Alumni Update: Statistics

Logan Crosby of Pictou County
Photo - Jennifer Weeks

There are plenty of former Halifax Mooseheads players suiting up for teams in different leagues on both sides of the ocean. I figured I would share how some of them are doing in terms of statistics for the leagues that are on a holiday break now in North America. It's crazy that we are already this close to Christmas time. 

QMJHL (major junior)

MJAHL (junior a)

QJHL (junior a)

NSJHL (junior b)

U-SPORTS (university)

NCAA

NSSHL (nova scotia senior)

AESHL (newfoundland senior)

CWSHL (newfoundland senior)

LHSAAAQ (quebec senior)

LHSB (new brunswick senior)

NPHL (ontario senior)

LHCS

LNAH (semi-professional)

Good luck to all the players in the second half of their season. 

Herd Word

NHL DEBUT 
Former Mooseheads forward Xavier Parent made his NHL debut last Thursday for the New Jersey Devils. The 24-year-old did not record any points in the game and was a minus-1 as the Devils lost 8-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Parent, a native of Laval, QC has stayed up with the big team playing four games so far. He led New Jersey's AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets with 12 points (6G & 6A) in 20 games prior to being called up. 

An @NHL debut is one of our favorite things. pic.twitter.com/CacCkjd12E

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 11, 2025

I didn't see this until today but Xavier was called up partly because Timo Meier, who also played for Halifax, asked for a personal leave of absence the same day and continues to be out of the lineup. Meier is dealing with a family matter, Moose Country sends their thoughts to Timo at this time. 

HANDEL TO WORLD JUNIORS
Defenceman Carlos Handel missed the last three games that Halifax has played as he has been invited to and participating in Team Germany's world juniors training camp. The 18-year-old played in the tournament last year so I suspect we will be cheering for him again this holiday season. Germany will have two exhibition games, against Finland on December 19 and December 21 versus USA. The 2026 World Juniors are being hosted by Minnesota, United States from December 26-January 5 with the Germans in Group A. Handel had 0 points in 5 games during the 2025 version so he'll hope to improve on that and help his country do better than the 9th place finish they had. 

Photo - Herd website

MOOSE ACQUIRE ROUSSEAU
Halifax announced on Monday that they have acquired veteran forward Samuel Rousseau from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in exchange for a 2026 5th round draft pick. The move was allowed to be made since Rousseau is a 20-year-old. A native of St. Eustache, QC, Samuel had been playing for the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL this season as the Huskies didn't have any room for him on their roster back in September. He had 30 points in 24 games with the Grizzlies after spending the previous three seasons with Rouyn-Noranda. 

"We are proud to welcome Samuel to the team. His proven leadership and depth of experience will strengthen our work and elevate what we can achieve together," Cam Russell said. 

Welcome to Moose Country Samuel! 

NEW DRESSING ROOM
The team made a pretty big renovation to the Scotiabank Centre, which most fans will likely never see more than the pictures Halifax shared, and released video of it on social media earlier this week. Halifax introduced their new multi-million dollar, state of the art dressing room facility, allowing the Mooseheads to cement their position at the very top of the CHL as said in the press release. On top of updating the area the players get changed in, the team also added or upgraded a kitchen & lounge area, cold tubs & steam room, and coaches room plus giving the hype tunnel new LED signage. 

See the full video below. 

PWHL IN HALIFAX

Halifax, the city, hosted the first game of the 2025-26 Professional Women's Hockey League's Takeover Tour on Wednesday night. It featured the Toronto Sceptres taking on the Montreal Victoire at the Scotiabank Centre. The over 10,000 fans got their money's worth as the match went to a shootout with Montreal taking the 2-1 victory. Unfortunately, the team (Sceptres) with the Nova Scotians did not win but it was still a good game. It was so nice to see a women's professional hockey match in my hometown. I mention it since former Herd head coach Jim Midgley is currently an assistant coach for Toronto. 

