CAMP: More cuts made Monday

Photo - Herd website

The Halifax Mooseheads announced their fourth round of cuts on Monday morning during training camp. A total of three players were reassigned to their respective clubs with another released on Friday. The announcement comes about 36 hours after our Moose defeated the Charlottetown Islanders 3-2 in pre-season action on Saturday afternoon. It was Halifax's third straight win after losing their first exhibition match. 

Players cut:
D Jack Cameron
D Samuel Fishbone
F Keith Olympia
F Maveric Thisdelle

This leaves 26 players on the roster, including 16 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders. Nicolas Blanchette, Chase Cleary, Jake Donatelli and Logan Trewin were previously reassigned on Thursday while goaltender Chandler Bell was cut the day before. Free agent forward Will Highes was released on Friday after the team acquired 20-year-old forward Nathan Langlois last week. 

Halifax will announce its regular season roster in the coming days. 

CAMP: Herd make first cuts

Photo - Herd website

After splitting the home-and-home pre-season series against the Cape Breton Eagles, the Halifax Mooseheads announced that they have made a round of cuts on Sunday afternoon. A total of 13 players were reassigned to their respective clubs. The article did not mention if any players left voluntarily. 

Players cut:
G Jack Bell 
F Aaron Carrier
F Elie Champagne
F Thomas Cote 
D Mickael Fournier
F Keegan Kazan
G William Laplante
F Owen O'Donnell
F Nathan Ruel
F Sam Ryan
F Jordan Shaw
D Gavin Sudds
F Ylan Verpaelst

Owen O'Donnell will be sent back to Rouyn-Noranda as he was loaned to the Mooseheads by the Huskies on a try-out basis. This leaves 34 players remaining on the camp roster, including 18 forwards, 13 defencemen and three goaltenders. I suspect we will see the regular season roster named on Thursday following Halifax's next pre-season game on August 26 at the Dartmouth Sportsplex. 

Thursday notes

We are two days into training camp and there have been some news this week that has come out. So I thought I would catch you up. 

Photo - CHL website

Forward Caylen Blake was one of a few players who were on the Halifax Mooseheads last season that did not get an invitation to training camp. GM Cam Russell mentioned that the team wanted to free up some space in a crowded forward group and was looking for a spot on a different team for Blake. On Wednesday, the Herd announced that they have traded the 18-year-old to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for a ninth round pick in the 2029 QMJHL Draft. 

Blake played two seasons in Halifax, appearing in 120 regular season games and scoring 46 career points. The Corner Brook, NL was originally selected in the second round, 34th overall in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft. Good luck to Caylen in Chicoutimi. 

Other news...

• Moose Country will still be able to listen to regular season games on the radio as it was announced earlier this week that Jack 92.9 is set to broadcast matches for the 2026-27 season with play-by-play voice Garreth MacDonald back on the mic. 
• Halifax added 20-year-old forward Will Hughes to the camp roster as another free agent invitation. Hughes captained the Collingwood Blues (OJHL) in 2025-26 and had 78 points in 50 games. 
• Interview with American goaltenders Jack Fichthorn and Carson Mertz

• Team White had the upper hand in the two intrasquad games on Thursday as the two teams tied game 1 (3-3) while White won game 2 (5-3). Jamie Calla, Shawn Carrier and Elie Champagne each had two goals over the two matches for White, meanwhile Emrik Menard scored twice for Team Green. 
• Cam Russell mentioned before camp, in his 'interview' with Scott MacIntosh, that Will Bent is not scheduled to be back in the lineup until mid-October but was listed on the training camp roster.
• Interview with Jackson Smail and Brady Smith

• No word when first cuts will be made but I expect we will see them tomorrow or Saturday morning, however the NCAA rules have changed how camps go and this does seem like a short camp. 

The Mooseheads get underway in pre-season action tomorrow night as they host the Cape Breton Eagles at 7pm. 

46 players to attend training camp

Photo - Herd website

Our Halifax Mooseheads' 2026 training camp begins tomorrow and the team finally released its roster of the forty-six players who will be attending. 

The roster includes 26 forwards, 15 defencemen and five goaltenders. Players will report for registration on Wednesday morning before hitting the ice for afternoon practices. General Manager Cam Russell has made multiple moves over the off-season and he continues to make them as another two players from 2025-26 were left off the camp roster; overage goaltender Owen Bresson and 18-year-old forward Caylen Blake. 

Players invited to camp

Duncan Anderson    D    (draft '25)

Chandler Bell    G    (free agent)

Jack Bell    G    (draft '25)

William Bent    F    (draft '24)

Nicolas Blanchette    D    (draft '25)

Jamie Calla    F    (draft '26)

Jack Cameron    D    (draft '26)

Aaron Carrier    F    (draft '26)

Shawn Carrier    F    (trade)

Elie Champagne    F    (draft '24)

Chase Cleary    F    (draft '26)

Thomas Cote    F    (draft '24)

Jake Donatelli    D    (draft '26)

Eddy Doyle    D    (draft '23)

Brenden Espenell    D    (free agent)

Jack Fichthorn    G    (draft '26)

Samuel Fishbone    D    (draft '26)

Mikael Fournier    D    (draft '24)

