Herd Word

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately, I've been busy the last couple of months with school and finding a job but I thought I would bring those who don't have social media up to date on things that have been happening. All the changes made because of the pandemic have also messed me up a little so below you will find news that has happened over the last couple of weeks. I hope to make a number more posts as we wrap up the regular season in the next 5 weeks. 

NHL TRADE DEADLINE
While no former Halifax Mooseheads player who is on an NHL team was traded earlier this month, a couple of alum in the minor leagues were moved on deadline day. 

The move I didn't want to be made happened but the Montreal Canadiens traded forward Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche on March 21. In return they received 2020-21 Herd captain Justin Barron and a 2nd round pick in 2024. Barron had 5 goals and 20 points in 43 games played for the Colorado Eagles this season. On Sunday night, Justin made his debut for the Canadiens wearing #52, making 3 shots in almost 18 minutes of ice time. Not sure if the defenceman will stay up in the big league or if Montreal will reassign him to Laval. 

Another former captain, Antoine Morand also saw his rights traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the San Jose Sharks the same day. Morand was immediately assigned to the Sharks' AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda and has already scored a goal for his new team. The 23-year-old previously played for the Syracuse Crunch and San Diego Gulls of the AHL posted 44 points in 138 games. 

Good luck to both players with their new clubs. 

MEIER HAT TRICK
More San Jose news, forward Timo Meier had a big game last night scoring his third NHL hat trick helping the Sharks defeat their state rivals the Anaheim Ducks 4-1. Check out the video below to see all three goals. With it, Meier is now just one point away from his career high in points, he had 66 in the 2018-19 season. 

"Obviously, I love scoring goals, that's no secret. But for me, the main focus is to win games," Meier said after the game to media. 

Last night wasn't the first time this season that the Switzerland native and former Moose captain scored a hat trick. He actually had 5 goals in two periods during a game in January against the Los Angeles Kings. See those goals below. 

CALL UP
Halifax announced last week that forward Braeden MacPhee has been recalled to the team's roster for the remainder of the season. He will wear number 12 for the Mooseheads. The move comes after MacPhee's season in the MHL finished where he played for the Miramichi Timberwolves producing 25 points in 30 games. 

"Braeden brings speed and grit with a nice infusion of skill. It's a good opportunity for him to practice and play with us," GM Cam Russell said. 

MHL AWARDS

A couple of Herd prospects had good seasons in the Maritime Hockey League and were rewarded with some league honours. Fall River, NS native Bryson Boudreau was named the 2021-22 Rookie of the Year after leading all rookies with 23 goals and 41 points. The 18-year-old was a free agent invite of the Mooseheads and played well in intra-squad games during training camp back in August. 

MacPhee and Boudreau both were named to the MHL's Rookie All-Star Team despite both of their clubs not making the playoffs. 

UNIVERSITY COMMITMENT 
Well, one alum has made a commitment to the university he will play for next season. Brendan Tomilson, who played for our Halifax Mooseheads from 2019-21, will suit up for the York Lions. The 20-year-old is currently playing for the Pickering Panthers and has recorded 53 points in 51 games as captain of the team. 

Q PLAYOFFS
We're a little over a month away from the QMJHL playoffs starting and there have finally been a few teams who have clinched a spot. The Charlottetown Islanders, Sherbrooke Phoenix and Quebec Remparts put X's beside their names in the standings this past weekend. 

The Herd are quite a few games away from clinching a spot in the post-season but I can't see why Halifax wouldn't make it. Halifax is currently 10th in the overall standings with a 27-25-1-1 record. 

PARENT
Forward Xavier Parent, who played for Halifax for two seasons, was named to the QMJHL Team of the Week on Monday afternoon. The recently turned 21-year-old scored 6 goals and had 8 points this past week in 3 games and was a plus-5. Congrats to Xavier on being given the honour. 

Parent is having quite the final junior season as he currently has 39 goals and 42 assists with Sherbrooke who lead the Western Conference. His 81 points have come in 49 games played during 2021-22, which is more than double his previous career high (34 points/67 games in 2018-19 with Halifax). Xavier is third in league scoring with a quarter of the season remaining. 

Photos - Canadiens website, Mooseheads Twitter, York Lions Twitter & Q website