Herd Word

NHL DEBUT 
Former Mooseheads forward Xavier Parent made his NHL debut last Thursday for the New Jersey Devils. The 24-year-old did not record any points in the game and was a minus-1 as the Devils lost 8-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Parent, a native of Laval, QC has stayed up with the big team playing four games so far. He led New Jersey's AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets with 12 points (6G & 6A) in 20 games prior to being called up. 

An @NHL debut is one of our favorite things. pic.twitter.com/CacCkjd12E

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 11, 2025

I didn't see this until today but Xavier was called up partly because Timo Meier, who also played for Halifax, asked for a personal leave of absence the same day and continues to be out of the lineup. Meier is dealing with a family matter, Moose Country sends their thoughts to Timo at this time. 

HANDEL TO WORLD JUNIORS
Defenceman Carlos Handel missed the last three games that Halifax has played as he has been invited to and participating in Team Germany's world juniors training camp. The 18-year-old played in the tournament last year so I suspect we will be cheering for him again this holiday season. Germany will have two exhibition games, against Finland on December 19 and December 21 versus USA. The 2026 World Juniors are being hosted by Minnesota, United States from December 26-January 5 with the Germans in Group A. Handel had 0 points in 5 games during the 2025 version so he'll hope to improve on that and help his country do better than the 9th place finish they had. 

Photo - Herd website

MOOSE ACQUIRE ROUSSEAU
Halifax announced on Monday that they have acquired veteran forward Samuel Rousseau from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in exchange for a 2026 5th round draft pick. The move was allowed to be made since Rousseau is a 20-year-old. A native of St. Eustache, QC, Samuel had been playing for the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL this season as the Huskies didn't have any room for him on their roster back in September. He had 30 points in 24 games with the Grizzlies after spending the previous three seasons with Rouyn-Noranda. 

"We are proud to welcome Samuel to the team. His proven leadership and depth of experience will strengthen our work and elevate what we can achieve together," Cam Russell said. 

Welcome to Moose Country Samuel! 

NEW DRESSING ROOM
The team made a pretty big renovation to the Scotiabank Centre, which most fans will likely never see more than the pictures Halifax shared, and released video of it on social media earlier this week. Halifax introduced their new multi-million dollar, state of the art dressing room facility, allowing the Mooseheads to cement their position at the very top of the CHL as said in the press release. On top of updating the area the players get changed in, the team also added or upgraded a kitchen & lounge area, cold tubs & steam room, and coaches room plus giving the hype tunnel new LED signage. 

See the full video below. 

PWHL IN HALIFAX

Halifax, the city, hosted the first game of the 2025-26 Professional Women's Hockey League's Takeover Tour on Wednesday night. It featured the Toronto Sceptres taking on the Montreal Victoire at the Scotiabank Centre. The over 10,000 fans got their money's worth as the match went to a shootout with Montreal taking the 2-1 victory. Unfortunately, the team (Sceptres) with the Nova Scotians did not win but it was still a good game. It was so nice to see a women's professional hockey match in my hometown. I mention it since former Herd head coach Jim Midgley is currently an assistant coach for Toronto. 

The PWHL will be back in Halifax on January 11 as the Ottawa Charge take on the Boston Fleet. 

Photo - Lukko Facebook

LIIGA MILESTONE

I haven't really given any props to alumni achieving milestones in leagues that aren't the NHL, mainly because I haven't seen many posts about it but here is one. Antoine Morand, who suited up in the green and red during the 2018-19 season, played in his 200th Liiga regular season game on Friday. The 26-year-old moved over to Europe in 2022, originally signing with SaiPa before being traded to Lukko on January 22, 2024. Morand has 3 goals and 9 assists in 24 games so far this year. As a member of the Mooseheads, the Chateauguay, QC native had 22 goals and 70 points and served as captain. 

Congratulations to Antoine, keep it up over there. 

TRADE PERIOD 
A break in the schedule means that the QMJHL trade period has opened, as of Friday teams can move any player on their roster and the deadline is January 6. Number of moves were made already mainly by Chicoutimi, Blainville, Victoriaville and Cape Breton on the first day. According to Willy Palov, this year will be about patience and perspective for the Halifax Mooseheads. Considering this is the second year of a rebuild, the Herd seem to be doing better at this point of the season than they were projected to so could we see Cam Russell make some moves that bolster the roster? "No big plans right now but obviously there are a few things we're looking at, like every year," Russell said. "We're happy with the core of players that we have and how they're growing. It's a really good group of kids that we're building around, but we're always looking for ways to make our team better."

August, we welcome you!

We have turned the calendar in to August which means the off-season is two weeks away from being over for us fans and Halifax Mooseheads will soon start up again. The team kicked off the new month with a roster move as the QMJHL's pre-season trade period opened on Friday. 

Halifax announced that they have acquired 18-year-old goaltender Owen Bresson from the Shawinigan Cataractes in exchange for a 2026 3rd round draft pick. Bresson, a Dominion, NS native, made his Q debut in November following the NCAA rule change. He picked up eight wins in 17 games played for the Cataractes while posting a 2.98 goals against average and a 0.905 save percentage.

Photo - Herd website

According to the press release, Owen will join Nick Cirka to form the duo who will mind the Mooseheads net this season. Welcome to the team Owen! 

Other news and notes...

• Like I mentioned above, the summer trade period began yesterday August 1 and it will go until August 24. 
• Herd training camp will start Aug. 16 the team announced a few days ago with two White-Green intrasquad games on the following day. I will share the full schedule when camp is closer but you can click here for what the team shared. 
• Tickets for Halifax's 'home' exhibition games will go on sale on Tuesday. A live stream will be provided for both on the team's YouTube channel. 
• Former forward Barrett Dachyshyn has signed with the Antigonish Senior Bulldogs of the NSJHL. The 26-year-old did not play last season after finishing four years at the University of Windsor. 
• 92 players were invited to Hockey Canada's national teams orientation camp in preparation for the 2026 Olympics in Italy. Among the forty-two that will look for a spot on the men's team are alumni defenseman MacKenzie Weegar and forward Brad Marchand plus the previously named Nathan MacKinnon. 
• A new recruiting window opened on Aug. 1 for NCAA college hockey teams so be ready for more commitments from junior players. The Grand Forks Herald has a list of 20 Canadians to watch and the Mooseheads 2026 3rd overall selection Malik L'Italien is #16 on the list. 

