Herd Word

NHL DRAFT
I'm super late to share this but since we're getting close to the end of the National Hockey League regular season, I thought I would share where some of our Halifax Mooseheads players were among the mid-season rankings back in January. There are 3 current Herd ranked this time. We may see these guys below move up (or down) when the final rankings are released in the next few weeks. 

Eddy Doyle - #66
Oleg Kulebiakin - #68

Daniel Walters - #147

Forward Gavin McKenna of the Penn State Nittany Lions was stilled ranked #1 and I'm sure we will see him go in that spot in late June. Meanwhile, Xavier Villeneuve was the top QMJHL player on the Central Scouting listing at 15. 

Photo - Herd website

HERD SWEPT
Well, there was no great upset this season for Halifax as the team were swept by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in the first round of the playoffs. In the 2025 QMJHL playoffs the Eastern Conference 9th ranked Mooseheads defeated the Western Conference number 1 Drummondville Voltigeurs. Despite an improvement in wins and points, Halifax finished 7th in the East but had to take on the highest scoring team in the QMJHL; the Sags. Chicoutimi certainly showed their offensive talents outscoring the Herd 24-4 in the four game series. 

So the 2025-26 season is now over for our favourite team unfortunately. There is lots to look forward to though, including the different drafts and trade deadline. It will be interesting what moves Cam Russell and co. make this summer to bolster the roster for next year.

Thanks for another entertaining year Halifax Mooseheads. 

STUDENT OF THE YEAR

Veteran forward Liam Kilfoil was announced as the Mooseheads nominee for the Marcel-Robert Trophy earlier this month. The prestigious honour is awarded annually to the student-athlete of the year - the player who best combines on-ice performance with academic success. A total of 18 nominees were announced on April 2, one player from each of the QMJHL's teams, of which three will be named as finalists soon. 

Congrats to Liam and good luck to him. If I have kept track correctly, no Herd player has actually won the trophy though an alumni did (Mathieu Cataford, Rimouski - 2023-24). 

Photo - QMJHL website

DRAFT ODDS

The 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft will for the first time be held at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, NS by your Halifax Mooseheads. Halifax currently has fourteen picks over the two days. 

A week ago, the league released the draft lottery date and the lottery odds. Despite finishing outside of the bottom 5, Moose Country will still have an interest in the lottery as Halifax has the Rimouski Oceanic's first round pick. Rimouski finished 17th overall and out of the playoffs. The lottery will take place on April 21st at 6:30 p.m. (presumedly Eastern time).and be broadcaste live on RDS 

Here are the odds:

18th position: Rouyn-Noranda (from BAC) - 9 balls or 42.9%

17th position: Halifax (from RIM) - 6 balls or 28.6%

16th position: Shawinigan (from GAT) - 3 balls or 14.3%

15th position: Victoriaville - 2 balls or 9.5%

14th position: Saint John - 1 ball or 4.8%

JERSEY CONTEST

The CHL Jersey Contest auction raised thousands of dollars with 100% of the proceeds being donated to PC's Children's Charity. 

Classic Support from Moose Country 👏👏

A total of $13,425 was raised through our Real Atlantic Superstore #CHLJerseyContest auction. 100% of the proceeds have been donated to @PC_Charity which feeds 1-million children each year.

Thank you for your generosity | #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/Ac5HC9DQjT

— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) April 7, 2026

Photo - Q website

ROOKIE TEAM

Mooseheads defenceman Malik L'Italien was named to the QMJHL's All-Rookie Team last week, the league announced. 

L'Italien finished 25th in rookie scoring while playing in all 64 games during the regular season. The 16-year-old posted 4 goals and twenty assists for 24 points in his first year as a major junior player. You can find the full team below.

Goaltender: Jan Larys, Drummondville

Defenseman: Tommy Bleyl, Moncton

Defenseman: Malik L'Italien, Halifax

Forward: Egor Shilov, Victoriaville
Forward: Alexey Vlasov, Victoriaville 

Forward: Alexis Joseph, Saint John

I'm surprised that Oleg Kulebiakin wasn't named to the team but congrats to Malik on being awarded the honour. 

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

Herd Word

CHL AWARDS
After winning the Marcel Robert Trophy as the QMJHL's scholastic player of the year, former Moose forward Mathieu Cataford received a nomination for the CHL's equivalent. On June 13 during the ceremony at Delta Hotels Toronto, the 20-year-old won the award and was named the 2025 CHL Scholastic Player of the Year. Cataford has been studying in his second language (English) and maintaining an average above 95%. Now enrolled in Business Administration at Saint Mary's University, the Saint Constant, Quebec native 'has achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA each semester and plans to study kinesiology to eventually open his own training centre.' 

Photo - CHL Twitter

Congrats Mathieu on winning the award. Hear what Cataford had to say about his journey here. 

Overage goaltender Jacob Steinman was a nominee for the CHL Goaltender of the Year award after winning the QMJHL's Patrick Roy Trophy but was defeated by the Kitchener Rangers' Jackson Parsons. 

TRAINING FACILITY
According to the CBC, the Halifax Mooseheads have asked city regional council for up to $1.625 million to expand the training facility they lease at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth. The team proposed a 4,700-square-foot addition to upgrade the building. 'Russell told the committee a state-of-the-art facility would enhance the Mooseheads' ability to attract top talent, putting the team on the same level as NCAA teams, universities and colleges.' A 21-metre turf training track, high-performance gym, more spacious player lounge along with a sauna and steam room are included in the proposed plans. No word on when a decision will be made by the council was noted in the news article.

BEHIND THE SCENES
Ever wondered what happens during draft weekend? Well the Halifax Mooseheads posted a behind the scenes video of the 2025 QMJHL Entry Draft.

