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 Name Captains

Photo - Herd website

Head coach J.J. Daigneault has made the announcement of the Halifax Mooseheads leadership group for the 2020-21 season. 

Veteran defenceman Justin Barron was named the Captain today. The 18-year-old was drafted by the Mooseheads in 2017 13th overall and has played 153 games for the club. He is currently on the injured list after receiving shoulder surgery a couple weeks ago. Barron is a top prospect eligible for the 2020 NHL draft which still hasn't been done because of the coronavirus and will be held on October 6-7. 

Barron will be joined by forwards Liam Peyton, Elliot Desnoyers and follow defenceman Jason Horvath who were all given an A on their jerseys. 

Congratulations to the four players, especially Justin. 

The announcement was made during a team meeting after this morning's practice with Barron and the international players on video call. You can view the video here. 

Roster for Opening Night

Photo - Mooseheads website

Just like the rest of this year where nothing has been done normally, I am doing the opening night roster post a little differently as well. Below you will find who I expect to dress for the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday when they open the regular season as the club has not officially announced their roster as of today. 

YOUR 2020-21 HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

2  Brendan Tomilson  D  (Oshawa, ON)

4  Jake Furlong  D  (Upper Tantallon, NS)*

6  Markus Vidicek  C  (Kirkland, QC)*

7  Lucas Robinson  D  (Rocky Harbour, NL)*

9  Kyle Petten  RW  (Bay Roberts, NL)

11  Jordan Dumais  RW  (Ile Bizard, QC)*

15  Alexandre Tessier  D  (Mirabel, QC)*

16  James Swan  C  (Ville St-Laurent, QC)*

17  Cameron Whynot  D  (Kentville, NS)

21  Cole Foston  LW  (Beaver Bank, NS)*

23  Landon Miron  RW  (Halifax, NS)*

26  Alexandre David  C  (Pigeon Hill, NB)

29  Cole McLaren  G  (Annapolis Royal, NS)

33  Brady James  G  (Beaconsfield, QC)*

66  Zachary L'Heureux  LW  (Mercier, QC)
78  Liam Peyton  LW  (St. Albert, AB)
79  Jason Horvath  D  (Russell, ON)

88  Robert Orr  C  (Beaconsfield, QC)*

91  Elliot Desnoyers  C  (Saint-Hyacinthe, QC)

94  Samuel Dube  LW  (Bad Tolz, Germany)

*indicates rookie

A full roster of who should suit up for the club before the new year will be posted to the 'Roster' page. Justin Barron is out indefinitely recovering from shoulder surgery while Keegan Hunt will not be in the line-up for 2 weeks. Teams are still awaiting word if international players will be able to come to Canada. 

Schedule Released for Regular Season

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finally announced the 2020-21 regular season schedule this afternoon. 

Halifax will once again begin the season on the road when they visit their provincial rivals, the Cape Breton Eagles on October 2 at 7pm. However many fans will be allowed to attend matches at the Scotiabank Centre won't have to wait long for the home opener as the two teams meet again the next night. 

Some highlights from the schedule include:

• With the corona-virus pandemic still around, our Mooseheads will play 60 regular season games all within the Maritime division so the rivalries will be strong this year. 83% of games will be played on weekends (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays), more than normal seasons 
• The longest road trip will be four games between February 26 to March 13 while the longest home-stand is only 3 matches before the teams go on Christmas break 
• The only game on a holiday this season is on New Year's Eve when the Eagles come to town for a matinee tilt with puck dropping at 2pm. This will most likely be apart of the annual Battle of Nova Scotia weekend 
• Halifax will finish the season on the road as well, visiting the Moncton Wildcats on April 3 at 4pm. The Herd's final home game is April 2nd against the Cats 

The Mooseheads haven't announced their annual events but I'm sure we will see them soon. 

QMJHL Starting Season October 1

Photo - Herd website

There will be a 2020-21 QMJHL season. Uncertainty across all sports leagues have been prevalent the last 5 months since they all shut down mid-March because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For one junior hockey league, that uncertainty has become a bit clearer. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has announced that it will begin the new season on October 1st. It will look a lot different than previous years and there are still multiple questions to be answered over the coming weeks but at least we have a concrete date now to get excited for.

The main points of the press release below are; there will be 3 divisions this year and teams will play their divisions only, a 60-game regular season schedule, Quebec teams will for sure play with no fans while it is to be determined for the Maritimes clubs and finally, 34 players will be invited to training camp instead of the normal 50ish.

Press release from August 14

"The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League today announced that it is planning to return to play on October 1, 2020 following positive dialogue with Provincial Governments and Public Health Agencies.

Since the 2019-2020 season and the President Cup playoffs were cancelled last March, the Commissioner’s office has been preparing a sustainable return to play protocol to ensure a safe environment for players, team staffs, fans and its communities. Over the past several weeks, the league has had continued dialogue with government officials and Public Health Agencies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec to propose a plan in line with Public Health directives and guidelines.

In order to begin the season on October 1^st, with training camps and return to school deadlines coming up at end of August, the league had to decide on whether or not to start the 2020-2021 season. The League’s mission is to develop players both academically and athletically while providing the safest possible environment. In view of the urgency of the situation and in line with our mission, the members voted in favour of returning to play on October 1st.

Following our conversations with both the Provincial Governments and Public Health Agencies, it has been determined that the 2020-2021 season will be played behind closed doors in Quebec, while details are currently still being discussed for the Maritimes.

Training camps will open on August 30th and teams will be limited to 34 invitees. The regular season will include a 60-game schedule and the League will be divided into three divisions. All regular season games will be played within six-team divisions while the playoff format will be announced later in December. The 102nd Memorial Cup presented by Kia is scheduled to be played from June 17-27, 2021, in Oshawa or Sault St. Marie."