Herd Word

Photo - Avalanche Twitter

4 NATIONS
Well it was a great tournament for Team Canada and guys who were born in Nova Scotia during the 4 Nations Face-Off last month. Canada had an interesting round-robin in the four team competition that was put on by the National Hockey League and only included players in the top professional level. The red and white defeated Sweden in overtime before losing to the United States. They clinched their spot in the gold medal game with a regulation victory over Finland to set up a rematch with USA for the championship. Former Herd Nathan MacKinnon scored the opening goal in what turned out to be a very tight game which Canada won 3-2 in overtime. Connor McDavid scored the game winner at 8:18 of the extra period. 

Brad Marchand, who played for the Mooseheads in 2008, had one goal during the tournament. MacKinnon finished with four goals in 4 games, good enough for 4th amongst the scoring leaders and earning him Most Valuable Player honours. Congratulations to Nathan on being named MVP! 

AUS ALL-STAR TEAMS
The Atlantic University Sport announced it's award winners and all-star teams for the 2024-25 men's hockey season on February 24 following the conclusion of the first round of the post-season. While no former Halifax Mooseheads player won a major award, Herd alum Peter Reynolds of the UNB Reds earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team and even got the nod for the Second Team. The 22-year-old ended his first season in the AUS tied for 3rd overall on the scoring leaderboard with 40 points (21G & 19A). 

MARCHAND
Speaking of Brad Marchand, after fifteen and a half seasons with the Boston Bruins, the 36-year-old was traded to the Florida Panthers during the NHL trade deadline this past Friday. The Bruins received a 2027 conditional 2nd round pick in return. Marchand is in the final season of an 8 year contract and has 47 points so far in 2024-25. He is currently week to week with an upper-body injury sustained in the Bruins March 1st game. 

Good luck in Florida Brad. 

REDS WIN AGAIN
The UNB Reds have won the AUS championship once again and this time without Gardiner MacDougall on the bench as head coach. Reynolds helped the Reds get the victory in game 2 of the final series to allow UNB to sweep the best-of-three round. It is UNB's seventh straight men's hockey title as they defeated the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus 3-2 on Tuesday night. Peter finished the post-season with 3 goals and 5 points in five games. 

Photo - AUS website

Both teams will represent the Atlantic region at the 2025 University Cup which will be played March 20-23 at TD Place in Ottawa, hosted by the Ottawa GeesGees. Former Herd Kevin Gursoy and the TMU Bold have a chance to win the Queen's Cup on Saturday but they have already booked their ticket to the national championship either way. 

TEAM OF THE WEEK
One of Halifax's best goalies, Mathis Rousseau, who is now with the Moncton Wildcats was named to QMJHL's team of the week on Monday. 

Photo - QMJHL website

1000TH POINT
Nathan MacKinnon is having himself another excellent season and this past week he hit a couple of milestones. On Saturday, the Halifax, NS native scored twice in the Avalanche's victory over Toronto with his second marker being his 100th point of the 2024-25 season. The 29 year old followed it up with a two assist game against Chicago on Monday night in Colorado, which allowed him to surpass one thousand points in his career. MacKinnon becomes the first former Moosehead to record 1,000 NHL regular season points! He has scored 362 goals and 639 assists in 857 games. 

Congrats to Nathan on hitting the milestones. 

Herd Move Rousseau, Crosby at Deadline

The Halifax Mooseheads made a couple of moves in the 11th hour of the winter trade period. Not surprisingly, Halifax traded goaltender Mathis Rousseau to the Moncton Wildcats along with forward Logan Crosby late Monday morning in exchange for overage netminder Jacob Steinman plus three draft picks (Rd 2 2025, Rd 2 2026, Rd 4 2026). 

Photo - AMH Photography

Rousseau was drafted by the Mooseheads in 2020 61st overall and made his debut during the 2021-22 season. He will be remembered as one of the best goalies to play for Halifax, securing 93 career wins during his time with the club and scoring the only goalie goal in franchise history on October 20, 2023. The 20-year-old finishes his time in Moose Country with 155 games played, a 2.74 goals against average and 0.912 save percentage over 3 and a half seasons. 

Photo - Saltwire

Crosby, a native of Salt Springs, NS, picked up 22 goals and 58 points in 163 games played for Halifax after being drafted by the team 20th overall at the 2021 QMJHL draft. The two players will join former teammates Dylan MacKinnon and Markus Vidicek on the Wildcats team who are looking to win the ultimate championship this season. Moncton currently sits on top of the league standings with 60 points and are on a 8 game win streak. 

"Mathis has done everything and more that we could have ever expected him to in a Mooseheads jersey. These decisions are never easy, but we wanted to give him a chance at winning a championship while helping our team get better for the future. We wish him and Logan the best of luck in Moncton," Russell said. 

A Toronto, ON native, Steinman leads the QMJHL with 22 wins so far this season and has been a solid goaltender in each of his 3 years after signing as a free agent with the Wildcats in 2022. He is near the top in all goalie statistical categories. 

Photo - Puck Preps

In a separate trade, the Herd acquired Callum Aucoin from the Cape Breton Eagles for a 2025 9th round draft pick. Aucoin, a native of Hammonds Plains, NS, has 16 points in 79 games played for the Eagles. The 18-year-old was drafted by the other Nova Scotian team in the 4th round in 2022. 

Good luck to Mathis and Logan with their new team and thank you for your time with Halifax. Welcome to Moose Country Jacob and Callum, I suspect we will see both in the lineup on Thursday. 

Mooseheads Make Trade with Rimouski

Photo - Journal Le Soir

The Halifax Mooseheads moved two players on the opening day of the winter trade period. Forward Lou Levesque and defenceman Jack Martin were traded to the Rimouski Oceanic yesterday and in return the Herd received right winger Quinn Kennedy plus a 2026 second round pick. 

Although it might not have been the most expected trade by the fans, it is a good move for the players as Levesque and Kennedy will be closer to home. Kennedy is a native of Upper Tantallon, NS and was selected by Rimouski 9th overall in the 2022 QMJHL draft. The 18-year-old scored 21 goals and recorded 45 points last season and has 16 points already in 2024-25. He is known for his offensive abilities. 

Photo - CHL website

Levesque meanwhile, requested to be closer to his family and Cam Russell was able to accommodate that request. The 18-year-old had 12 goals and 33 points in 2023-24 during his rookie season. He become a fan favourite in Moose Country over the last year and a half. Martin was drafted by Halifax 55th overall in 2021 and played 152 games for the Herd. The Upper Covedale, NB native had a career-high 13 points in the 2022-23 season and was on his way to pass that total as he recorded 12 points in 30 games this year. 