The PWHL will be back in Halifax on January 11 as the Ottawa Charge take on the Boston Fleet. 

Photo - Lukko Facebook

LIIGA MILESTONE

I haven't really given any props to alumni achieving milestones in leagues that aren't the NHL, mainly because I haven't seen many posts about it but here is one. Antoine Morand, who suited up in the green and red during the 2018-19 season, played in his 200th Liiga regular season game on Friday. The 26-year-old moved over to Europe in 2022, originally signing with SaiPa before being traded to Lukko on January 22, 2024. Morand has 3 goals and 9 assists in 24 games so far this year. As a member of the Mooseheads, the Chateauguay, QC native had 22 goals and 70 points and served as captain. 

Congratulations to Antoine, keep it up over there. 

TRADE PERIOD 
A break in the schedule means that the QMJHL trade period has opened, as of Friday teams can move any player on their roster and the deadline is January 6. Number of moves were made already mainly by Chicoutimi, Blainville, Victoriaville and Cape Breton on the first day. According to Willy Palov, this year will be about patience and perspective for the Halifax Mooseheads. Considering this is the second year of a rebuild, the Herd seem to be doing better at this point of the season than they were projected to so could we see Cam Russell make some moves that bolster the roster? "No big plans right now but obviously there are a few things we're looking at, like every year," Russell said. "We're happy with the core of players that we have and how they're growing. It's a really good group of kids that we're building around, but we're always looking for ways to make our team better."

Moose go into break on winning note

Photo - Herd website

The end of the unofficial first half of the 2025-26 season is here and our Halifax Mooseheads finished on a winning note. Halifax won back to back games against the Saint John Sea Dogs this week with three players having two goal games. Shawn Carrier and Quinn Kennedy were the ones to put the puck in the back of the net on Wednesday evening in Saint John in a 4-3 victory. In their final game before the holiday break, sophomore Amelio Santini scored twice the following night while defenceman Eddy Doyle potted the overtime winner to give the Mooseheads another 4-3 win. Saint John came back in both games during the third period. 

So let's have a look at how the Herd have done so far this year. 

First half stats
Record - 17-12-1-1 = 36 points    31 GP (9th overall, 4th Maritimes division)
Goals for - 107
Goals against - 116

Penalties - 289
Power play - 18.6%

Penalty kill - 79.4%

Streak - 2-0-0-0

Last 10 - 4-6-0-0

Top 5 scorers: Oleg Kulebiakin (17-17-34), Shawn Carrier (19-11-30), Liam Kilfoil (6-18-24), Quinn Kennedy (15-7-22) and Connor MacPherson (7-12-19)

Goalies: Owen Bresson 12-8-0-1 record, 0 shutout, 3.43 GAA, 0.894 SAV%; Nick Cirka 5-4-1-0 record, 1 shutout, 4.00 GAA, 0.873 SAV%

Your Mooseheads will be back at the Scotiabank Centre on December 28 as they host the Newfoundland Regiment . They then play provincial rivals Cape Breton Eagles on the 30th before heading to Sydney on New Year's Eve. 

Have a happy holiday break Moose Country, see you back at the arena in a week and a half. Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoy it. 

Game Day 25: vs Huskies

PREVIEW - After another five game road trip, our Halifax Mooseheads are back home for a few matches starting with one this evening as they host the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies during the annual toque toss charity game. Both teams have had 0.500 records over their last 10 games and are coming off a loss. The Huskies will be looking for their first win on their current run through the Maritimes division while Halifax hopes to not get swept in their season series against Rouyn-Noranda. Mooseheads rookie forward Oleg Kulebiakin continues to be on a hot streak including scoring a hat trick on November 21 and posting 4 assists in one game a week later. The Russian leads the team with 30 points after twenty-five games, and probably would have been invited to the world juniors if the country was still in the tournament. This is the first time since the 2011-12 season that a rookie has led the Herd in scoring. So don't forget to bring some toques and when the home team scores their first goal tonight, throw them on the ice so they can be donated to HRM shelters. 