PROSPECTS DRAFTED IN MHL
Three Mooseheads' prospects were drafted last weekend into the Maritime Hockey League. South Kent Selects' Duncan Anderson, who Halifax selected in the 11th round at this year's QMJHL draft, was taken 3rd overall by the Valley Wildcats. Forward Sam Ryan, picked 167th by the Herd in early June, heard his name called also by the Wildcats in the fifth round. Meanwhile, the Mooseheads' last 2025 selection; goaltender Jack Bell was picked at the #106 spot by the Amherst Ramblers. 

Full draft results can be found on the MHL website. 

Photo - AP News

MARCHAND WINS AGAIN
Herd alumni Brad Marchand is a champion once again after winning the Stanley Cup on June 17 with the Florida Panthers. The 37-year-old recorded 20 points (10G & 10A) in 23 games played during the playoffs to help the Panthers go back to back. Marchand was traded back in March from the Boston Bruins to Florida and played 10 regular season matches with his new team. He scored 2 big goals in Game 5 en route of the Panthers' 4-2 series victory in a rematch against the Edmonton Oilers. The Halifax-native previously won the ultimate trophy as part of the 2011 Bruins team. 

Congratulations to Brad and the Panthers on lifting the 2025 Stanley Cup. 

NHL DRAFT

Photo - Canadiens Twitter

The 2025 NHL Draft was held this weekend and only one Moosehead player heard his name. Defenceman Carlos Handel was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 6th round, 177th overall on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, CA. Handel, who was ranked #73 in the CSS final rankings, is coming off his rookie campaign in the QMJHL where he scored 3 goals and 26 points for Halifax. 

Central Scouting Services had ranked two other young men who suited up in Moose Country this past season but unfortunately Liam Kilfoil and Shawn Carrier did not get picked. Hopefully the two teammates will still be invited to development and/or rookie camps this summer. 

On Friday, the New York Islanders picked Matthew Schaefer of the OHL's Erie Otters first overall. The Moncton Wildcats' Caleb Desnoyers, who is former Herd Elliot Desnoyer's younger brother, got drafted by the Utah Mammoth at #4. Carlos and Caleb were two of a total 19 QMJHL players that were selected over the two day event.  

Herd Word

UNIVERSITY CUP
The 2025 University Cup was played back in March and once again there were a few Mooseheads alumni participating. This year the teams included were; #1 New Brunswick Reds (AUS champs - Peter Reynolds), #2 Saskatchewan Huskies (CW champs), #3 Concordia Stingers (OUA champs), #4 Toronto Metropolitan Bold (OUA finalist - Kevin Gursoy), #5 Mount Royal Cougars (CW finalist), #6 Moncton Aigles Bleus (AUS finalist - Denis Toner), #7 Queen's Gaels (OUA bronze - Ethan Larmand) and #8 Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA semifinalist - David Lafrance). 

In a big upset, the host Gee-Gees defeated the top ranked Reds in their first round game 3-2 in overtime. That victory propelled the University of Ottawa to its first University Cup trophy on March 23. They met the Stingers in the gold medal game and won 3-2. 

Congrats to former Herd David Lafrance on winning gold at the tournament. 

Photo - Gee-Gees website

FROM THE OWNERS
Shortly after our Mooseheads were ousted from the playoffs, the owners of the club Peter and Sam Simon shared a letter to Moose Country about the season. 

A week ago our season came to an end, but as we reflect, we couldn't be prouder of our team, staff, and organization. This season was one of a new culture, character, and identity that will forever continue to be the "Mooseheads way". Our group worked hard each night and competed to the highest degree. The belief was strong as ever that even with our youth, there was no limity what we could achieve. Our foundation is solid, and this is the minimum standard moving forward. Now it is incumbent upon us, our staff, and the returning players to take the next step and be even stronger. We set our own expectations internally, and the standard will only elevate from here.

Peter Simon also met with Scott McIntosh for a year end interview to share his thoughts on the season, what's next for the team and more. You can watch it on the clubs YouTube channel. 

CSS RANKINGS
The ending of the NHL regular season allows fans and teams who didn't make the playoffs a chance to switch their focus to the next one. With that, the NHL and Central Scouting Services announced in mid-April their final rankings for the 2025 NHL draft. A few current Herd players were among the 225 players on the North American list. No surprise here but the top two players ranked come from the Ontario Hockey League with Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters first followed by the Saginaw Spirit's Michael Misa at #2. Misa led the who CHL in scoring during the 2024-25 regular season. Moncton Wildcats' Caleb Desnoyers is the highest ranked QMJHL player. 

Halifax players ranked
D Carlos Handel  - #73
C Liam Kilfoil  - #90
LW Shawn Carrier  - #148

Hopefully we will see these guys get drafted in late June. 

BRAVES CHAMPIONS

Photo - QJHL website

A late congrats to the Valleyfield Braves who won the 2025 QJHL playoffs on April 23 against the reigning champs Longueuil. Moose alum James Swan captained the Braves this season and was teammates with another former Herd player in Vincent Gauthier. Swan tied the league lead in regular season scoring with 89 points (58G & 31A) in 48 games played, while Gauthier had 26 points in the playoffs including a goal in Game 6 to help Valleyfield win the series 4-2. 

The Braves will now compete for the national championship in Calgary, AB for a chance to lift the Centennial Cup starting May 8.

NHL PLAYOFF UPDATE
We started with six Herd alumni in the NHL post-season but are now down to two. Brad Marchand and the Florida Panthers have already booked their ticket to the second round after defeating Tampa Bay in 5 games. They will play the Toronto Maple Leafs now. Nikolaj Ehlers has been injured and missed the Winnipeg Jets' first five playoff games but was back in the lineup on Friday. The Jets had a great regular season winning the President Trophy as the best team in the NHL and will hope that they can advance tonight with a Game 7 victory. 