"We're excited to get a player of Quinn's calibre. He was a high draft pick who has an excellent skill set. Quinn's abilities will be a nice addition on our power play unit. I know he's also very excited to play for his hometown team," said GM Russell.

Good luck to Lou and Jack with the Oceanic as they battle for the Memorial Cup and thank you boys for playing your hearts out while in Halifax. Welcome to Moose Country Quinn, we look forward to watching you continue your career here. 

Herd Word

Since I haven't posted all summer, below you will find some news that you may have missed if you are not on social media. 

Photo - TSN

CATAFORD MVP, ALL-STAR TEAMS
A couple Halifax Mooseheads players were announced as finalists for QMJHL awards back in May to celebrate the 2023-24 season. Mathieu Rousseau had a chance to win the Patrick Roy Trophy as the league's top goaltender, however it was given to William Rousseau of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Meanwhile, Mathieu Cataford was nominated for two awards; the Marcel Robert Trophy (best scholastic player) and the Michel Briere Trophy. The 19-year-old won the latter, being named the QMJHL's regular season Most Valuable Player. He 'had an outstanding season with career highs in goals (40), assists (50) and points (90) to lead the team in scoring while finishing third in the QMJHL scoring race.'

After the individual awards were handed out, the league announced the all-star teams for the 2023-24 season which included forward Mathieu Cataford on the first team while the second team included goaltender Mathis Rousseau and forward Markus Vidicek. Congrats to these three guys on being recognized for their efforts.

Photo - Herd website

NEW HOCKEY STAFF
There were a number of staffing changes once again for our Halifax Mooseheads during the off-season. The first move was head coach Jim Midgley being released of his duties after Halifax bowed out of the 2024 playoffs with a first-round exit. GM Cam Russell made the announcement on April 16, saying the team also dismissed assistant coach Liam Heelis. 

A little less than two months later, Andrew Lord was hired as the 14th head coach in team history while Brad MacKenzie was promoted to associate coach. According to the press release, 'Lord is the reigning ECHL Coach of the Year after leading the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 44-23-4-1 record and the team's first South Division Championship in more than a decade.'

"We are thrilled to have Andrew join our staff and excited to watch him take the reigns of our young, revamped roster," said Russell. 

Two additions to the hockey staff were announced in late July as Morgan MacDonald was named the full-time Video & Player Development Coach while Charles Grant is the new Goaltending Coach. The positions were made available after Joey Perricone and Jon Sim departed. 

Welcome to the team to the new staff members. 

HISCHIER WINS SILVER
Former Halifax Mooseheads forward Nico Hischier has a silver medal after Switzerland lost to Czechia in the 2024 IIHL World Championship game back in late May. The Swiss finished second in Group A with a 5-1-0-1 (w-otw-otl-l) record during the preliminary round to advance to the quarter-finals. They defeated Germany and Canada (in a shootout) to make it to the gold medal match. Hischier had 6 goals and 5 assists in 10 games played during the tournament and finished 7th in scoring. 

Alum Cam Critchlow also participated in the tournament for Team Great Britain, who unfortunately finished 15th overall.  

QMJHL ENTRY DRAFT
Our Halifax Mooseheads added 15 prospects to their roster and made a couple of trades during the 2024 QMJHL Draft weekend that was held June 7-8 in Moncton, NB. 

Before the draft began, Halifax moved forwards Markus Vidicek and Dylan MacKinnon along with two third rounders to the Moncton Wildcats in two separate trades for Shawn Carrier and three 2026 draft picks. The Mooseheads received a first round draft pick in 2024 plus 4 other picks in exchange for Mathieu Cataford from the Rimouski Oceanic. 

Photo - Herd website

With the first rounder, the Moose drafted Halifax native Daniel Walters 11th overall. Walters played the 2023-24 season with the Halifax McDonalds where he scored 27 points (9G & 18A) in 27 games. 

Full list of selections is below:
RD 1 #11 - C Daniel Walters - Halifax Macs U18
RD 2 #34 - LW Caylen Blake - Mount St. Charles Academy
RD 3 #48 - C Amelio Santini - Lac St. Louis Lions U18
RD 4 #71 - RD Logan Trewin - Halifax Macs U18
RD 5 #89 - LD Mickael Fournier - Quinte Red Devils U16AAA
RD 6 #107 - LD Gavin Sudds - Halifax Macs U18
RD 7 #125 - G Nicolas Gillham-Cirka - Taft School USHS
RD 8 #143 - RW Noah Olmedo-Matte - College Esther-Blondin
RD 9 #150 - C Nico Ciardiello - Mount St. Charles Academy
RD 9 #161 - LW Thomas Cote - Quebec Blizzard
RD 10 #179 - F Elie Champagne - South Kent School
RD 11 #197 - LD Cole Bent - Cole Harbour U18
RD 12 #215 - C Cole MacLeod - Cole Harbour U18
RD 13 #233 - G Thomas Laplante - Mille-Isles QM17AAA
RD 14 #251 - RW Will Bent - Mount St. Charles Academy 

CHL IMPORT DRAFT
The Canadian Hockey League Import Draft was held on July 3 and the Mooseheads used their first of two selections to pick defenceman Carlos Handel from Erlangen, Germany. According to the press release, Handel is 6-foot-1 and played both at the J18 and J20 levels this past season with the Malmo Redhawks program in Sweden. "We've been watching him for the last year-and-a-half. We saw him about 18 months ago in Germany and he just dazzled us as an underage player. He's a heck of a hockey player and he plays a complete game," said General Manager Cam Russell. 

Handel will join sophomore Jan Sprynar as the team's two import roster spots for the 2024-25 season. 

TEAM CANADA WINS HLINKA
The annual summer Hlinka Gretzky Cup saw Team Canada be on top of the podium once again. Forward Liam Kilfoil scored in the championship game to help the Canadians win Gold as they beat Czechia 2-1 in Edmonton, AB. Kilfoil added two assists during the tournament, playing five games. A total of 22 players with ties to the CHL won the ultimate trophy. 

Prospect Carlos Handel participated in the tournament as his German team finished 6th out of eight teams. 

Congrats to Liam and Team Canada on becoming champions. 