Coverage
TV: FloHockey | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Overall records
Huskies: 15-8-2-1 = 33 points (2nd in West division, 6th overall)
Mooseheads: 14-8-1-1 = 30 points (3rd in Maritimes division, 9th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Oleg Kulebiakin 30pts (17G & 13A), Shawn Carrier 24pts (14G & 10A), Liam Kilfoil 20pts (5G & 15A)
ROU: Thomas Verdon 39pts (12G & 27A), Samuel Beauchemin 25pts (8G & 17A), Eliot Ogonowski 23pts (10G & 13A)

Head-to-head
Halifax is 0-0-1-0 against the Huskies this season while Rouyn-Noranda has a 1-0-0-0 record versus the Mooseheads. The two teams met on Halloween night in Rouyn where Antoine St. Laurent scored twice, including the overtime winner, to help his Huskies get a 5-4 OT victory over Halifax. 

Out of town
Cataractes vs. Phoenix - 5:00 p.m.
Eagles vs. Foreurs - 7:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will welcome the Val-d'Or Foreurs tomorrow afternoon for the toy drive game. Puck drops at 3 p.m.

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances. 

For your Halifax Mooseheads, Nicholas Cirka was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for November. 

Team	Player	Program	Academic Establishment
Baie-Comeau Drakkar	Zachary Hachey	Cours préparatoires BAC finances	Université LAVAL
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada	Matt Gosselin	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de Terrebonne
Cape Breton Eagles	Jacob Hartlin	High School – Grade 12	Sydney Academy
Charlottetown Islanders	Jabez Seymour	High School – Grade 11	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
Chicoutimi Saguenéens	Maxim Massé	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de Chicoutimi
Drummondville Voltigeurs	Cooper Campbell	High School – Grade 12	Nebraska High School
Gatineau Olympiques	Louis-Étienne Halley	Secondaire 5	Académie Les Estacades
Halifax Mooseheads	Nicholas Gillham-Cirka	High School – Grade 12	Woodlawn High School
Moncton Wildcats	Dominik Necak	High School – Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
Newfoundland Regiment	Biagio Jr. Daniele	High School – Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
Québec Remparts	Alex Desruisseaux	Secondaire 5	Académie Les Estacades
Rimouski Océanic	William Lacelle	High School – Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies	Alexandre Raymond	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Shawinigan Cataractes	Louis-Félix Gagnon	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de Shawinigan
Sherbrooke Phoenix	Mavrick Lachance	High School – Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
Saint John Sea Dogs	Alexis Joseph	Secondaire 5	Académie Les Estacades
Val-d’Or Foreurs	Josh Demers	Sciences de la nature	CEGEP de Val-d’Or
Victoriaville Tigres	Maxime Lambert	Sciences de la nature	CÉGEP de Victoriaville

Stats Sunday: October

Games played: 11
Record: 8-2-1-0, 17pts
Goals for/against: 45/32
Powerplay*: 19.2%
Penalty kill*: 79.3%
Shutouts: One

Top 5 leading scorers
Points: Oleg Kulebiakin 13, Liam Kilfoil 11, Quinn Kennedy 10, Shawn Carrier 9, Eddy Doyle 8
Goals: Oleg Kulebiakin 9, Quinn Kennedy 7, Shawn Carrier 5, Caylen Blake 5, Liam Kilfoil 3
Assists: Liam Kilfoil 8, Eddy Doyle 8, Malik L'Italien 6, Owen Phillips 6, Connor MacPherson 5
Penalty minutes: Daniel Walters 14, Mathieu Taillefer 14, Connor MacPherson 11, Shawn Carrier 10, Quinn Kennedy 10
Plus/minus: Connor MacPherson +11, Mathieu Taillefer +9, Eddy Doyle +8, Liam Kilfoil +7, Jasu Mensonen +7
Rookie scoring: Oleg Kulebiakin 13pts, Malik L'Italien 7pts, Jasu Mensonen 5pts, Cameron Minella 5pts, Junior Gualberto 2pts