The Colorado Avalanche lost last night in Dallas which means that they are out of the playoffs now. Halifax native Nathan MacKinnon scored in the game but it wasn't enough as the Stars won the match 4-2 picking up a 4-3 series win. MacKinnon had 7 goals and 11 points to lead the Avs while Jonathan Drouin recorded 3 assists. The New Jersey Devils were the only other team in the playoffs with former Mooseheads participating with two Swiss forwards. Both Nico Hischier (4A) and Timo Meier (2G & 2A) had 4 points in five games as the Devils lost their series 4-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

WEEGAR 

Photo - Hockey Canada Twitter

The first 15 players who will wear the maple leaf at the 2025 IIHF World Championship were announced by Hockey Canada on Thursday and Moose alum defenseman MacKenzie Weegar was on the roster. Weegar previously suited up for Canada in 2023 and will look to help them back to a medal after the red and white finished 4th in last year's tournament. 

I have not seen many other countries naming players who will participate in the tournament which is taking place May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark. With MacKinnon out of the playoffs now we may see him on Team Canada and hopefully Meier and Hischier will suit of for Switzerland. 

Congrats and good luck to MacKenzie in the championships. 

INTERVIEW WITH COACH
The latest This Is Moose Country podcast hosted by Scott MacIntosh and Brad Cuzner has an interview with head coach Andrew Lord. Skip to 26:48 of the video if you just want to hear what Lord has to say. 

A few other notes

• Shawn Carrier was the latest player to be featured in the Q's Meet the Future series. 
• Goaltender Zach Fucale, forward Ostap Safin and the Traktor Chelyabinsk finished on top of the KHL regular season standings and are currently leading their semi-final series 3 games to 0. 
• Check out the video that the Herd posted as the team came together following their second round playoff loss.
• Scott MacIntosh did an article about how the rest of the 2024 Mooseheads draft class performed during the 2024-25 season. A couple of prospects (Logan Trewin & Gavin Sudds) won the NSU18MHL championship with the Halifax Macs.
• The Rimouski Oceanic will look to advance to the QMJHL finals with a win this evening in Game 6 of their series against the Shawinigan Cataractes. Puck drops at 5 p.m. AT in Shawinigan. Rimouski has 3 alumni on their team. 

Three Herd on Players to Watch

The National Hockey League along with the Central Scouting Services announced their preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2025 NHL draft on Wednesday. The players are ranked in three different categories; 'A' players are projected to go in the first round while 'B' players are 2nd and 3rd round candidates. 'C' ranked players most likely will go in the 4th to 7th rounds. Of course, rankings can change through out the season depending on how the player does. 

There are three current Halifax Mooseheads among the list of prospects and they were all given a 'C' rating. Sophomore forwards Shawn Carrier and Liam Kilfoil along with rookie defenceman Carlos Handel will be among the players that scouts will keep an eye on this season. At the time that the list was published, Carrier and Kilfoil were tied for the team lead in points at 13 each (6G & 7A), however in Halifax's game last night Liam picked up an assist to add to his total. Handel had played well as an import and recorded his first QMJHL career goal on Friday night plus he has 8 helpers. 

It's possible that we will see these guys rise in the rankings during the season if they keep up this way. 

24 draft eligible players were given an A ranking to start the year, with Moncton Wildcat's Caleb Desnoyers and Justin Carbonneau of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada being the only two from the QMJHL. 

Photo - The Hockey News 

Herd Word

Below you will find a round up of some more news that has happened this summer. 

NHL DRAFT 
Two Halifax Mooseheads players heard their name called in Nashville during day 2 of the NHL entry draft back on June 29. Forward Mathieu Cataford was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the third round, 77th overall. Not long after at 83rd overall, the Nashville Predators picked defenceman Dylan MacKinnon. Both players improved in their points amount during their sophomore year last season but had dropped in the CSS rankings by the year-end list. Predators amateur scout J-P Glaude said about MacKinnon, "He's a hard defender and is tough to play against. He's explosive and has a strong lower body; we view him as a type of guy who is hard to find in hockey these days." 

A few notes about the draft. To no one's surprise, Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats was made the first overall selection by the Chicago Blackhawks. Drummondville Voltigeurs' player Tyler Peddle waited inside the Bell Centre through both days to hear his name called last at 224th overall in the 7th round. Unfortunately, Herd forward Markus Vidicek didn't get selected for the second year in a row. 

Photo - Herd website

IMPORT DRAFT
Despite having the max two Euro players on the team already, general manager Cam Russell used the Mooseheads first round pick (44th overall) in the 2023 CHL Import Draft on Switzerland forward Yannik Ponzetto. The 17-year-old played at both the U17 and U20 level with Kloten Elit last season where he had 26 goals and 52 points in 34 games in the Swiss U17 league. 

"We were happy to be able to get Yannik at that spot. He's a big, skilled winger who will be able to immediately step in and play," Russell said. 

The team announced that Ponzetto has committed to coming to Halifax and that former captain Attilio Biasca will return to his hometown to play hockey during the upcoming season. 

GRETZKY CUP
The 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup was earlier this month and Canada were able to repeat as champions after defeating the Czech Republic in the gold medal game by a score of 3-2 in overtime on August 5. Former Herd coach Sylvain Farveau was apart of the championship team as an assistant coach meanwhile general manager Cam Russell also received a medal as a member of the Program of Excellence management group. Halifax's 2023 import draft selection Yannik Ponzetto participated in the tournament for Switzerland who finished 6th overall. Ponzetto picked up a goal and two assists in four games played. 

Photo - Herd website

CANADA SUMMER MEETINGS
We may see some Mooseheads representing the maple leaf later in 2023 as there were five players named to Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence summer meetings rosters. Prospect Liam Kilfoil, who Halifax drafted 31st overall in the 2023 Q draft, is among the sixty-six under-17 players that were selected. The 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will take place November 2-11 in Charlottetown and Summerside, PEI. 