Photo - Hockey Canada website

OTHER THINGS

• Goaltender Alexis Gravel agreed to teams on an ECHL standard player contract with the Orlando Solar Bears
• Former Mooseheads head coach Jon Greenwood was announced the new bench boss for the Truro Bearcats junior A team and will be joined by alum Ryan Falkenham who played for Halifax from 2011 to 2015 
• The WHL will host the 2026 Memorial Cup and five teams have announced they intend to bid on hosting: Brandon, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Spokane and Kelowna   
• Current Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers helped Team Denmark book their ticket to the 2026 Olympics at the beginning of this month as the Danes won all three games in the final qualification tournament
• Jim Midgley wasn't out of a coaching job for long as PWHL Toronto announced he would be an assistant coach for the upcoming season 

Herd Word

Happy New Year everyone! I've been taking a break lately so this is my first blog post of 2024. There's been some news regarding current and former Halifax Mooseheads the last couple of weeks so thought I would do a Herd Word to wrap it all up. 

CATAFORD SIGNS

Photo - Golden Knights website

On December 31, the Vegas Golden Knights announced that they had signed forward Mathieu Cataford to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 18-year-old was leading the QMJHL in scoring at the time of the announcement with 53 points in 35 games. He has posted a current total of 181 points in 169 games played over three seasons with Halifax. The Chateauguay, QC native was drafted by Vegas in the third round (77th overall) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. 

Photo - Herd Twitter

WORLD JUNIORS
The 2024 World Junior Hockey Championships didn't turn out how Hockey Canada or the Mooseheads representatives probably wanted it to go but that doesn't mean there wasn't highlights of the tournament. Mathis Rousseau took the starting role over for the preliminary round and had a strong tournament meanwhile Jordan Dumais and Jake Furlong both scored a goal but they couldn't help Canada make it past the quarter-finals. Furlong's marker tied up the QF match at 2-2 late in the second against Czechia so it was said that his first point was gigantic. 

Our three guys have lots to be proud of representing their country. 

GREAT SAVE
Like I said above, Rousseau had a good tournament, recording a 2.00 goals against average and was fourth in save percentage at 0.912%. In a game against Finland in the prelims, the 18-year-old made a really nice glove save which ended up being on Sportscentre's 1v1 challenge for a few days. You can watch it below (it's the second clip in the video). 

He also made another stop in the game versus Sweden that impressed former NHL goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The toe save was on a Canadian penalty kill late in the first period to keep the score 0-0. 

FIRST STAR OF MONTH
Halifax Mooseheads alumni Nathan MacKinnon had a stellar month of December and was rewarded for it as the NHL named him the first star of the month. The 28-year-old had eleven goals and 29 points during the month to lead the league as the Colorado Avalanche went 8-5-2-0 in December. According to the NHL, 'his 29 points set a franchise record for a single calendar month, besting Peter Stastny's 28 in February 1981.' Congratulations to Nate. He hasn't slowed down so far in January. 

Photo - NHL PR Twitter

 

HERD MAKE ANOTHER TRADE
The Mooseheads made another move, this one just before the 1pm AST trade deadline on January 6 which saw the team adding forwards Lou-Felix Denis and Jan Sprynar from the Shawinigan Cataractes. 20-year-old Denis was leading the Cats in scoring with 38 points when the deal was made. Sprynar is an 18-year-old import and is on his third team over two seasons. 

Shawinigan received in return overage forward Ethan Larmand, sophomore Reece Peitzsche and rookie import Yannik Ponzetto along with two draft picks. 

Welcome to the team Lou-Felix and Jan! The two new players made their debut for Halifax on Sunday when the team took on the Charlottetown Islanders where Denis scored the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory. 

Photo - Avalanche Twitter

DROUIN RECORDS 300TH POINT
I missed this originally but alumni Jonathan Drouin had a good night last Thursday to help the Colorado Avalanche win 5-4 in overtime against Dallas. The 28-year-old scored twice during the game with his first goal being the 300th point of his NHL career. Drouin has record 86 goals and 216 points in total over 524 regular season games. 

Drouin was drafted 3rd overall back in 2013 by the Tampa Bay Lightning where he played until 2017. The Ste-Agathe, QC native than suited up for the Montreal Canadiens from the 2017-18 season until 2023. He becomes the 9th former Moosehead player to reach 300 points. 

MOOSE CLAIM MCPHEE
'The Mooseheads filled out the roster with a waiver claim addition late Sunday when GM Cam Russell picked up forward Luke McPhee from the Cape Breton Eagles. The 18-year-old native of Cole Harbour, NS will join the Mooseheads for the remainder of the season and will suit up in his first home game on Saturday' according to the press release. He has played in 59 games between the Moncton Wildcats and Eagles, collecting 3 goals and five points. 

Herd Make Trades With Moncton & Saint John

The Halifax Mooseheads announced a couple of trades on Friday afternoon. 

Up first was an exchange of draft picks with the Moncton Wildcats. Halifax received a 2nd rounder in 2024 and a 2025 1st round pick plus a 3rd rounder that was originally Victoriaville's in exchange for three picks all in 2026. Considering there will be a number of players leaving once again at the end of this season, having these early picks for the next two drafts should be helpful. 

In addition, Cam Russell moved overager Brody Fournier and the 2025 1st round pick they got from the Wildcats earlier in the day to the Saint John Sea Dogs. Coming back is 20-year-old Peter Reynolds. 

Fournier leaves the Mooseheads with 26 points over 35 games played so far this season, which is one more than he had during the whole 2022-23 year. Reynolds suited up for Saint John in 166 games while collecting 158 points, 44 of which have come this season. The Fredericton, NB native was drafted by the Sea Dogs 21st overall at the 2019 QMJHL draft. 

Good luck to Brody in Saint John, we'll miss watching you battle it out for the red and green. Welcome to Moose Country Peter. 

Photos - Mooseheads Twitter

Holiday break is upon us

STATS

Last night's home game was the final match for our Halifax Mooseheads before the holiday break and unfortunately, it did not end well as the Saint John Sea Dogs won in overtime 3-2. As we are at the half-way point of the season, I thought I would give you an update on the team's stats at this time. 

Halifax has been without their star players so they have limped into the break but it has been a good chance for the second tier players some playing time and put up some points. Forward Mathieu Cataford has been stellar lately picking up 13 points (8G & 5A) in the last five games and he now leads the QMJHL in scoring with 51. The Mooseheads are 4-4-2-0 in their last 10 games, however they still sit on top of the Maritimes division. 