Goaltender stats*
Owen Bresson     7-4-0-0     3.16 GAA     0.896 SAV%
Nicolas Cirka     3-1-1-0     3.22 GAA     0.895 SAV%

*overall, as of Nov 2 but everything else is just October 

Import rookies propel Halifax to DND win

Mensonen's goal celebration
Photo - Ashley Hennigar

Well it was quite the night for the import rookies who helped lead the Halifax Mooseheads to a 5-3 victory over the Cape Breton Eagles on DND Appreciation Night. Russian Oleg Kulebiakin added onto his team leading point totals by scoring twice and helping on another Saturday night while Imatra, Finland native Jasu Mensonen also had 3 points (1 goal & 2 assists) as both players received stars of the game honours. The game began with a ceremonial puck drop from a couple of Canadian Armed Forces members and another signing O Canada. Fans weren't too happy about midway through the first period as a Herd player got interfered with and there was no call on the play but the referees did make a call on a similar play late in the frame which led to Will Bent scoring the opening goal on the power play. Halifax kept on going in the second, getting out to a 3-0 lead halfway through the period but the lead after 40 minutes would only be 3-2. Kulebiakin's two goals happened in the third extending the lead with his 8th of the season (goal #2 in game) being scored during the Needs Minute It to Win It giveaway so someone went home with $6,300 in Needs gift cards. The 'pot' had grown since at least late in the 2023-24 season. Surprisingly, Cape Breton did not have a power play opportunity during the match while the Moose had just one. 

FINAL: Eagles 3 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Lewis Gendron CAP | 2. Jasu Mensonen HAL | 1. Oleg Kulebiakin HAL 
Attendance: 8,397 

GAME LOG
First period
17:13 HAL William Bent (2), PP | A: Kennedy & L'Italien 

Second period 
6:25 HAL Jasu Mensonen (3) | A: Kulebiakin & Carrier
9:41 HAL Caylen Blake (4) | A: None
18:00 CAP Lewis Gendron (2) | A: Burke & De Ladurantaye
19:08 CAP Samuel Rocca (3) | A: Peitzsche & Hartlin

Third period 
2:15 HAL Oleg Kulebiakin (7) | A: Mensonen 
10:29 HAL Oleg Kulebiakin (8) | A: Mensonen & Kilfoil
14:09 CAP Romain Litalien (2) | A: Gendron

Powerplay: CAP - 0-for-0; HAL - 1-for-1
Shots: 35-25 in favour of Halifax

Did not play - Alec Nesreddine (healthy), Lincoln Waugh (injured), Justin Chiras (healthy) & Antoine Fontaine (injured)

Next game
The Halifax Mooseheads will head out for a 5 game road trip starting tomorrow in Moncton against the Wildcats. Game time is 3 p.m.

Game Day 12: vs Eagles

PREVIEW - Your Halifax Mooseheads wrap up their six game home-stand this evening when they host the Cape Breton Eagles for DND Appreciation Night. Surprisingly, this is the first matchup between these two provincial rivals during the regular season, however they did battle it out for all 4 exhibitions games that both teams had. Halifax will honour the Canadian Armed Forces tonight by wearing special themed jerseys that will be auctioned & raffled off with the funds raised going to normally Camp Hill Veterans Hospital. The Mooseheads have played 9 of their first eleven matches this season at the Scotiabank Centre and have given the fans who have showed up lots of things to cheer about as they have a 7-4-0-0 record so far. Despite only having two wins in 8 games played for the Eagles, goaltender Felix Hamel is amongst the league leaders being 4th in goals against average (2.68) and having the third best save percentage (0.913). So we could see a low scoring game tonight. 

