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

Former Halifax Mooseheads have had some big things happen over the last week or so while the current team is coming together for the regular season. 

Photo - AMH Photography

MACKINNON PARADE
The 2013 NHL number one pick Nathan MacKinnon won the Stanley Cup back in June with the Colorado Avalanche and he finally had his day with the trophy last weekend. MacKinnon brought the Cup back to Halifax where he played junior hockey for a parade and the city showed up big time. His teammates Gabriel Landeskog and Andrew Cogliano were also in the parade. Before it began, Nathan was on Citadel Hill to shoot off the noon gun. The 28-year-old answered a few questions from Paul Hollingsworth afterwards in Grand Parade Square in front of thousands of fans. 

It was a good parade and it was nice to see Kid Mack give props to his family, coaches and the city of Halifax for helping him get to where he is today. 

Check out some highlights from the day in the video below. 

WORLD JUNIORS
Well, the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were finally able to be completed last weekend with Team Canada raising the trophy on August 20. With Canada's victory, former Mooseheads captain Elliot Desnoyers is a champion! Congrats to Desy on winning the gold medal. The 20-year-old finished the tournament with an assist in 7 games played. The Canadians went undefeated and won the final match 3-2 in overtime over Team Finland. 

Photo - Hockey Canada Twitter

Also in the tournament were Herd alumni Senna Peeters (Austria) and current forward Attilio Biasca (Switzerland). Peeters recorded a goal and 3 points in the preliminary round as Austria lost all 4 games to end in 9th place. Biasca had a great tournament scoring four goals and picking up 2 assists but unfortunately, Switzerland lost in the quarter-finals to Canada.

Photo - Birdgeport Islanders Instagram

DURANDEAU
23-year-old Arnaud Durandeau, who played for Halifax for four years from 2015-2019, got some good news last week when the New York Islanders signed him to a two-year two-way contract along with three other players. Durandeau set new career highs in goals (15), assists (22) and points (37) in 64 games with the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL last season. He ranked third on the team in goals and was tied for fifth in points during his third professional campaign. Congrats to Arnaud on signing a new contract.

TRAINING CAMP UPDATE
Things have been moving quickly at training camp this past week. Cam Russell and company made more decisions, releasing sixteen additional players. On Thursday, a total of nine young men were cut from the camp roster. The following players were cut from the camp roster on Thursday; Justin Breton (F), Mathis Laplante (F), Landon MacIntosh (F), Dominic MacKenzie (D), Cade Moser (F), Joe Power (D), Adam Tkacz (G), Ty Totten (F) and Ben Wallace (F). Goalie George Foti was released from camp on Wednesday. Six players were cut on Saturday morning including forwards Antoine Fontaine, Lou Levesque, Brandon Abbass and Bryson Boudreau along with defencemen Hugo Boucher and Dylan Chisholm. 

Russell made a trade on Wednesday afternoon as well when they acquired centre and Beaver Bank, NS-native Jake Todd from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in exchange for a 2023 4th round draft pick. Todd has played the past two seasons with the Cole Harbour Wolfpack where he has scored 79 points in 55 games with 23 goals and 56 assists. 

All these moves mean that there are 25 players remaining at camp. Another small round of cuts still needs to happen before the 2022-23 regular season roster is named but I suspect that will happen before the end of August. 

ZADINA

Photo - Wings website 

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Friday that they have re-signed right winger Filip Zadina to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $1.825 million. Zadina, 22, skated in 74 games with the Red Wings in 2021-22 and recorded a career-high 24 points (10-14-24) and 10 penalty minutes. Originally selected by Detroit in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Filip has totalled 61 points in 160 NHL games. 

Congrats to Filip on signing a new contract. 

CRITCHLOW
Former Herd Cameron Critchlow has been named captain of the EIHL's Manchester Storm for the 2022-23 season. The 31-year-old is heading into his fourth season in England. Critchlow played one season for Halifax back in 2011-12. He had 14 goals and 37 points in 54 games last season with the Storm. Manchester start their regular season on September 10 against the Coventry Blaze. 

Photo - Storm Twitter

Fitzgerald, MacKinnon Win Championships

A couple of former Halifax Mooseheads players became champions late last month. 

In the American Hockey League, the Chicago Wolves won the Calder Cup on June 25. Chicago's roster boasts a Mooseheads alum in defenceman Cavan Fitzgerald. The 25-year-old had a goal and 6 points in 17 games and will now have his name engraved on the trophy as a champion forever. The Wolves went 14-4 during the playoffs after leading the AHL in the regular season. 

Congrats to Cavan Fitzgerald and the Chicago Wolves on winning the 2022 Calder Cup!

Forward Nathan MacKinnon scored in Game 6 of the finals to help his Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup on June 26. MacKinnon's goal tied the game up early in to the second period as the Avalanche won the series clinching match 2-1. Colorado had a really good post-season after another strong regular season, losing only four games in the playoffs. 

The Avs' route to the Finals started with a 4-0 series victory over the Nashville Predators, than they had a date with the St. Louis Blues a series which they won 4-2. Colorado swept their Western Conference final series against the Edmonton Oilers to meet up with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the ultimate trophy. The club finished the regular season with a 56-19-7 record, their best season in franchise history. Nathan finished the playoffs with 13 goals and 24 points in 20 games played. 

A big congrats to Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche on winning the 2022 Stanley Cup! 