First half stats

Record overall: 22-9-4-0 = 48 points 

Goals for: 124
Goals against: 97

Power play: 22.6%

Penalty kill: 82.8%

Top 5 scorers: Mathieu Cataford 51pts (22G & 29A), Jordan Dumais 47pts (16G & 31A), Markus Vidicek 45pts (23G & 22A), Brady Schultz 27pts (3G & 24A), Brody Fournier 26pts (13G & 13A)

Goalies: Mathis Rousseau 16-3-2-0 record, 3 shutouts, 2.07 GAA, 0.934 SAV%; Jack Milner 6-6-2-0 record, 0 shutouts, 3.62 GAA, 0.876 SAV%

TRADE PERIOD OPENS TODAY

The holiday break also begins the trading period for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. There hasn't been as many rumours as in previous years and I've only seen one related to the Mooseheads. According to some sources, Israel Mianscum will be traded to Halifax. Moves have already been made today and more will be made official over the next couple of weeks. Trades that involve players at the World Juniors won't be announced until January 6 when they come back. 

NEXT UP

When the team returns from the break, they will host the Charlottetown Islanders on December 28 before playing in a home-and-home series against provincial rivals, Cape Breton Eagles during the last weekend of 2023. 

Photo - Vecteezy

THANK YOU

Lastly, I just wanted to a big Thank You to all of you who have read my blog, followed me on social media and liked/commented on my posts this year. I also would like to say I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season. 

Herd Word

I can't believe today is Boxing Day and since we have a little break, I thought I would catch up on some news that has happened the past few weeks. The second half of the season should be an exciting time.

TOP PROSPECTS
The NHL/CHL top prospects game will make an appearance this season on January 25, 2023 and there will once again be a Halifax Mooseheads player on the roster. The Canadian Hockey League announced the 40 young men that will play in the game earlier this month. 17-year-old Mathieu Cataford will look to impress the scouts next month in Vancouver. Congrats to Mathieu and good luck, show them what you got. 

Photo - Mooseheads Twitter

DOUCET COMES TO HALIFAX
Our Halifax Mooseheads made yet another big trade last week, acquiring Alexandre Doucet from the Val-d'Or Foreurs. Doucet is from Sherbrooke, QC and has played his whole career with Val-d'Or. The 20-year-old has played really well this season in which he is leading the league in goals with 27 and is second in the Q in points. Halifax gave up three draft picks in the trade; 2023 1st round, 2024 2nd round and 2023 3rd rounder. "He's a game-changer. We think this trade gives us one of the best players in the league this season and makes our lineup even more dangerous than it already was," Cam Russell said. 

Halifax will have to deal with the overage situation now that the team has four players and clubs are only allowed three on their roster. Welcome to the team Alexandre. 

Biasca in pre-comp action
Photo - Swiss hockey Twitter

WORLD JUNIORS
The 2023 World Junior Hockey Championships begin today and while there won't be any Mooseheads players representing the home country Canada, Halifax will have a couple of guys on other country teams. Herd captain Attilio Biasca for the third straight year made Team Switzerland and will actually be wearing the C on his jersey for his country during the tournament. The Swiss are in Group B so they are playing in Moncton. Their first game is today at noon AT against Finland while they'll also play Slovakia, Latvia and the United States in round robin action. Meanwhile, defenseman David Moravec will look to help Team Czechia improve on their 4th place finish at the 2022 summer tournament. Czechia starts the week with a tilt against Canada this evening at 7:30pm AT. They'll also have matches versus Germany, Austria and Sweden. 

UPCOMING GAMES
Your Moose are back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to New Brunswick to battle the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The match will start a four game road stand for Halifax as the Scotiabank Centre is being used for the aforementioned World Juniors. Halifax will play two games in Cape Breton to end 2022 including a New Year's Eve afternoon tilt. Moose Country will have to wait until January 8 to see their team on home ice again. The club's first promotional match of 2023 takes place on January 14 with a t-shirt giveaway. 

Photo - Thunder Twitter

FOURNIER SIGNED BY CARDIFF
Former Halifax Mooseheads forward Stefan Fournier is headed overseas after being signed by the Cardiff Devils of the EIHL. Fournier has played the majority of the last five seasons with the ECHL's Wichita Thunder. The 30-year-old has recorded seven goals and 12 points in 17 games so far during the 2022-23 season. Cardiff doesn't expect the Dorval, QC native to play a game in Wales until December 31. "The reports we have on Stefan are very exciting, a player that I believe our fanbase will instantly embrace. He plays with an edge, throws his weight around, is willing to drop the gloves and scores dirty goals in front of the net," says Devils head coach Brodie Dupont. 

Good luck on the other side Stefan, Moose Country will be cheering for you. 

Halifax Make Big Trade

The Halifax Mooseheads made a big trade on Monday, picking up 20-year-old Josh Lawrence from the Blainville Armada. In exchange, the Herd let go of two draft picks; a 2023 second rounder and 1st round selection in 2024. Lawrence, a native of Fredericton, NB, has played strong so far this season scoring 32 points in 25 games with the Armada. The overager had a career best 101 points in 2021-22, helping the Saint John Sea Dogs to a Memorial Cup. 

Photo - Herd website

“We are very pleased to add someone of Josh's caliber to our already talented lineup. He brings elite level offense and valuable experience that will help our club tremendously this season,'' Russell said in the team's press release. 

I would like to welcome Josh to Moose Country! Looking forward to next Thursday when the Moose will be back home to take on Blainville.

DUMAIS SIGNS ELC
Congratulations are in order to forward Jordan Dumais who signed a 3-year entry level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets over the weekend. Dumais was selected by the Jackets in June 96th overall after putting up 109 points last season. The 18-year-old may surpass that number this year as he already has 54 points in 24 games. He leads the Canadian Hockey League in scoring and some have said that his play so far could get him on a spot on Canada’s world Junior team during the holiday break. 

Photo - Swiss hockey twitter

Other news and notes..

• Zachary L’Heureux made his season debut this past Friday where he picked up a goal and an assist. 
• Talking about the World Juniors, we know at least one Mooseheads player that will be participating as captain Attilio Biasca was named to Team Switzerland today for the tournament. 
• Here’s a crazy stat according to the NHL website, the New Jersey Devils are 17-0-0-0 this season when former Herd Nico Hischier records at least a point. 
• Arenas in Antigonish and Truro will get a pre-tournament game each in a few weeks while the Scotiabank Centre will host 4 matches. 
• Nobody cares probably but on Nov. 19 I got to watch Moose alumni Brad Marchand play live where he picked up 3 assists in a 6-1 Bruins win. Here’s a picture from that night (sorry it’s blurry, I was far away & using my phone camera) 

Orr Traded to Gatineau

While writing my previous post, our Halifax Mooseheads made another big announcement saying they completed a couple of trades on Sunday morning. Halifax acquired a pair of draft picks from the Gatineau Olympiques in exchange for forward Bobby Orr. The move creates some space amongst a crowded forward group at training camp. The 19-year-old scored 21 goals and 44 points in 63 games last season. He had 76 points in 104 games for the club over two seasons after being acquired from Saint John in the summer of 2020. 