Coverage
TV: FloHockey | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Overall records
Eagles: 4-4-1-2 = 11 points (6th in Maritimes division, 15th overall)
Mooseheads: 7-4-0-0 = 14 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 6th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Oleg Kulebyakin 9pts (6G & 3A), Shawn Carrier 8pts (5G & 3A), Quinn Kennedy 8pts (5G & 3A) 
CAP: Eliot Litalien 9pts (5G & 4A), Lewis Gendron 9pts (1G & 8A), Romain Litalien 7pts (1G & 6A)

Head-to-head
This is the first match of the season series between these two teams. Halifax had a 2-5-1-0 record against the Eagles last season while Cape Breton went 6-2-0-0 versus the Mooseheads. Caylen Blake led the Mooseheads to a 5-3 victory in the two teams last matchup back on March 16 with two goals and Jacob Steinman stopped 28 of the Eagles 31 shots in Halifax. 

Out of town
Sagueneens vs. Armada - 5:00 p.m.
Drakkar vs. Oceanic - 5:00 p.m.
Huskies vs. Olympiques - 5:00 p.m.
Cataractes vs. Remparts - 5:00 p.m.
Foreurs vs. Voltigeurs - 5:00 p.m.
Tigres vs. Phoenix - 5:00 p.m.
Regiment vs. Sea Dogs - 6:30 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will travel to Moncton and take on the Wildcats in a matinee tomorrow to start a 5 game road trip. Puck drops at 3 p.m.

Six Moose on Players to Watch list

Danny Walters
Photo - Mooseheads Twitter

With such a young team, our Halifax Mooseheads have six players that have been named on the Central Scouting initial Players to Watch list for the 2026 NHL Draft. The list was released on Monday and features 55 QMJHL players with two of them being given an 'A' rating, which indicates a first round candidate; Egor Shilov of the Victoriaville Tigres and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada's Xavier Villeneuve. 

Goaltender Nicolas Cirka, defenseman Eddy Dolye and forward Will Bent were among the 'C' players that scouts think will be drafted in the 4th or 5th rounds next June. This next rating is new this year with 6th and 7th round candidates being given a 'W', Herd forwards Caylen Blake, Oleg Kulebiakin and Daniel Walters are part of this group. 

The projected #1 pick is forward Gavin McKenna who currently is suiting up for the Penn State Nittany Lions and is the fourth youngest player in men's college hockey. He is just one of the few former CHL players who have moved to the NCAA after the rule change. 

Congratulations to our guys and all the players who are prospects for the upcoming draft. It will be interesting to see how many Mooseheads actually get selected in June. For the full list, click here.

Q PROSPECTS GAME UPDATE
We know there is going to be 3 Mooseheads playing in tomorrow's QMJHL Prospects Game which is being hosted by the Sherbrooke Phoenix, but it was announced when the league released the two teams' rosters on Wednesday that a fourth will participate. 

Tignish, PE native Eddy Doyle has been invited to play in the game as an injury replacement. Congrats to Eddy on getting this opportunity, he will join Walters, Kulebiakin and Bent in Sherbrooke. 

Team Crosby will have Kulebiakin and Walters on it with Bent and Doyle are set to suit up for Team Lafleur. Check out the full rosters here. I can't find any info on if the game will be on television but for people in Sherbrooke who are interested, you can get tickets. 

We’re all set for the first practices before tomorrow’s QMJHL Prospects Game! 🤩#ProspectsGame | @BFLCANADA pic.twitter.com/93n2x5T7gC

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) October 20, 2025

Game Day 10 & 11: vs Regiment

PREVIEW - Our Halifax Mooseheads are in the midst of a six game home-stand and will welcome the Newfoundland Regiment for a two match set on Friday and Saturday night. The Regiment relocated to St. John's, NL this past summer after spending 27 years in Bathurst, NB. Newfoundland kicked off their inaugural season well, defeating the reigning champion Moncton Wildcats twice in back to back games to start the year but they find themselves with a 5-5-0-0 record going into tonight's contest. Halifax meanwhile is preforming better than most people expected them to early on in this campaign, with 6 victories over 9 games so far. Assuming they keep to what they posted on the selection form for half season packages, Moose Country should see an East Coast Kitchen Party this weekend at the Scotiabank Centre. Despite their record, the Regiment do have the top two current scoring leaders in the Q so our Herd will have to play well defensively against them. 

