nova Scotia will be delaying the start of Phase 5 of its reopening plan, questions were brought up about what restrictions will be in place for the Halifax Mooseheads home opener. According to Scotiabank Centre, the game will go on as planned but fans will be required to wear a mask at all times except for when eating or drinking and need to provide a proof of vaccination. The regulation around vaccination proof is not a surprise as it was announced that everyone attending would need it back a few weeks ago. 

See below the full message from the Herd.

INJURIES
The season hasn't even officially started and Cam Russell is already dealing with injuries. Elliot Desnoyers had surgery earlier in the summer and has been rehabilitating during the last while in Philadelphia but is expected to be in the lineup come opening night. Halifax was dealt another blow to their forward group over the weekend as two more players went down during training camp. Hand injuries will keep out sophomores James Swan and Attilio Biasca for a significant amount of time. 17-year-old Swan suffered a broken hand during practice last Thursday and is expected to be gone for 4-6 weeks. Biasca, 18, left Saturday's pre-season match early because of a thumb injury and was to undergo surgery this past Monday. How long he will be out is not clear at this time. 

PEETERS

Our Halifax Mooseheads have gotten one player back from NHL rookie camps as the Arizona Coyotes returned forward Senna Peeters to the club Wednesday. This means that the 19-year-old will not participate in the Coyotes prospect tournament like I thought he would. We may see a couple more players be sent back this weekend but hopefully one or two will make main camps later in the month. 

Here's a picture of Senna in the Coyotes uniform. The Duerne, Belgium native was a free agent invite.

MEMORIAL CUP
The announcement of who will host the 2022 Memorial Cup has been delayed again. It was originally planned to be made the week of Sept. 6 but was pushed to this week. Journalist Kevin Dube reported that the identity of the chosen team will be revealed next week now. Only two teams put their names forward for this year's tournament; the Saint John Sea Dogs and the Quebec Remparts. Saint John has never hosted the Memorial Cup while Quebec last hosted it in 2015 and in 2003 before that. 

It will be back-to-back years for the QMJHL to host the flagship tournament as the Halifax Mooseheads were the last team to host in 2019. The past two (2020 and 2021) have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament will be held later this year from June 2-12. 

TOMILSON

20-year-old Brendan Tomilson was not without a team for long as he was acquired by the Pickering Panthers of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League the other day. Tomilson was released by the Mooseheads at the end of August despite having a stronger season in 2020-21 where he scored 3 goals and picked up 9 points in 25 games played. The Cameron, ON native had 8 points in 55 games the year before. 

Good luck Brendan with your new team in Picketing. 

Photos - Herd Twitter & Panthers Twitter

Poll #22 Question

The roster for this season has been announced and although the Mooseheads can still make moves, I'm curious to know who you think will be the team's captain this season. With Justin Barron making the jump to the pros after Halifax's season ended back in May, it is anticipated that he'll be with the Colorado Eagles once again this year which leaves the captaincy open for a new player. 

So this poll is to ask who will be the 2021-22 Halifax Mooseheads captain? 
1. Zack Jones
2. Elliot Desnoyers
3. Zachary L'Heureux
4. Other

Head over to my Twitter account (@MC_MooseCountry) to make your vote on the pinned tweet. I'll leave it open for a week. 

Halifax Get Weekend Sweep

Boy was it good to be back! I was unable to get tickets last season so even though this evening's game was just pre-season, it was nice to cheer for our Halifax Mooseheads live once again. The fans that were in attendance were treated to a pretty good game as the home team went on to win 4-3 over their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles. The away team came out harder on Saturday evening after getting defeated big time last night but Halifax was still just too strong. Cape Breton got on the board first with a power play goal by veteran Jeremy Langlois before sophomore Jordan Dumais tied the game up just over a minute later. Goaltender Brady James was forced to make some really nice saves during the game but both net-minders were tested the same as shots ended 29-29. Landon Miron picked up the game winning goal at the 7:36 mark of the third period on the power play. 

Game at a Glance
FINAL: Cape Breton 3 at Halifax 4
Cape Breton scorers: Jeremy Langlois, Dawson Stairs, Ivan Ivan
Halifax scorers: Jordan Dumais, Zack Jones, Zachary Beauregard, Landon Miron
Powerplay: CAP - 2/5, HAL - 1/3
Shots: Eagles - 29, Mooseheads - 29

Photo - Shawn Davidson

Moose at NHL Rookie Camps

Somehow we are in September already which means the National Hockey League season will start soon but first teams must go through rookie camps. There will be six current Halifax Mooseheads players looking to show their chops to the professional clubs next week along with a few alumnus. 

Veteran Zachary L'Heureux, who was selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL draft, will be joined by goaltender Brady James at the Nashville Predators camp. James received a free agent invitation earlier in the summer by the Preds. Both players will leave on Tuesday. Second year forward Robert Orr will leave Halifax to head to Carolina Hurricanes camp on Sunday after being drafted by the team back in July. All three players will most likely be participating in the 2021 NHL Prospect Showcase from Sept. 18-21 which is hosted by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The hosts have invited Herd alum Antoine Morand to their rookie camp. 