Meanwhile, veterans Jordan Dumais, Jake Furlong, Markus Vidicek and Mathis Rousseau were selected to participate in the under-20 meetings along with 41 other players. The 2024 World Junior Championships will take place from December 26 to January 5 in Gothenburg, Sweden. According to the release; 'players took part in virtual meetings that covered a variety of topics, including education on the Program of Excellence, sport safety presentations, short-term international competition preparation and meetings with the Hockey Canada management group. Players will continue to be evaluated through the early portion of the 2023-24 season before the Canadian rosters are named.' 

Congratulations to these five young men and good luck. I hope we can cheer them on with Team Canada this winter. 

Photo - QMJHL website

WILDCATS TO HOST DRAFT
It was announced last month that the city of Moncton along with the Moncton Wildcats will host the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft. The draft is schedule for June 8 at the Avenir Centre. This will be the second time the Wildcats have hosted the draft, having held the event in 2009 as well but it was in the Moncton Coliseum, the club's previous arena. 

Moncton will also host the the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in January. 

FIGHTING BANNED
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced its safety regulations for the 2023-24 season on August 10 and as expected, there have been changes made to the fighting rules. According to the document, 'as soon as a fight occurs, those engaged must be systematically ejected from the game.' Read the full update below and you can see the league's safety regulations here. 

Photo - Adam Kimelman on Twitter

MANN-DIXON
Former Mooseheads goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon has been named the Goaltender Coach and Video Coach for the Cape Breton Eagles the team announced recently after the Eagles promoted staff member Scott Gouthro. "I'm extremely excited to be a part of the Eagles organization and join the community of Sydney," says Mann-Dixon. "It's a surreal experience coming back to coach in the league after playing for four years. I am grateful for the opportunity and very thankful to have someone around with as much experience as Scott." The Antigonish, NS native is a graduate of his hometown St. F.X. University after playing for Moncton, Charlottetown, Saint John and Halifax while in the QMJHL. 

Herd Word

Photo - Source du Hockey

NHL DRAFT RANKINGS

The Central Scouting Services released their final rankings last month for the 2023 NHL draft and there are a few current Halifax Mooseheads players on the list. Sophomore Mathieu Cataford was the highest ranked Herd player at #36 after finishing the season with 31 goals and 75 points. He dropped from 27th on the mid-term rankings. 18-year-old Dylan MacKinnon was ranked #61 while Markus Vidicek found himself at #175. MacKinnon had a huge jump in his point production in his second season, picking up 23 points in 61 games. 19-year-old Vidicek had 32 goals and 80 points during 2022-23. 

The highest ranking QMJHL player is Ethan Gauthier of the Sherbrooke Phoenix who is at #16. The 2023 NHL Entry Draft will be held June 28-29 in Nashville, TN. 

FINAL SERIES
The three final series across the Canadian Hockey League are now set after games on Monday. Fourth place Peterborough came up with another upset in the Eastern Conference final, winning Game 7 3-2 to move on to the OHL championship series. The Memorial Cup hosts Kamloops Blazers are out of the WHL playoffs after losing to the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-2 two nights ago. Below are the matchups for the championships.

WHL - E1 Winnipeg ICE vs. W1 Seattle Thunderbirds
OHL - W2 London Knights vs. E4 Peterborough Petes 
QMJHL - 1 Quebec Remparts vs. 2 Halifax Mooseheads

SOLD OUT
Round four tickets for Games 1 & 2 at the Centre Videotron went on sale this past Friday before the Quebec Remparts even knew who their opponent was going to be. Quebec fans went all in, selling out both nights in less than 20 minutes according to the team. 

However, like normal, there are people reselling them on Ticket Master if you would still like some but you'll have to fork up some money. The cheapest I saw yesterday was $59 for one ticket and went up to over $250 each. 

CHL IMPORT DRAFT
Recently, the Canadian Hockey League announced the order of selection for the import draft. 'Your Halifax Mooseheads hold the 50th overall pick while their second round pick is 110th overall thanks to a strong season that saw the Herd post a 50-11-4-3 record. Current imports Attilio Biasca and David Moravec are eligible to return next year as 20-year-old overage players.' So it will be interesting to see if the Herd actually use their selections. The Erie Otters of the OHL will pick first overall followed by the QMJHL's Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL). The 2023 Import Draft will take place on July 5 at 11am ET.  

Photo - Trinec Twitter

ALUMNI CHAMPIONS
A couple of Moose alumni are once again champions. Sternberk, Czech Republic native Petr Vrana captained the HC Ocelari Trinec to franchise fifth Czech Extraliga trophy on April 28. According to Elite Prospects; the 38-year-old had an assist in 3 games played during the regular season and two points (1G&1A) in 20 playoff matches. Trinec won the final series 4-2 against the Mountfield HK. 

Defenceman Konrad Abeltshauser won the DEL championship for a fourth time in his career. The EHC Red Bull Munchen battled it out against the ERC Ingolstadt and got the 4-1 series win. The 30-year-old scored 4 times in the regular season and had 18 points while in the post-season he had 4 points in 18 games. 

Congratulations to both players on getting another trophy. 

DUMAIS
According to Saltwire, 'Halifax general manager Cam Russell said on Monday there's "a really food chance" Jordan Dumais will be cleared to play at some point against the Quebec Remparts.' He could possibly play in Game 1 on Friday. Dumais missed the last four games of the semi-final series after getting injured in the second period of Game 2 against the Sherbrooke Phoenix. 

It would be great to see Dumer return to the lineup but Halifax has played really well while he was out so does Sylvain Farveau make changes to a good thing even if Jordan is ready. 