Coverage
TV: Eastlink | Radio: News 95.7 | Live: @MC_MooseCountry

Overall records
Regiment: 5-5-0-0 = 10 points (5th in Maritimes division, 12th overall)
Mooseheads: 6-3-0-0 = 12 points (2nd in Maritimes division, 5th overall)

Leading scorers
HAL: Shawn Carrier 8pts (5G & 3A), Quinn Kennedy 8pts (5G & 3A), Oleg Kulebyakin 8pts (5G & 3A)
NFL: Justin Larose 19pts (7G & 12A), Marek Danicek 17pts (6G & 11A), Louis-Francois Belanger 12pts (6G & 6A)

Head-to-head
This is the first match of the season between these two teams. Halifax had a 2-3-3-0 record against the Titan in their last year in Bathurst while they went 6-2-0-0 versus the Mooseheads. Emile Perron had the overtime winner as Acadie-Bathurst came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in extra time. Callum Aucoin had 2 goals for Halifax in the road loss. 

Out of town
Wildcats vs. Tigres - 7:00 p.m.
Islanders vs. Foreurs - 7:00 p.m.
Drakkar vs. Eagles - 8:00 p.m.
Armada vs. Voltigeurs - 8:00 p.m.
Oceanic vs. Phoenix - 8:00 p.m.
Sagueneens vs. Remparts - 8:00 p.m.
Olympiques vs. Cataractes - 8:00 p.m.

After the buzzer
Halifax will finish their home stand next Saturday when they welcome the Cape Breton Eagles for DND Appreciation Night. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

New record is difference in victory

Photo - Herd website

A new record was set by the Halifax Mooseheads on Wednesday night and it was the difference in picking up a 4-2 victory over the Victoriaville Tigres. Rookie Oleg Kulebyakin scored his 5th goal of the season to kick off the fun at the 7:34 mark of the first period. Halifax's third goal scored by Caylen Blake, his first of the year, 62 seconds later gave the Mooseheads a 3-0 lead and a new franchise record for the fastest time to score three goals. Victoriaville pushed back in the middle frame and Alexey Vlasov scored early on to cut the lead to 3-1. The Tigres came in to the game with the QMJHL's best power play percentage but were provided with only one opportunity which the Herd killed off. Overall it was an interesting game between the two youngest teams in the league this season. 

FINAL: Tigres 2 at Mooseheads 4
Stars: 3. Carlos Handel HAL | 2. Liam Kilfoil HAL | 1. Owen Bresson HAL
Attendance: 5,745
MC's Top Herd: Liam Kilfoil

GAME LOG
First period
7:34 HAL Oleg Kulebyakin (5) | A: Doyle & Walters
8:17 HAL Shawn Carrier (5) | A: Kennedy & Kilfoil
8:36 HAL Caylen Blake (1) | Bent & Santini

Second period 
3:46 VIC Alexey Vlasov (6) | A: Paquet 
16:54 HAL Liam Kilfoil (2) | A: MacPherson & Doyle

Third period
6:28 VIC Egor Shilov (5) | A: Vlasov & Korneyev

Powerplay: VIC - 0-for-1; HAL - 0-for-1
Shots: 33-31 in favour of Halifax

Did not play - Justin Chiras (healthy), Lincoln Waugh (injured), Alec Nesreddine (healthy) & Antoine Fontaine (healthy)

Next game
Our Halifax Mooseheads will welcome the newly named Newfoundland Regiment for two games on Friday and Saturday. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

Herd Word

BEST GOALIE
Goaltender Owen Bresson of our Halifax Mooseheads was named to the Team of the Week on Monday after going 2-0-0-0 during the previous weekend with wins over Baie-Comeau and Moncton. It's the first time this season that a Herd player has been named to the team. Bresson also had a 0.97 GAA between the two matches. Congrats Owen!