Below is the schedule for the 4 team tournament. 
Sept. 18   Carolina vs. Florida   10 a.m.
                Tampa Bay vs. Nashville   1 p.m.
Sept. 19   Nashville vs. Florida   10 a.m.
                Carolina vs. Tampa Bay   1 p.m.
Sept. 21   Nashville vs. Carolina   10 a.m.
                Florida vs. Tampa Bay   1 p.m.

Photo - NHL website

As mentioned in a previous post, 19-year-old Senna Peeters received an invite to Arizona Coyotes rookie camp. The Coyotes will host the Arizona Rookie Faceoff tournament from Sept. 16-20 which features six teams in total. The tournament is set to feature two former Mooseheads players as well as Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Justin Barron will suit up for the Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche respectively. 

Sept. 17   3 p.m. - Los Angeles at Colorado
                5 p.m. - San Jose at Anaheim
                7:30 p.m. - Vegas at Arizona
Sept. 19   2 p.m. - Vegas at San Jose
                4 p.m. - Colorado at Anaheim
                6:30 p.m. - Los Angeles at Arizona
Sept. 20   9 a.m. - San Jose at Colorado 
                11 a.m. - Los Angles at Vegas
                12 p.m. - Anaheim at Arizona 

Other current and Mooseheads alumni attending rookie camps include
Cameron Whynot (CAL 2021) - Calgary Flames
Elliot Desnoyers (PHI 2021) - Philadelphia Flyers
Raphael Lavoie (EDM 2018) - Edmonton Oilers
Jared McIsaac (DET 2020) - Detroit Red Wings
Ostap Safin (EDM 2017) - Edmonton Oilers

More former players could be invited to camps but not every team has announced their rosters yet so keep looking back to my social media for updates. 

Herd Announce 2021-22 Roster

The 2021-22 regular season roster features 2 goaltenders, 7 defenceman and 15 forwards. A total of nine rookies are on the roster including the Herd's first 4 selections in the 2021 QMJHL draft. 

YOUR 2021-22 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

3  Dylan MacKinnon  D  Riverview, NB*
5  Brady Schultz  D  Monroe, CT, USA*
6  Markus Vidicek  C  Kirkland, QC
9  Attilio Biasca  LW  Zug, Switzerland*
10  Mathieu Cataford C  Saint-Constant, QC*
11  Jordan Dumais  RW  L-ile-Bizard, QC
12  William Robitaille  LW  Levis, QC*
14  Logan Crosby  LW  Salt Springs, NS
15  Alexandre Tessier  D  Mirabel, QC*
16  James Swan  LW  Ville St-Laurent, QC
17  Cameron Whynot  D  Kentville, NS
21  Zachary Beauregard  C  Repentigny, QC
23  Landon Miron  RW  Halifax, NS
28  Stephen Davis  D  Hingham, MA, USA
33  Brady James  G  Beaconsfield, QC*
42  Zack Jones  C  Bridgewater, MA, USA
43  Jake Furlong  D  Upper Tantallon, NS
60  Mathis Rousseau  G  Boisbriand, QC*
66  Zachary L'Heureux  LW  Mercier, QC
74  David Lafrance  D  Orleans, ON
82  Senna Peeters  RW  Deurne, Belguim
88  Robert Orr  RW  Beaconsfield, QC
91  Elliot Desnoyers  C  Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
92  Vincent Gauthier  RW  St-Zotique, QC*

*indicates rookie

If there are changes when the team does make the official announcement, I will update this post. 

CAMP: More Moves Made By Team

I was hoping that these would be the final moves made by our Halifax Mooseheads but as of the writing of this post, the team has not announced their regular season roster. The club did make a few cuts this week plus another trade of a veteran. 

On Monday, general manager Cam Russell announced that the team had reassigned two veteran players releasing defenceman Keegan Hunt and Lucas Robinson. Hunt, a Moncton, NB native, was drafted by the Mooseheads in the 5th round in 2019 and picked up one assist in 34 games played over his two seasons with the team. Robinson had a little bit more success, scoring three goals and 5 points with 86 games played between 2019-21. The 19 year old was drafted in the 8th round in 2019. 

Photo - Herd website

Another veteran defenceman got moved by the club on Tuesday morning as 20-year-old Brendan Tomilson was released. The Cameron, ON native played in 80 games for the Mooseheads collecting 4 goals and 13 assists while adding 72 career penalty minutes. His departure left the Herd with an overage spot. 

It didn't take long for Russell to fill that open overage spot as he made a trade with the Charlottetown Islanders acquiring forward Zachary Beauregard in exchange for a 5th round pick in 2023. Beauregard was a 'thorn in the side of the Mooseheads throughout the season last year with nine assists and 38 penalty minutes in 19 games played against Halifax.' 

"We like the style he brings to the lineup for us. He's the type of player that can be extremely difficult to play against," Russell said. "He's going to bring some veteran leadership and experience. We're just happy we don't have to play against him anymore."

These recent moves leave 24 players on the training camp roster. Considering that Elliot Desnoyers and William Robitaille are out with injuries, the current names could be what the team starts the regular season with but we'll have to wait and see. The official roster should be announced this week according to Russell.

Photo - Saltwire