Former Herd Players To Play at BMO Centre on Saturday

Event logo
Photo - Facebook page

There will be a few former Halifax Mooseheads players on the BMO Centre ice on Saturday August 8. Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand and Andrew Bodnarchuk are all set to skate as part of the Jordan Boyd Celebrity Hockey Challenge that will be happening this weekend. The three players were apart of last year's event as well. They will be separated between the 6 teams of local hockey players that will be battling it out for the Boyd's Cup and will also be playing in the all-star game during Saturday evening.

For a full list of professional hockey players that will be attending, click here.

Jordan Boyd was a promising hockey player when he passed away attending the Acadie-Bathurst Titan training camp two years ago. He collapsed on the first day of camp from an "undiagnosed heart condition called Arythmogenic Right-Ventricle Cardiomiopathy (ARVC)."

"His brother Greg created this event, through the support of his family and many volunteers to celebrate his life, give back to heart research and treatment initiatives, and to give the community and participants a day to remember, filled with fun."

You can find the official website here.

I'll be attending some of the day's games and posting and posting pictures online. Go check it out!! The all-star game will start at 5pm with tickets being sold mid-afternoon.

Herd Word

2015 NHL Draft Combine logo
Photo - NHL.com

NHL COMBINE
The National Hockey League 2015 combine begins today in Buffalo. Your Halifax Mooseheads will have one player in the state of New York this week. Timo Meier, a second year Swiss forward, was listed among the 120 invitees that was released last week. He'll be looking to show the scouts what he has. Meier is going into the draft ranked #8 by Craig Button. Don't forget to vote on the poll of where you think the 18 year old will end up getting drafted (poll is off to the side).

Q DRAFT
The QMJHL draft is fast approaching. The Mooseheads will have their first pick at 7th overall on Saturday afternoon in Sherbrooke. It's the first 1st round pick that Halifax has had since 2011. See the full list of where Cam Russell and the Herd will be drafting here.

JORDAN BOYD HOCKEY CHALLENGE
The organizers for the Jordan Boyd Hockey Challenge announced last week that there will be another day of competition again this summer. The date will be August 8, 2015 at the BMO Centre in Bedford. Six professional players have already been announced with more to come I am sure. Former Mooseheads Andrew Bodnarchuk and Brad Marchand will be playing with local players to raise money for the Jordan Boyd Leadership Award. Boyd past away on August 12, 2013 after collapsing on the ice during training camp with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The event last year raised over 100,000 dollars.

15-16 SCHEDULE
The schedule for the 2015-2016 QMJHL season should be released sometime in the next 7 days. I will keep you updated to when it is released and once the events for your Moose are announced (which probably will not be until August) I will post them on my blog. The teams are putting the finishing touches on their schedules.

MEMORIAL CUP

2015 Memorial Cup champs; Oshawa Generals
Photo - theqmjhl.ca

The 2015 Memorial Cup champs were crowned last night. Zach Fucale, Matt Murphy and Brian Lovell were unable to claim their second Memorial Cup rings after losing to the Kelowna Rockets in the semi final game, 9-3. Fucale played the whole 60 minutes making 35 saves while Lovell did not play in the tournament at all. Kelowna played the Oshawa Generals for national bragging rights but lost in overtime. Anthony Cirelli scored in regulation and than again at 1:12 into the first OT period to clinch the 2-1 victory for the Generals.

Congratulation to Oshawa on being the 2015 national champs!

Hockey Challenge Raises Over Thousand Dollars

The Jordan Boyd Celebrity Hockey Challenge, that was played today, raised over a thousand dollars. The $103,000 that was raised will be split between the Heart & Stroke Foundation and the Jordan Boyd Leadership Award.

Many local hockey celebrities participated in nine games that were contested between six teams. The "pros" were randomly selected to play with the different teams before they game together with top 24 fundraisers for an All-Star game.

Former Halifax Mooseheads players that played were Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins), Andrew Bodnarchuk (Los Angles Kings), Brendan Duke, MacKenzie Weegar and Stephen MacAulay. Other celebrities that participated included James Sheppard (San Jose Sharks), Zach Sill (Pittsburgh Penguins), Shawn O'Donnell (New York Rangers), Mason McDonald (Charlottetown Islanders) and Jacob Brennan (Acadie-Bathurst Titan).

Jordan Boyd passed away last year during the Titan training camp because of an undiagnosed heart condition. The Bathurst team had selected him in the fourth round of the 2013 QMJHL Draft.

Alumni Taking Part In Jordan Boyd Hockey Challenge

About a year after Jordan Boyd passed away, his family continues to change the ways of junior hockey and celebrate his life. A fund was set up in his name by those close to him with the hope 'to recognize individuals in amateur hockey, in the form of a series of scholarships, who have demonstrated a passion for sportsmanship, learning, leadership and community.' This weekend another fundraiser will be happening to help raise money for those scholarships.


Photo: Hockey Challenge fundraise page

The Jordan Boyd Hockey Challenge will be played at the BMO Centre in Bedford, Nova Scotia on Saturday August 2nd. There will be 9 hours of games between six different teams made up of local hockey celebraties and local kids. An all-star game will be played at the end of the night.



There are a few former Halifax Mooseheads who will be taking part in the games. Player announcements have been made over the last couple of months and 3 players who have played for the Moose have been announced. 2011 Stanley Cup champions Brad Marchand will be taking part, so will current Monchester Monarchs Andrew Bodnarchuk. 2013 Rookie of the Year Nathan MacKinnon will also partipate.

Some names of Herd alumni that are on donation teams include Stephen MacAulay, Mackenzie Weegar and Brendan Duke. Other celebrity names include; James Sheppard, 2004 Stanley Cup champion Darren Rumble, Mason MacDonald and Jacob Brennan.

I will be at the BMO Centre on Saturday so come join me and support this great cause.

Here is the day's full schedule:

11am - 12pm:	Team Boyd vs Dads and Lads
12pm - 1pm:	Sedmha All Stars vs Cole Harbour All Stars
1pm - 2pm:	Rothesay Neterwood vs Bedford Blues Alumni
2pm - 3pm:	Team Boyd vs Sedmha All Stars
3pm - 4pm:	Dads and Lads vs Rothesay Neterwood
4pm - 5pm:	Bedford Blues Alumni vs Cole Harbour All Stars
5pm - 6pm:	3rd place Group 1 vs 3rd place Group 2
6pm - 7pm:	2nd place Group 1 vs 2nd place Group 2
7pm - 8pm:	1st place Group 1 vs 1st place Group 2

All Star Game
Date: August 2, 2014
Time: 8:30 pm
Overview: All celebrities will be split on to two teams with our top fundraisers for a final game. Admission is $5.00

For more info on the hockey challenge or to make a donation click here.