Photo - QMJHL website

MACKINNON TRADED
Former Herd defenseman Dylan MacKinnon has been traded from the Moncton Wildcats to the Charlottetown Islanders. The announcement was made on Tuesday, and could be done because MacKinnon is a 20 year old. Moncton receives 3 draft picks in return. Dylan was a healthy scratch in the Wildcats match against the Mooseheads on Saturday so this would explain why. 

The Moncton, NB native has no points so far this season but has only played two games. 'For the Islanders, who currently sit 1st place in the QMJHL, this acquisition sends a clear message: the team is all-in on a championship push. MacKinnon's arrival adds experience, toughness, and a winning mentality to a defensive group that already ranks among the league's best,' says Charlottetown's press release. 

QMJHL PROSPECTS GAME
The QMJHL announced on Thursday the names of the 40 players who will participate in the first-ever QMJHL Prospects Game on October 21 at the Palais Leopold-Drolet in Sherbrooke. A few of the young men named are currently playing for Halifax this season; forwards Daniel Walters, Oleg Kulebyakin and William Bent will take part. 

Congratulations to our three players on being named and good luck. The rosters of the two teams participating in the game, which will be called Team Lafleur and Team Crosby, will be announced in the coming days. Full release here. 

THIS IS MOOSE COUNTRY
The second season of the team's podcast; This is Moose Country, is underway and episode 2 was released earlier this week. Episode 1 talked about the home opener and the 2025-26 roster plus Scott MacIntosh and Brad Cuzner were joined by new coaches Brad MacKenzie and Josh Hepditch. Below is the video for the most recent episode where Herd alumni Zach Fucale joined the hosts to talk about his time with Halifax, getting traded to Quebec plus more. 

 

Photo - Avalanche Twitter

FRANCHISE LEADER
The Colorado Avalanche have a new all-time leader in points since the franchise relocated and I am sure it is no surprise that it is former Moose player Nathan MacKinnon. The 30-year-old recorded an assist in the Avs opening game on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Kings. It was his 1,016th point (367 goals, 649 points) in 871 games to break a tie with Joe Sakic (1,015 points in 870 games). 

"He means a ton," Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said of MacKinnon. "He drives our team on a nightly basis, offensively. ... Just so many things he does so well, and I'm not surprised that he's, yet again, breaking another franchise record. You know, it's just kind of what he does, so exciting to see."

Keep it going Nate, congrats on becoming the points leader! 

Back & forth battle goes to Halifax

Photo - Herd Instagram

The Halifax Mooseheads have won their 4th game at home to start their season as they picked up two points against the Rimouski Oceanic on Thursday night, getting a 5-4 victory. Halifax was pretty dominate all game but there were times, mostly early in the third period, that the puck just seemed to bounce all over the place. Junior Gaulberto got the Mooseheads on the board at the 6:58 mark of the opening frame with his first QMJHL goal and that's how the teams would go into the intermission with the home team up 1-0 after 20 minutes. Former Herd forward Lou Levesque tied the game up for Rimouski about midway through the second. Rookie Cam Minella also scored his first career goal to give Halifax back the lead but once again the Oceanic would find a way to suck the air out of the Moose Country crowd. Rimouski took a 3-2 lead early in the third taking advantage of the back and forth bouncy action. Veteran Shawn Carrier scored twice in the final frame, including back handing a rebound into the net to make it 3-3. He would also record a shorthanded empty net goal with exactly one minute left to seal the game.

FINAL: Oceanic 4 at Mooseheads 5
Stars: 3. Emile Duquet RIM | 2. Paulo Gualberto Jr HAL | 1. Shawn Carrier HAL
Attendance: 6,532
MC's Top Herd: Paulo Gualberto Jr. 