Photo - Herd website

In a separate deal Halifax finalized a swap with the Charlottetown Islanders for defenceman Alexandre Tessier who had been attending Isles camp on a conditional loan. The Herd will receive a ninth round pick in the 2024 draft. 

Good luck to both Bobby and Alexandre with their new teams and thank you for the memories in Moose Country, we'll miss you boys. 

This means that the 2022 training camp is down to 24 players which includes thirteen forwards, 8 defencemen and three goaltenders. 

Weegar Traded in Big Deal, Other Signings

A pretty big trade happened on Saturday in the National Hockey League and it included a former Halifax Mooseheads player. Defenceman MacKenzie Weegar was acquired by the Calgary Flames along with Saint John Sea Dogs alum Jonathan Huberdeau, Cole Schwindt and a draft pick in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk. 

Weegar was drafted by the Florida Panthers in 2013 after helping the Herd to a Memorial Cup and has played all six of his NHL seasons with the team. Over the course of 306 games played, the 28-year-old has scored 27 goals and collected 121 points. He has one year left on his current contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent. 

"This is super cool for me, playing in a Canadian market," said the Ottawa-area native. "I never really thought I would play in a Canadian markets. This is going to be super exciting for me and my family. Lots of history with Calgary. I got to watch them growing up, obviously a lot and seeing them on (TV) all the time. The fans here are so passionate. They're loud. When When Johnny and I have come to Calgary, and played against the Flames,, it has been crazy. Watching the playoffs and seeing the Sea of Red and stuff like that." 

Some more signings from former players in professional leagues:

Herd alumni Bradley Kennedy has signed with Glasgow Clan of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The 26-year-old spent five years with the Mount Royal Cougars than played 5 games with the Fort Wayne Komets in 2021-22 after MRU's playoffs were finished. "I had a few good talks with the coach and watched some videos which gave me a really good feeling about the organisation," Kennedy said. 

Former Moose captain Maxime Fortier is sticking around Europe after signing with the HockeyAllsvenskan's IF Bjorkloven earlier this month. The 24-year-old had 11 goals and 13 points in 29 games played for HC Ajoie of NL during the 2021-22 regular season. 

A little closer to home, the St. Louis Blues announced on July 15 that they have signed forward Martin Frk to a one-year, two-way contract. Frk played six games with the Los Angeles Kings in 2021-22 season but was in the lineup for the Ontario Reign for most of the season, scoring 40 goals and 73 points in 58GP. The 6-foot-1 forward was originally drafted No. 49 overall by Detroit in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He has played in 124 career NHL games with the Kings, Detroit and Carolina, while recording 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists). Hopefully he'll be able to stay in the top league a bit more this upcoming season. 

Good luck to these guys with their new clubs. 

Photos - teams twitter accounts & LA Sports Hub

Herd Word

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately, I've been busy the last couple of months with school and finding a job but I thought I would bring those who don't have social media up to date on things that have been happening. All the changes made because of the pandemic have also messed me up a little so below you will find news that has happened over the last couple of weeks. I hope to make a number more posts as we wrap up the regular season in the next 5 weeks. 

NHL TRADE DEADLINE
While no former Halifax Mooseheads player who is on an NHL team was traded earlier this month, a couple of alum in the minor leagues were moved on deadline day. 

The move I didn't want to be made happened but the Montreal Canadiens traded forward Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche on March 21. In return they received 2020-21 Herd captain Justin Barron and a 2nd round pick in 2024. Barron had 5 goals and 20 points in 43 games played for the Colorado Eagles this season. On Sunday night, Justin made his debut for the Canadiens wearing #52, making 3 shots in almost 18 minutes of ice time. Not sure if the defenceman will stay up in the big league or if Montreal will reassign him to Laval. 

Another former captain, Antoine Morand also saw his rights traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the San Jose Sharks the same day. Morand was immediately assigned to the Sharks' AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda and has already scored a goal for his new team. The 23-year-old previously played for the Syracuse Crunch and San Diego Gulls of the AHL posted 44 points in 138 games. 

Good luck to both players with their new clubs. 

MEIER HAT TRICK
More San Jose news, forward Timo Meier had a big game last night scoring his third NHL hat trick helping the Sharks defeat their state rivals the Anaheim Ducks 4-1. Check out the video below to see all three goals. With it, Meier is now just one point away from his career high in points, he had 66 in the 2018-19 season. 

"Obviously, I love scoring goals, that's no secret. But for me, the main focus is to win games," Meier said after the game to media. 

Last night wasn't the first time this season that the Switzerland native and former Moose captain scored a hat trick. He actually had 5 goals in two periods during a game in January against the Los Angeles Kings. See those goals below. 

CALL UP
Halifax announced last week that forward Braeden MacPhee has been recalled to the team's roster for the remainder of the season. He will wear number 12 for the Mooseheads. The move comes after MacPhee's season in the MHL finished where he played for the Miramichi Timberwolves producing 25 points in 30 games. 

"Braeden brings speed and grit with a nice infusion of skill. It's a good opportunity for him to practice and play with us," GM Cam Russell said. 

MHL AWARDS

A couple of Herd prospects had good seasons in the Maritime Hockey League and were rewarded with some league honours. Fall River, NS native Bryson Boudreau was named the 2021-22 Rookie of the Year after leading all rookies with 23 goals and 41 points. The 18-year-old was a free agent invite of the Mooseheads and played well in intra-squad games during training camp back in August. 

MacPhee and Boudreau both were named to the MHL's Rookie All-Star Team despite both of their clubs not making the playoffs. 

UNIVERSITY COMMITMENT 
Well, one alum has made a commitment to the university he will play for next season. Brendan Tomilson, who played for our Halifax Mooseheads from 2019-21, will suit up for the York Lions. The 20-year-old is currently playing for the Pickering Panthers and has recorded 53 points in 51 games as captain of the team. 

Q PLAYOFFS
We're a little over a month away from the QMJHL playoffs starting and there have finally been a few teams who have clinched a spot. The Charlottetown Islanders, Sherbrooke Phoenix and Quebec Remparts put X's beside their names in the standings this past weekend. 

