Roster Moves Change Landscape of Moose

Photo - Herd website

It has been a busy last month and a half for Cam Russell and co. as the team has made a number of roster moves trying to figure out the best players to finish the regular season in this rebuild year. I don't normally do this but with so much change, I thought I would share an updated roster. 

With the NCAA eligibility rule change, a few drafted players have decided to join the team and the Herd also made a couple of significant trades during the winter trade period. Since November 28, the following roster adjustments have been made:

IN                                                            OUT
D Mathieu Taillefer (NCAA commit)         F Lou Levesque (Trade RIM)
F Quinn Kennedy (Trade RIM)                D Jack Martin (Trade RIM)
G Nicolas Cirka (NCAA commit)              D Dominic MacKenzie (Reassigned)
D Justin Chiras (NCAA commit)              G Mathis Rousseau (Trade MON)
G Jacob Steinman (Trade MON)             F Logan Crosby (Trade MON)
F Callum Aucoin (Trade CAP)                 F Jan Sprynar (Signed w HC Litvinov)
F Will Bent (NCAA commit)                     G Jack Milner (Reassigned)
                                                                F Jake Todd (Reassigned)

To the new guys, welcome to Moose Country - excited to see your careers here. To the players who left, thank you for your time in Halifax - good luck with your new team. 

Halifax now has 12 rookies on the roster and with the moves made, there are no players born in 2005. 

Explore the second half roster below

1  Jacob Steinman  G  Toronto, ON
5  Brady Schultz  D  Monroe, CT, USA

7  Carlos Handel  D  Erlangen, Germany*
8  Callum Aucoin  LW  Hammonds Plains, NS

9  Liam Kilfoil  C  Quispamsis, NB
12  Will Bent  RW  Dover, MA*

17  Patrick McNab  LW  Beaconsfield, QC*
19  Caylen Blake  LW  Corner Brook, NL*

20  Daniel Walters  C  Halifax, NS*

21  Braeden MacPhee  C  Moncton, NB
26  Owen Phillips  D  Hammonds Plains, NS

32  Alec Nasreddine  LW  Mountainside, NJ, USA*

37  Amelio Santini  LW  Cote-Saint-Luc, QC*
39  Nicolas Gillham-Cirka  G  Westmount, QC*

41  Justin Breton  C  Saint-Leon-de-Stanton, QC*

51  Eddy Doyle  D  Tignish, PE*

55  Shawn Carrier  LW  Trois-Rivieres, QC

56  Lincoln Waugh  D  Summerside, PE

72  Mathieu Taillefer  D  Richelieu, QC*
73  Justin Chiras  D  Bedford, NH, USA*
88  Quinn Kennedy  C  Upper Tantallon, NS
89  Antoine Fontaine  RW  Granby, QC
90  Cade Moser  C  Linacy, NS 

Herd Move Rousseau, Crosby at Deadline

The Halifax Mooseheads made a couple of moves in the 11th hour of the winter trade period. Not surprisingly, Halifax traded goaltender Mathis Rousseau to the Moncton Wildcats along with forward Logan Crosby late Monday morning in exchange for overage netminder Jacob Steinman plus three draft picks (Rd 2 2025, Rd 2 2026, Rd 4 2026). 

Photo - AMH Photography

Rousseau was drafted by the Mooseheads in 2020 61st overall and made his debut during the 2021-22 season. He will be remembered as one of the best goalies to play for Halifax, securing 93 career wins during his time with the club and scoring the only goalie goal in franchise history on October 20, 2023. The 20-year-old finishes his time in Moose Country with 155 games played, a 2.74 goals against average and 0.912 save percentage over 3 and a half seasons. 

Photo - Saltwire

Crosby, a native of Salt Springs, NS, picked up 22 goals and 58 points in 163 games played for Halifax after being drafted by the team 20th overall at the 2021 QMJHL draft. The two players will join former teammates Dylan MacKinnon and Markus Vidicek on the Wildcats team who are looking to win the ultimate championship this season. Moncton currently sits on top of the league standings with 60 points and are on a 8 game win streak. 

"Mathis has done everything and more that we could have ever expected him to in a Mooseheads jersey. These decisions are never easy, but we wanted to give him a chance at winning a championship while helping our team get better for the future. We wish him and Logan the best of luck in Moncton," Russell said. 

A Toronto, ON native, Steinman leads the QMJHL with 22 wins so far this season and has been a solid goaltender in each of his 3 years after signing as a free agent with the Wildcats in 2022. He is near the top in all goalie statistical categories. 

Photo - Puck Preps

In a separate trade, the Herd acquired Callum Aucoin from the Cape Breton Eagles for a 2025 9th round draft pick. Aucoin, a native of Hammonds Plains, NS, has 16 points in 79 games played for the Eagles. The 18-year-old was drafted by the other Nova Scotian team in the 4th round in 2022. 

Good luck to Mathis and Logan with their new team and thank you for your time with Halifax. Welcome to Moose Country Jacob and Callum, I suspect we will see both in the lineup on Thursday.