Photos - Calder Cup on Twitter & The Hockey Writers

Herd Word: MacKinnon Off to Cup Finals

STANLEY CUP FINALS
The NHL Stanley Cup final series will begin on Wednesday and it will include a former Halifax Mooseheads player. Nova Scotia native Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche will be looking for the franchise's third Stanley Cup after sweeping the Edmonton Oilers last week in the conference finals. This will be first trip to the Stanley Cup final for MacKinnon in his career. The Herd alum scored a pivotal goal and registered seven shots on goal in the series clinching game which ended with a 6-5 score in overtime. Nathan has contributed 11 goals and 7 assists for 18 points in Colorado's 14 postseason games that has seen the team post an incredible 12-2 record in series wins over Nashville, St. Louis and Edmonton. The Avalanche had to wait a few days to find out who their opponent would be but now know and will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the trophy. Tampa is looking for their third straight championship. 

TICKETS

Our Halifax Mooseheads announced the prices and benefits for the 2022-23 season tickets the other day. One of the biggest benefits is the first right to not keep their seat for the 2023 World Juniors as long as you get your packages before July 15. Full season ticket packages begin at $225 for a youth ticket. Also available is the normal 15-game pack plus a family flex 20 package. 

Prices for a season membership are below:
                Red     Green

Adult       $615     $575
Senior     $515     $475
Student   $385     $445
Youth      $265     $225

Fans can get on the waiting list by going to the tickets page here or call 492-3470 as full packages don't go on sale until June 22. 

Q AWARDS
Mooseheads forward Jordan Dumais was named the QMJHL's most sportsmanlike player of 2022 a couple weeks ago. To be considered for the Frank J. Selke trophy, a player must prove his efficiency on the ice, demonstrate the utmost respect for opponents and officials as well as avoid the penalty box. One of the top used forwards on the Mooseheads, the Ile-Bizard, QC native spent no more than six minutes in the penalty box all season. Check out Dumais being presented the award here. Awesome job Jordan!

The league has been handing out the Golden Puck awards and recently announced the all-star rookie team for the 2021-22 season with Herd forward Mathieu Cataford cracking the list. Cataford led all 16-year-olds players in points with 46 after Halifax selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 Q entry draft. Congrats to Mathieu on being given the honour. 

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE

Our Halifax Mooseheads released their pre-season schedule for the upcoming season. The Herd will play a total of six games starting on August 23 with a trip to Sydney against the Cape Breton Eagles. Halifax's three home pre-season matches will be played at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth. Tickets will go on sale later in the summer. 

Full schedule below
August 23   Halifax at Cape Breton   7pm    Glace Bay Miners Forum
August 24   Cape Breton at Halifax   7pm    RBC Centre
August 26   Saint John at Halifax   7pm    RBC Centre
September 9   Halifax at Saint John   7pm    Centre Aitken 
September 11   Halifax at Cape Breton   3pm    Centre 200
September 16   Cape Breton at Halifax   7pm    RBC Centre

The regular season schedule was also announced on Tuesday but I will do a separate post for that. 

MEMORIAL CUP
Three of the four teams that will participate in the Memorial Cup are known now after the Edmonton Oil Kings won the WHL championship last night over the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Oil Kings won their series 4-2 after a 2-0 Game 6 victory in Alberta. Edmonton will join the Shawinigan Cataractes and the Saint John Sea Dogs in Saint John for the 2022 tournament. Shawinigan won the QMJHL title on June 11 with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 5. The OHL trophy will be handed out tomorrow evening as Game 7 is set to go in Hamilton between the hometown Bulldogs and the Windsor Spitfires. 

Congrats to Shawinigan and Edmonton on winning their respective leagues and to whoever wins the OHL. 

Photos - NHL and Mooseheads website, Sea Dogs Twitter

Huskies Win National Title

Photo - Vincent Ethier

Well, the QMJHL's 50th season has come to an end and it couldn't have finished any better I'm sure as both league representative's in the tournament were in the championship game.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies defeated our Halifax Mooseheads for the sixth time in the month of May to claim it's first Memorial Cup trophy on Sunday night. Halifax got out to a 2-0 lead in the final match of the year before the Huskies came back to score 4 unanswered goals to win a trophy once again on Scotiabank Centre ice. Rouyn-Noranda were crowned the President Cup winners earlier this month while the Mooseheads were the tournament hosts. The two teams finished the round-robin with 2-1 records, Halifax was given a bye to the last game because of the tie-breaker rules while the Huskies had to defeat the Guelph Storm (OHL) in the semi-final. Peter Abbandonato scored what would end up being the game winning goal just 3:02 into the third period to help his team get a 4-2 victory.

Congratulations to the Huskies on being 2019 national champs!


In other news...

• With the best goals against average and save percentage of the tournament, Alexis Gravel was named the Top Goaltender. He was also named to the all-star team along with teammate Benoit-Olivier Groulx 
• The Stanley Cup finals are underway and there is one former Moosehead still playing; Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins are taking on the St. Louis Blues for the holy grail. Marchand leads the Bruins with 8 goals and 19 points through 18 games in this year's playoffs 
• Herd alumni Ladislav Nagy played his last international game last Tuesday, representing Slovakia at the 2019 IIHF World Championships. Nagy, who turns 40 on Saturday, scored the shootout winner for the Slovaks against Denmark in the country's final round robin game as the team did not advance to the playoff round this year