The Herd are quite a few games away from clinching a spot in the post-season but I can't see why Halifax wouldn't make it. Halifax is currently 10th in the overall standings with a 27-25-1-1 record. 

PARENT
Forward Xavier Parent, who played for Halifax for two seasons, was named to the QMJHL Team of the Week on Monday afternoon. The recently turned 21-year-old scored 6 goals and had 8 points this past week in 3 games and was a plus-5. Congrats to Xavier on being given the honour. 

Parent is having quite the final junior season as he currently has 39 goals and 42 assists with Sherbrooke who lead the Western Conference. His 81 points have come in 49 games played during 2021-22, which is more than double his previous career high (34 points/67 games in 2018-19 with Halifax). Xavier is third in league scoring with a quarter of the season remaining. 

Photos - Canadiens website, Mooseheads Twitter, York Lions Twitter & Q website

Halifax Make No Moves at Deadline

There were rumours but in the end the general manager of our Halifax Mooseheads Cam Russell decided to make no moves before the winter trade deadline passed on Thursday afternoon. 

From the beginning, it was rumoured that the Herd would trade captain Elliot Desnoyers after he returned from the World Juniors. The Saint John Sea Dogs were the team he was reportedly going to be moved to but a deal could not be figured out then the Victoriaville Tigres were said to be interested as well. 

Photo - CBC

Russell said he felt more comfortable keeping the team's leadership group together to lead the young group. In an interview with Willy Palov after the deadline passed, Cam had this to say; "There were lots of conversations but the more we thought about it, we just felt keeping him here gives us two great lines and some important leadership to help our young players. If you look at the way Dumais and Vidicek have been playing this year, then you throw L'Heureux and Desnoyers in there, plus all the other players that stepped up, the benefit of keeping the leadership group together for this year and the long run made more sense." 

Halifax is the youngest club in the QMJHL with an average age of 17.76 and had a surprising first half of the season before the holiday break. The club finds themselves in second place in the Maritime division and will look to keep it up once play resumes whenever it does. 

Saint John, the Charlottetown Islanders and Acadie-Bathurst Titan all made big moves to help them in the second half. Charlottetown has already started to run away with the division lead and are continuing the very strong season they had last year. This seems to be the year for the Islanders. The Sea Dogs are scheduled to host the 2022 Memorial Cup from June 4-16 so they will be in the tournament no matter what but after a disappointing start, they are now prepared to make the move up the standings. Saint John added overage player Philippe Daoust, who has played in the AHL this season but is reportedly being sent back to the Q, and other veteran guys like Vincent Sevigny and Connor Trenholm who should all improve their offence. 

I'm glad to see that Elliot is staying with the Mooseheads. Whenever the second half gets underway, it should be a fun and intense next few months. 

CAMP: More Moves Made By Team

I was hoping that these would be the final moves made by our Halifax Mooseheads but as of the writing of this post, the team has not announced their regular season roster. The club did make a few cuts this week plus another trade of a veteran. 

On Monday, general manager Cam Russell announced that the team had reassigned two veteran players releasing defenceman Keegan Hunt and Lucas Robinson. Hunt, a Moncton, NB native, was drafted by the Mooseheads in the 5th round in 2019 and picked up one assist in 34 games played over his two seasons with the team. Robinson had a little bit more success, scoring three goals and 5 points with 86 games played between 2019-21. The 19 year old was drafted in the 8th round in 2019. 

Photo - Herd website

Another veteran defenceman got moved by the club on Tuesday morning as 20-year-old Brendan Tomilson was released. The Cameron, ON native played in 80 games for the Mooseheads collecting 4 goals and 13 assists while adding 72 career penalty minutes. His departure left the Herd with an overage spot. 

It didn't take long for Russell to fill that open overage spot as he made a trade with the Charlottetown Islanders acquiring forward Zachary Beauregard in exchange for a 5th round pick in 2023. Beauregard was a 'thorn in the side of the Mooseheads throughout the season last year with nine assists and 38 penalty minutes in 19 games played against Halifax.' 

"We like the style he brings to the lineup for us. He's the type of player that can be extremely difficult to play against," Russell said. "He's going to bring some veteran leadership and experience. We're just happy we don't have to play against him anymore."

These recent moves leave 24 players on the training camp roster. Considering that Elliot Desnoyers and William Robitaille are out with injuries, the current names could be what the team starts the regular season with but we'll have to wait and see. The official roster should be announced this week according to Russell.

Photo - Saltwire 

Herd Word

NEW COACHING POSITIONS 
More former Halifax Mooseheads coaches have been given positions with new teams. Townsend, ON native Jim Midgley has joined the National Hockey League's New York Rangers staff as an assistant coach. Midgley, who head coached the Herd during the 2017-18 season, is currently an assistant coach on Team Canada at the Women's World Championships in Calgary. Check out the reaction from the ladies when they were told of Jim's new job here. 

The Saint Mary's Huskies announced last week that Cole Harbour native Jon Greenwood has been added to their coaching staff as the new defense coach. Greenwood had spent the last 7 seasons with our Mooseheads. 

Photo - Rangers website

RECENT CUTS
After the pre-season game on Friday night, Cam Russell, Sylvain Favreau and the staff announced another round of cuts which leaves 26 players now in training camp. A surprise to many, the Herd reassigned free agent Bryson Boudreau along with Liam Welsh and Merle Putnam. Boudreau was on another level during the first week of camp, scoring 8+ goals over the multiple intrasquad games and picked up 3 assists in 3 pre-season matches. Many expected him to make the team after his performance the last two weeks. 

With the moves, the regular season roster is starting to shape up and unlike I previously thought, we could see the announcement of who made the team sometime this week. We're getting close Moose Country. 

SIGNINGS
It looks like a couple more Herd alumni will be playing in the ECHL in 2021-22. The Allen Americans announced they re-signed tough guy Kelly Bent on Tuesday. The Halifax native played for the Americans last season in 18 games and collected 71 penalty minutes. Bent was apart of the Mooseheads for two seasons (2014-16) before joining the Dalhousie Tigers for university. 

A teammate of Bent with both the Herd and Tigers, 25 year old forward Andrew Shewfelt will presumably turn pro after being signed by the Wichita Thunder late last week. He suited up for his hometown junior team for three seasons (2013-16) collecting 58 points with Halifax. Shewfelt was supposed to play in his fourth season with Dalhousie in 2020-21 but the pandemic cancelled university hockey. 

"I'm thrilled to be coming to Wichita for my first year of professional hockey," stated Shewfelt. "I've heard nothing but great things about the city, fans, and the organization. I'm excited to get down there and get to work."