NHL Draft

Here are some notes from the NHL entry draft that was held in-person in Montreal... 

• For the first time in about 40 years, the host of the draft also had the first overall pick. The Montreal Canadiens took Slovakian left winger Juraj Slafkovsky at #1 and quite a few fans in the Bell Centre were not happy about it. 
• In a turn of events, Shane Wright - who was the top ranked prospect all season - fell to the fourth pick where the Seattle Kraken took him. 
• The Anaheim Ducks took three QMJHL players in this year's draft, including two from the Gatineau Olympiques. 
• Halifax Mooseheads forward Jordan Dumais, who led the team in scoring with 109 points, was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets late in the 3rd round, 96th overall. 
• Defenceman Jake Furlong was selected 140th overall by the San Jose Sharks. The other two ranked Herd players, 3rd year forward Markus Vidicek and new import prospect David Moravec did not get drafted.
• No word on where the 2023 entry draft will be located.

Herd Word

HOCKEY CANADA SUMMER CAMPS
Three Halifax Mooseheads players will be in Calgary later this month for summer camps put on by Hockey Canada. After participating in the camp last year, 19-year-old Zachary L'Heureux was invited to the National Junior Team camp while new sophomores Mathieu Cataford and Dylan MacKinnon will be among the 44 players set to participate in the National Men's Summer U-18 Team camp. 

The U-18 players 'will compete for an opportunity to wear the Maple Leaf at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer, Alta. The selection camp, which takes place July 20-23, will include a variety of on- and off-ice sessions. Following the selection of the final roster on July 24, Team Canada will play a pair of games against Red and White teams from Canada's National Junior Team summer camp.' MacKinnon had two points in an injury filled season that saw him play only 52 games in his rookie season. Cataford, meanwhile, led the QMJHL's 16-year-olds with 46 points in 62 games and was nominated for rookie of the year. 

44 players will also be on the ice for the Junior Team camp which is set for July 23-27. "This is an exciting first step as we begin preparations for the upcoming season and the opportunity to compete at the 2023 World Juniors on home ice in Halifax and Moncton this December," Alan Millar added. " We are excited about this group of players, and we look forward to returning to the ice for a highly-competitive camp to kick off a new season." 

DUMAIS

Second year forward Jordan Dumais was once again rewarded for his discipline during the Canadian Hockey League awards that were held on June 28 in Saint John, NB. Dumais was one of the three nominations for the CHL Sportsman of the Year and named the 2021-22 recipient. Other nominees were Logan Stankoven of the Kamloops Blazers and Windsor Spitfires' Wyatt Johnston. The 18-year-old picked up only six penalty minutes during the regular season leading to him winning the QMJHL Sportsman of the Year award. 

Big congrats to Jordan on winning the award. 

FINAL RANKINGS

The final rankings were announced awhile ago but with the 2022 NHL Entry Draft coming up in a few days, I thought I would remind you where a few of our Herd players were ranked at the end of the season. Despite recording 109 points in 68 games, Jordan Dumais did not move up in the rankings and is still anticipated to go in the third round. 

Rankings amongst North American skaters
Jake Furlong  #68

Jordan Dumais  #73
Markus Vidicek  #116

You can catch the first round on Sportsnet at 8:00 p.m. AT on Thursday night, with rounds 2-7 happening on Friday afternoon. 

MEMORIAL CUP

After many delays, the 2022 Memorial Cup tournament was played in late June with the host Saint John Sea Dogs winning the final game and lifting the trophy on home ice. The Sea Dogs had a long break before playing in the Memorial Cup after getting ousted by the Rimouski Oceanic in Round 1 of the QMJHL playoffs. Saint John defeated the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 on June 29 to win their second national championship in franchise history. 

Final standings 

Saint John Sea Dogs (hosts)
Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL champs)
Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL champs)

Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL champs)

CHL IMPORT DRAFT

Our Mooseheads used the 33rd overall pick in Friday's CHL Import Draft to select defenceman David Moravec of Czechia. The 2003-born Moravec is 6-feet-tall, weighs 190 points and is the 44th ranked European skater for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. He recently represented his country at the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship and has also played internationally at the U16, U17 and U18 levels. Moravec had four assists in 40 games in the 2021-22 season. 

Welcome to Moose Country David!

Cam Russell didn't use his second pick in the draft as forward Attilio Biasca is expected to be back on the team in 2022-23. The team also did not make any trades over the weekend when the summer trading period opened up on Saturday. 

Photos - Elite Prospects, Herd website, CBC website, The Hockey Writers

3 on Final CSS Rankings

We're at the beginning of May and the Central Scouting Services announced its final rankings for the 2022 National Hockey League entry draft today. There are now 16 teams left without a spot in the post-season who are now concentrating on which players they want to draft and hoping for a chance to pick first overall. 

The Halifax Mooseheads are a young team once again but they had some good production by a few players who are draft eligible. Three Herd sophomores were among the 200+ North American skaters that were ranked. 

I'm not sure why our guys dropped from their mid-term rank, especially Jordan Dumais who didn't just double his point production but more than tripled it from the 2020-21 season but rankings aren't always indicative of where guys will be drafted. 

Leading the way is defenceman Jake Furlong who was ranked #68. Furlong scored four goals and 42 points in 67 games in his second year with the Mooseheads. Despite finishing with 109 points (39G&70A), Dumais was ranked #73 in the final list. Rounding out Herd players on the list, at #116 is Markus Vidicek. The Kirkland, QC native played in all 68 games this season scoring 18 goals and picking up 65 points. 

Photo - Herd website

The 2022 NHL Entry Draft is scheduled to be held at Centre Bell in Montreal, QC July 7-8. The draft lottery to determine the first 16 draft picks will be on May 10.

Herd Word

Some news from the past week or so as we are in the middle of January and things keep changing. 