GAME LOG
First period
6:58 HAL Paulo Gualberto Jr. (1) | A: MacPherson & Doyle

Second period
8:36 RIM Lou Levesque (1) | A: None

13:22 HAL Cameron Minella (1) | A: McNab & Gaulberto Jr.

18:40 RIM Emile Duquet (4) | A: Dube & Romaniak

Third period
3:26 RIM Justin Beaulieu (1) | A: Duquet & Dube
7:13 HAL Shawn Carrier (3) | A: Phillips & Kennedy
17:46 HAL Connor MacPherson (2) | A: L'Italien
19:00 HAL Shawn Carrier (4), SH EN | A: None
19:31 RIM Logan Roop (2) | A: Czaja & Nappiot

Powerplay: RIM - 0-for-2; HAL - 0-for-0
Shots: 42-30 in favour of Halifax

Did not play - Alec Nesreddine (healthy), Lincoln Waugh (injured), Mathieu Taillefer (injured) & Antoine Fontaine (healthy)

Next game

Our Mooseheads will continue this six game homestand when they welcome the reigning champion Moncton Wildcats for 90's Night on Saturday. Puck drops at 7 p.m. 

QMJHL Names Scholastic POM

Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances. 

For your Halifax Mooseheads, Lincoln Waugh was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for September. 

Team		Player	Program	Academic Establishment
	Baie-Comeau Drakkar	Aiden Kirkwood	Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
	Blainville-Boisbriand Armada	Théo Lemieux	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de Terrebonne
	Cape Breton Eagles	Aiden McCullough	Independant	Cape Breton University
	Charlottetown Islanders	Anthony Flanagan	Grade 12	Ontario Virtual School
	Chicoutimi Saguenéens	Thomas Desruisseaux	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de Chicoutimi
	Drummondville Voltigeurs	Owen Ronson	High School	Blyth Academy
	Gatineau Olympiques	Noah Florent	Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
	Halifax Mooseheads	Lincoln Waugh	Business	University of Prince Edward Island
	Moncton Wildcats	Riley Sampson	Ingénierie	University of New Brunswick (UNB)
	Newfoundland Regiment	Chase Anderson	Business Administration	Acadia University
	Québec Remparts	Freddy Meyer	Grade 12	Nebraska University High School
	Rimouski Océanic	Mathys Dubé	Techniques policières	CÉGEP de Rimouski
	Rouyn-Noranda huskies	William Vézina	Sciences de la nature	CÉGEP de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue
	Shawinigan Cataractes	Noah McKinnon	Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
	Sherbrooke Phoenix	Cameron Haye	Grade 11	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
	Saint John Sea Dogs	Dylan Rozzi	High School	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
	Val-d’Or Foreurs	Jacob Gouchie	Grade 12	Northern Pre-University (NPU)
	Victoriaville Tigres	Olivier Laverdière	Sciences humaines	CÉGEP de Victoriaville

NCAA season begins tonight

Photo - NCAA Hockey Facebook

This is not a post that I thought I would ever write but with the rule change back in 2024 that players who skated in the Canadian Hockey League could continue their careers in the NCAA, that is where we are. 

It is disappointing that these young men are not staying in Canada to play university hockey especially since as a fan, I would like to see them after they leave the Q however I understand. There are a handful of former Halifax Mooseheads players who will suit up for teams in the United States. 

Jacob Steinman - Bowling Green State Falcons (CCHL)

Mathis Rousseau - Maine Black Bears (Hockey East)

Brady Schultz - Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC Hockey)

Markus Vidicek - Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC Hockey)

Stephane Huard - Sacred Heart Pioneers (AHA)

Alex Carr - New Hampshire Wildcats (Hockey East)

This is the first full season that CHL players are able to play NCAA hockey. Markus Vidicek, Brady Schultz and Quinnipiac will visit Boston College to start the season on Friday. Also happening this evening, Alex Carr and New Hampshire are set to host Mathis Rousseau and Maine. Sacred Heart and Bowling Green begin their season on Saturday. 

Good luck to these guys during the season.