Paulo Gualberto Jr    F    (draft '25)

Keegan Kazan    F    (free agent invite)

Quinn Kennedy    F    (trade)

Oleg Kulebiakin    F    (import)

Malik L'Italien    D    (draft '25)

William Laplante    G    (draft '26)

Cole MacLeod    F    (draft '24)

Patrick McNab    F    (draft '23)

Emrik Menard    F    (draft '26)

Carson Mertz    G    (draft '26)

Cameron Minella    D    (draft '25)

Jayden Napon    F    (draft '25)

Evan Nee    F    (free agent)

Mateo Nobert    F    (trade)

Owen O'Donnell    F    (free agent invite)

Owen Phillips    D    (draft '22)

Nathan Ruel    F    (draft '25)

Sam Ryan    F    (draft '25)

Jordan Shaw    F    (free agent invite)

Paul Sintschnig    F    (import)

Jackson Smail    F    (draft '26)

Brady Smith    D    (free agent)

Gavin Sudds    D    (draft '24)

Maveric Thisdelle    F    (draft '26)

Logan Trewin    D    (draft '24)

Nico Uschan    D    (import)

Ylan Verpaelst    F    (draft '25)

Daniel Walters    F    (draft '24)

Seems like we may have a quick training camp as the practices and intra-squad games part is only over two days than the team is right into exhibition matches on Friday and Saturday. Will be very interesting to see how the cuts work out and what kind of final roster Russell makes. Halifax is projected to be a contender this season. 

Good luck to all the players this week. 

Training camp week 1 schedule

Photo - Herd website

It's August which means the Halifax Mooseheads will be back on the ice next week! 

The Herd released their first week schedule of the 2026 training camp that will begin on August 19 at RBC Centre. Players will most likely register Wednesday morning then will participate in a couple of practices. Halifax also announced that the venue for their pre-season game against the Cape Breton next Friday has changed from the team facility to Dalhousie's Oulton-Stanish Centre.  

Check out the schedule below
August 19     
3:00-4:00pm    Team White practice
4:30-5:30pm    Team Green practice

August 20
10:00am-12:00pm    Green vs White Intrasquad Game #1
3:00-5:00pm             Green vs White Intrasquad Game #2

August 21
7:00pm        Pre-season game vs. Cape Breton

August 22
7:00pm        Pre-season game at Cape Breton

Tickets to the three exhibition matches are on sale now, available for $17.50 per adult. Fans can buy them on TicketMaster online here. 

In other news...

• Halifax signed free agent goaltender Jack Fichthorn on July 30 to a QMJHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. Fichthorn is 19-years-old from Darien, Connecticut and was selected by the Mooseheads 43rd overall at the 2026 Entry Draft. 
• GM Cam Russell confirmed a rumour earlier this month and secured some future chips when he traded forward Liam Kilfoil to the Moncton Wildcats. Kilfoil played in 180 career regular season games after joining the Herd in 2023 and scored 105 points. 
• Fans can now buy half season packages for 2026-27. There are multiple member benefits including savings over individual prices, parking & merchandise discounts, invites to team events plus more. Find more here.  
• NHL Street Harbour Fest is coming to Halifax next month, September 12-13 at the Emera Oval. It is a 3-on-3 street hockey festival. 

L'Italien, MacKenzie win gold at Hlinka

Photo - Hockey Canada Twitter

Defenceman Malik L'Italien and head coach Brad MacKenzie are 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup champions. 

Team Canada won gold on Saturday evening in Edmonton, AB at the under-18 tournament, after defeating the United States 8-1 in the championship game. This was Canada's fourth trophy in the last five years. 

L'Italien had a point in the victory and finishes the tournament with a goal and two assists in five games. Meanwhile, MacKenzie was behind the bench as an assistant coach. Canada finished the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record. 

GAME OVER! IT'S GOLD IN EDMONTON! 🇨🇦🇺🇸

MATCH FINI! MÉDAILLÉS D’OR À EDMONTON! 🇨🇦🇺🇸

📊 https://t.co/hU5AoHBg95
📊 https://t.co/EdF5Cx7RiP #HlinkaGretzkyCup | #CoupeHlinkaGretzky | @UpperDeckSports pic.twitter.com/iGvecpEZDn

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 9, 2026

The other Mooseheads player in the tournament was USA's defenceman Cameron Minella who assisted on the Americans lone goal in the final match. He finished with three helpers over 5 games. 

In the bronze medal game, Finland won 3-2 in regulation against Slovakia. 

Congrats to Malik and Brad on becoming gold medalists along with Cameron taking home a silver medal. 

Events

The regular season schedule was released back in mid-June and now our Halifax Mooseheads have announced their promotional schedule for 2026-27. There are more events than what is shown below but these continue to be the team continually has and are special games. 

Annual events
HOME OPENER - September 19 vs. Moncton Wildcats
90's Night - October 24 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
DND Appreciation Night - November 14 vs. Quebec Remparts
Toque Toss - December 13 vs. Saint John Sea Dogs
Moose Fight Cancer - February 6 vs. Charlottetown Islanders
Fan Appreciation - March 20 vs. Moncton Wildcats

See the full promotional schedule in the 'Schedule' tab above.