MIRON WAIVED

I missed this in amidst all the other news last week but forward Landon Miron was put on waivers by the Halifax Mooseheads and quickly got claimed by the Val-d'Or Foreurs on January 7. The 19-year-old from Dartmouth, NS had one goal and two assists in 18 games this season in Halifax. Since joining the Mooseheads as an undrafted free agent in 2019, Miron has produced 15 goals and eight assists for 23 points in 75 career QMJHL games. 

Good luck Landon in Val-d'Or, we'll miss you in Moose Country. 

HERD ADD FREE AGENT
This was rumoured shortly after the trade deadline passed last Thursday and it was confirmed by the club on Monday. The Herd have added 19-year-old free agent Evan Boucher who comes from Timmons, ON. He was second in the CCHL's scoring race with 22 goals and 40 points in 27 games with the Brockville Braves prior to signing with Halifax. According to the release, Boucher played 92 career CCHL games between Rockland, Nepean and Brockville, putting up a total of 78 points. "He is a big forward who plays physically and has a good scoring touch. We think he will be a nice compliment to our roster", said General Manager Cam Russell. 

Welcome to the team Evan. He will wear number 71 according to the club's Twitter account.

OLYMPICS CANCELLED
Kind of old news as it was announced before Christmas but I was still hoping some way we'd get to see NHL players in the 2022 Winter Olympics next month. The National Hockey League along with the Players Association decided that its players would not participate in the Olympics in Beijing. Many different reasons were the cause of the league making this decision like the uncertainty about how long players would have to quarantine in China should they test positive, safety concerns as well as the fact that the NHL has had to postpone multiple games this season because of government restrictions and league protocols. 

This means that we won't see Jakub Voracek, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Nikolaj Ehlers heading over seas to represent their countries which is really unfortunate especially as Ehlers helped Denmark qualify for the tournament. We could still see a few alumni suit up but we'll have to wait and see as it seems only the USA and Czech Republic have released their new rosters. Minor professional league players can be named and it sounds like NCAA guys can too. 

ALL-STAR SELECTIONS
One event is still going on next month for NHL players at least for now. The league announced the rosters for the 2022 All-Star game. Former Herd Nathan MacKinnon was named captain of the Central Division team via a fan vote. This is the 4th time MacKinnon has been made an all-star in his career. The 26-year-old has 6 goals and 35 points so far this season with the Colorado Avalanche. Another Moose alum Timo Meier will play for the Pacific Division in his first all-star appearance. Meier is 10th in league scoring with 39 points (15 goals+24 assists) for the San Jose Sharks. 

The 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game will take place on February 5 in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena and will feature a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format. 

Congratulations to Nathan and Timo on their all-star game nod. Good luck boys, Moose Country will be cheering you on.

DRAFT RANKINGS
3 members of our Halifax Mooseheads were listed in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Rankings released on Wednesday. Defenceman Jake Furlong was ranked #53 on the most recent list which predicts he'll be a second round draft pick. Surprisingly, forward Jordan Dumais is ranked only as high as #72 which would put him in the third round. If he keeps having the season that he has been, I suspect we'll see him being higher up the list by the time the draft rolls around. Forward Markus Vidicek is the last player from the Herd on the rankings at #98. 

In total, 36 QMJHL players were among the names that ranked by the scouting services with Gatineau Olympiques defenceman Tristan Luneau the highest ranked Q player. Other projected first-round selections from the league include Maveric Lamoureux (Drummondville) and Nathan Gaucher (Quebec). Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs continues to be the projected 1st overall pick. For the full list of prospects, click here. 

Talking about prospects, the Canadian Hockey League announced on Friday that the 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game originally scheduled for February 2 has been postponed due to ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic. A new date will be released at a later date. 

Q SEASON POSTPONED 
From the QMJHL
With no clear timeline of COVID-19 restrictions being eased, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League today announced the postponement of its return to play plans. 

Initially scheduled for a return in the week of January 17, the regular season will resume on February 1. The league is still working on rescheduling all postponed games, with the primary objective of having all franchises play their full 68-game schedule.  

Photos - Saltwire, Herd website, Avalanche & Sharks Twitter accounts

Herd on Prelim CSS Rankings

The National Hockey League along with the Central Scouting Services announced their preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2022 NHL draft. The players are ranked in three different categories; 'A' players are projected to go in the first round while 'B' players are 2nd and 3rd round candidates. 'C' ranked players most likely will go in the 4th to 7th rounds. Of course, rankings can change through out the season depending on how the player does. 

There are four current Halifax Mooseheads among the list of prospects and they were all given a 'C' rating. Sophomore defenceman Jake Furlong and forwards Markus Vidieek, Jordan Dumais and James Swan will be on NHL scouts radars this season. 17-year-old Dumas leads the team in scoring through three weeks of play with 4 goals and 9 points in 6 games. 

I'm sure we will see these guys rise in the rankings during the season. 

A total of 23 players were given an 'A' rating which includes two QMJHL players; Nathan Gaucher of the Quebec Remparts and the Gatineau Olympiques' Tristan Luneau. You can check out the full list here. 

NHL Draft

The 2021 National Hockey League entry draft was held virtually once again this past weekend

• The Buffalo Sabres had the first overall selection on Friday and selected defenceman Owen Power who had spent most of the season as the projected #1 pick.

• Expansion club Seattle Kraken made their first selection in team history by drafting Matty Beniers of the University of Michigan at the #2 spot. Three of the top 5 picks played the 2020-21 season with the Michigan Wolverines team. 

• Zachary L'Heureux of our Halifax Mooseheads was picked 27th overall by the Nashville Predators. Nashville actually traded picks to move up to select Zachary. 

• There were a total of 24 players QMJHL players drafted over the two days. Herd defenceman Cameron Whynot is headed out west after being selected by the Calgary Flames 89th overall while Robert Orr had to wait until the 5th round (#136) to hear his name called by the Carolina Hurricanes

• Montreal, QC is expected to host the 2022 NHL Draft after not being able to in 2020. 

Alum on Unprotected & Protected Lists

There will be a 32nd team in the National Hockey League when the 2021-22 season begins in September as the Seattle Kraken have joined as an expansion team. The Kraken need players and will draft their roster from 30 of the 31 current clubs on July 21, which you can watch at 8 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.

NHL clubs are allowed to protect 8 skaters and 1 goaltender OR 7 forwards, 3 defencemen and one goalie against Seattle drafting them. For full rules of the expansion draft, which are the same to the ones the Vegas Golden Knights had to follow in 2017, click here. The Knights are exempt from the draft as they are the most recent team to join the NHL. 

There are a handful of former Halifax Mooseheads that have been left unprotected.

Here's a list of who is available to Las Vegas via NHL:
Jonathan Drouin - Montreal Canadiens
Jakub Voracek - Philadelphia Flyers
Martin Frk - Los Angeles Kings
Otto Somppi - Tampa Bay Lightning
Zach Fucale - Washington Capitals

Meanwhile, Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Nico Hischier (New Jersey), MacKenzie Weegar (Florida), Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg), Timo Meier (San Jose) and Brad Marchand (Boston) were all protected by their respective clubs. 

Seattle will make their first entry draft selection on July 23 when they pick 2nd overall. The 2021 NHL Entry Draft will be held virtually once again this year with Round 1 being held Friday and Rounds 2-7 on Saturday. 

Herd Word

Photo - Trinec Facebook

VRANA
I don't pay too much attention to the European leagues so I missed one of the alumni winning a championship during the 2020-21 season. Petr Vrana captained his Trinec club to a Czech Extraliga first place back in April. Ocelari Trinec won the best-of-7 series 4-1 with a 3-0 victory on April 26 over Liberec. Congrats to Vrana and his team on becoming champions. 

MHL DRAFT
A number of Herd prospects were also recently drafted into the Maritime Hockey League this past weekend. There was a total of 120 players that were selected by the 12 teams. Halifax drafted Travis Badcock in 2020 while the other 5 names below were picked in the 2021 draft. 

Travis Badcock  Rd 1, #5   Miramichi
Jack Martin  Rd 2, #19   Edmundston
Logan Crosby  Rd 3, #27   Pictou County
Liam Welsh  Rd 4, #46   South Shore
Jack Milner  Rd 8, #89   Truro
Ben Wallace  Rd 10, #109   Valley

Congrats to all the players selected. 

TOURIGNY
Former Herd head coach Andre Tourigny has yet another new team. The Arizona Coyotes announced on July 1st that they have hired Tourigny as the 19th head coach in the team's history and signed him to a three year contract. 

The Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong had this to say; "Andre is a tremendous person and one of the best young coaches in the game today. He is a winner, a great teacher and a strong communicator who has a proven track record of developing young talent. We are confident that he is the right person to lead our team on the ice and we are thrilled to have him in our organization."

Tourigny coached the Mooseheads for one season, 2016-17, before leaving to coach the Ottawa 67's to be closer to home and his family. Congrats to Andre on the new gig and good luck in Phoenix.  

TRAINING CAMP
No word on when training camp will begin but the team has said they do have commitments from some of their players that they will be attending. According to Willy Palov, imports Attilio Biasca and Senna Peeters are returning for another season with the Mooseheads which is why Cam Russell didn't draft anyone else in the CHL Import Draft last week. Scott MacIntosh also tweeted out that Halifax will have it's last four American draftees at camp come next month. 2020 draft picks Brady Schultz and Henry Wilson along with 2021 picks Chris Battaini and Jake Freelove are going to attend. Hopefully Zack Jones will be at camp also, he had 5 goals and 13 points in 2020-21 for the Herd. 

We're probably still another month away before we find out what regulations the Herd will have to follow this season and the team releasing details for training camp. With a Tuesday night game to start the pre-season, players will most likely arrive for camp the Friday before. I hope we get more info on everything sooner than later. 

MOOSE TRACKS
Our Halifax Mooseheads have come out with a new video, the first in what looks to be a new series called Moose Tracks and this episode showcases a behind the scenes look at the 2021 QMJHL draft day. Check out what happens in the Herd war room and hear what Cam Russell and Allie MacDonald have to say about the selections they made in the first round last month. 

I hope they continue these as it would be cool to see more behind the scenes stuff throughout the season. 

BURRIDGE
Jeffrey Burridge, a Moose alumni who played for the team during the 2019-20 season, has been named Captain of the London Nationals junior B team. The Nationals play in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. Burridge collected nine goals and 15 points in 56 games with Halifax. Read the London Press' full release here. 

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
The Stanley Cup was awarded on July 7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, about 3.5 weeks later than the trophy is normally won. Tampa Bay defeated the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the best-of-seven final series. Former Herd coach Dominique Ducharme missed the first two games of the final round because he was in isolation after a positive COVID test on June 17. He returned to coach the Canadiens for Game 3 but couldn't lead his team to a championship. Jonathan Drouin, who played for Halifax for two seasons, did not play in any playoff games so I'm not really sure if he will have his name engraved on the trophy. 

The city of Seattle officially have an NHL team after they payed their final expansion payment a few weeks ago so there is now 32 teams in the top North American professional league. With it, the clubs will have a busy second half of July as the expansion draft goes July 21 and the entry draft is on July 23 & 24 before free agency opens July 28. I'm sure there will be lots of Mooseheads connections during these events. I will keep you updated as details become available. 

CRAIG'S LIST
Since we are getting close to the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button released his final rankings. There are three current Mooseheads players on the list which features 75 names in total. Sophomore Zachary L'Heureux is ranked the highest at #12 followed by Robert Orr at #57 and Cameron Whynot two picks later. For the full list, click here. L'Heureux was also ranked #30 by the NHL Central Scouting Services in their final rankings. 

Players to Watch List Released

The National Hockey League along with the Central Scouting Services announced their preliminary Players to Watch list for the 2021 NHL draft. The players are ranked in three different categories. 'A' players are ones who are projected to go in the first round while 'B' players are 2nd and 3rd round candidates. 'C' ranked players most likely will go in the 4th to 7th rounds. Of course, rankings can change through out the season depending on how the player does. 

Two current Halifax Mooseheads are among the list of prospects while a recent CHL import draftee who has yet to play for the Herd is also ranked. Zachary L'Heureux, who had a great rookie year in 2019-20 and was traded to Halifax over the summer, was given an 'A' rating. The Mercier, QC forward is second in team scoring with 5 goals and 10 points so far this year. Meanwhile, defenceman Cam Whynot has been projected to go in the 2nd or 3rd round. He has 2 assists in 5 games played. 

Attilio Biasca, who the Mooseheads selected in the import draft in June, has yet to arrive to Canada and join Halifax so that could be part of the reason he was given a C ranking by the NHL scouts. The 17-year-old has played some games this season, scoring five goals and 11 points in 10 matches for Zug U20 of the U20-Elit league.  

Rimouski's Zachary Bolduc and Xavier Bougault of Shawinigan were the only other QMJHL players given an A rating. Full list can be found here. 

NHL Draft

The 2020 National Hockey League entry draft was held the last two days virtually.

• To no one's surprise, Rimouski Oceanic superstar Alexis Lafreniere was drafted 1st overall on Tuesday by the New York Rangers. 
• With the draft being virtually, teams announced their selections in some different ways including Jeoperdy! host and Ottawa native Alex Trebek making a cameo to select the Ottawa Senators 3rd pick and Dale Hawerchuk's wife announcing the Winnipeg Jets 10th overall selection. 
• Halifax Mooseheads own Justin Barron became the highest drafted defence man from the QMJHL in league history when he was selected 25th overall by the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs now have 5 Nova Scotians in their organization. 
• There were a total of 19 players QMJHL players drafted over the two days. Herd forward Elliot Desnoyers was picked up by the Philadelphia Flyers 135th overall while Senna Peeters didn't hear his name. 
• The host for the 2021 NHL draft has not been decided yet and most likely it will not be held in June.

Central Scouting Release Final Draft Rankings

The NHL Central Scouting Services released its final draft rankings on Wednesday afternoon and two current Halifax Mooseheads players were listed. The announcement comes on the day the Stanley Cup playoffs were supposed to begin had the season not been paused.

Photo - Herd website

Defenceman Justin Barron is 16th among North American skaters. Barron, who missed three months mid-season, picked up four goals and 19 points in 34 games. Despite being gone for almost half the year, the Halifax, NS native played a good defensive game and was well needed on the backend this past season. Justin was named the Mooseheads MVP earlier this month and received two other team awards.

Joining him on the final draft rankings is Senna Peeters who was ranked #101. Peeters had a pretty good rookie year where he scored 23 goals, which was second on a low scoring Halifax team. The 17-year-old recorded 33 points in total in 57 games played.

In total, there are 32 players from the QMJHL who will be hoping to hear their name be called. The 2020 NHL draft was originally scheduled to be hosted by Montreal on June 26-27 but it was announced in March that it will be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moose On CSS Mid-Term Rankings

The NHL Central Scouting Services announced their midterm rankings on Monday for the upcoming draft and two Halifax Mooseheads players are among the top 100 North American skaters. Defenceman Justin Barron was ranked 15th while forward Senna Peeters is 62nd which means he is projected to go in the second or third round.

Barron is currently out indefinitely with a blood clot but had four goals and 17 assists this season before his injury. The Halifax, NS native has a late 2001 birthday meaning he is one of the older eligible prospects. He was originally selected by the Herd in the first round of the 2017 QMJHL draft and made his debut for the team that September. Peeters, a 2019 CHL import draft pick by Halifax, is playing well in his rookie campaign recording 12 goals and 17 points in 34 games played in 2019-20. The 17-year-old is originally from Duerne, Belgium but recently received his Austrian citizenship and participated in the 2020 World Junior Hockey Championship - Division 1 tournament, helping Austria get a promotion to the top division for next year.

In the first 31 ranked players, there are eight Quebec Major Junior Hockey League players including Barron and top ranked Alexis Lafreniere of the Rimouski Oceanic. Lafreniere has been projected all season to be the 1st overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft which is to take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC on June 26-27. The top 3 are rounded out by Quinton Byfield of the Sudbury Wolves and Erie Otters' Jamie Drysdale, both in the Ontario Hockey League.

Check back later in the season as we find out where our two players end up in the final rankings as well as which teams have drafted them.

Two Make Central Scouting List

The National Hockey League along with the Central Scouting Services announced their preliminary Players to Watch. The players are ranked in three different categories. 'A' players are ones who can be projected to go in the first round while 'B' players should go in the 2nd/3rd rounds. 'C' ranked players most likely will go in the 4th to 7th rounds.



Two Halifax Mooseheads are among the list of 2020 prospects. Defenceman Justin Barron, who turns 18 next month, was given an A rating. The Halifax-native has recorded 2 assists in 7 games played. Meanwhile, rookie forward Senna Peeters has started the season with 3 goals and is in the group projected to be picked in the second or third round.

Photo - The Hockey News 

Other preliminary rankings have Barron going in the first round as well but at different places.

HockeyProspect.com - #13
Future Considerations - #9
Bob McKenzie: #10

A total of 4 players from the QMJHL were given ratings on the list.