Check back later in the year to see which teams the other former players are suiting up for this season in the next Where Are They Now? blog post. 

TICKETS
Some new about Halifax Mooseheads tickets for 2021-22. Previous season ticket and 15-game pack holders have until September 3 to renew their tickets or their seats will be released. The team has been told that they should be able to have full capacity this year meaning that members who had season tickets in 2019-20 should have those seats again. For fans who want to become members, full season, 15-games and family flex 20 packs go on sale tomorrow August 30 at 10 a.m. 

Individual tickets for the general public will go on sale September 23. For full info (including benefits) and prices, check out mooseheadstickets.ca 

MCKENNA

Herd alumni Jordan Mckenna had some big news come his way on Saturday evening as he was drafted by the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League. McKenna, who played 55 games for Halifax in 2019-20, plays for the Orangeville Northmen lacrosse team during the hockey off-season. The 21-year-old captained the Yarmouth Mariners last year picking up 14 goals and 41 points in 35 games. He is committed to York University for the upcoming season. The NLL is a professional lacrosse league with teams in the United States and Canada. Congrats to Jordan on being selected. 

TIM HORTONS
It looks like we'll get a new Tim Hortons commercial featuring a couple of the top Nova Scotian hockey players. Alumni Nathan MacKinnon shared an Instagram story of himself and fellow Cole Harbour native Sidney Crosby in front of a Tim Hortons store with both wearing Team Canada jerseys. The two have done many advertisements together for Canadian restaurant chain over the years. Hopefully Nathan will have another fantastic season and be able to lead the Colorado Avalanche past the second round. 

TRADE
Your Halifax Mooseheads made a minor trade on Sunday afternoon, moving prospect Alex Carr to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. In return, Halifax receives a 4th round pick in 2023. Carr was drafted by the Herd in 2020 and recently participated in the team's training camp before being reassigned on Friday. He was set to play in the Maritime Hockey League this season but could possibly make the Huskies team. 

I'm sure we will see more trades in the coming days and there have been plenty already by other teams around the league as all 18 QMJHL clubs get ready for the regular season which is set to start September 30. 

Photos - teams' Facebook pages & MacKinnon's Instagram

Foston Traded To Saint John

The Halifax Mooseheads have made their first trade of the 2021-22 season after making a move with the Saint John Sea Dogs this afternoon. 

Halifax announced that they have moved forward Cole Foston to the Sea Dogs for a 2023 eighth round pick. Foston played 34 career games with Halifax after being picked in the fourth round of the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft. The Beaver Bank, NS native picked up his first career point last season and finished the 20-21 regular season with two goals and 7 points. 

This leaves 29 players on the training camp roster which means we are bit closer to the opening night roster being named. 

Good luck to Cole with Saint John. 

Photo - Elite Prospects

Voracek Heads Back to Columbus

Photo - Jackets website

A former Halifax Mooseheads player has been traded back to the team that originally drafted him. Jakub Voracek, who played for the Herd from 2006-08, was moved by the Philadelphia Flyers during draft day to the Columbus Blue Jackets in returned for Cam Atkinson. 

Voracek was selected seventh overall in 2007 by Columbus and made the team in 2008-09. He collected 134 points in three seasons before being traded to Philadelphia in 2011. Over the last 10 years, the Kladno, Czech Republic native has scored 604 points (177G & 427A) in 727 games played for the Flyers. His best season was in 2017-18 and he was named to the NHL First All-Star team in 2014-15. 

From the press release; 'The winger played junior hockey for the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2006-08, finishing with 56-131-187 in 112 games. He captured the league's Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year (Michel Bergeron Trophy) after leading QMJHL rookies in assists and points with 23-63-86 in 59 appearances in 2006-07.'

Good luck to Jakub in Columbus. 

Herd Word

Just like last year, I took a break over the summer to decide what I want to do with this blog. I have decided to keep it going but I might not post as often this season. Below you will find some of the story lines concerning the Mooseheads and former players from the last few months since the COVID-19 shutdown.

LEAGUE AWARDS
Considering that our Halifax Mooseheads did not have a very good season unfortunately, there was no surprise that no players were nominated for any league awards. However, it wasn't a total loss. The Mooseheads own Allie MacDonald won the Denis-Arsenault Trophy as the academic advisor of the year. Congratulations to Allie. See the announcement here with a special guest.

Former Herd Benoit-Olivier Groulx was awarded the Guy Carboneau trophy as the top defensive forward for the 2019-20 season.

Zachary L'Heureux
Photo - Neutral Zone

TRADES
Halifax made a few roster moves days before the draft in June to help bolster it's young roster. The first trade Cam Russell and company made was to acquire forward Robert Orr from the Saint John Sea Dogs in exchange for 2nd and 4th round picks in the draft.

Later in the day, the Mooseheads announced that they picked up two more forwards, Zachary L'Heureux and Elliot Desnoyers from the Moncton Wildcats. The deal completed earlier trades involving Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jared McIsaac. They sent the 2nd and 3rd round picks in 2020 back to the Cats along with a 5th in 2021 and 2nd and 3rd round selections in 2022.

1st round pick Markus Vidicik signing a commitment letter to
join the Mooseheads
Photo - Herd Twitter

QMJHL DRAFT
The QMJHL draft was held virtually for the first time in history with the first round done on June 5 while round 2-14 were completed the next day. The Mooseheads brass had multiple picks this year, unlike in 2019.

Multiple moves were made over the two days with most involving the exchange of picks. Russell moved the team's 27th and 60th overall picks plus a 2021 third round pick to Charlottetown for the 22nd overall pick. Halifax used the selection to get defenceman Jake Furlong. The two clubs came together for another trade as the Islanders sent veteran Liam Peyton to the Moose in exchange for a 2020 ninth round pick and a 2021 fourth round pick.

Below is 12 guys that Halifax selected.
RD 1 #14 - C Markus Vidicek - Lac-St-Louis Lions
RD 1 #18 - RW Jordan Dumais - South Kent Selets Academy 15's
RD 2 #22 - LD Jake Fulong - Mt. St. Charles Academy
RD 2 #28 - C James Swan - Lac-St-Louis Lions
RD 4 #61 - G Mathis Rousseau - St-Eustache Vikings
RD 4 #66 - RD Alex Carr - Cole Harbour Wolfpack
RD 5 #78 - LD Alexandre Tessier - St-Eustache Vikings
RD 8 #132 - C Braeden MacPhee - Moncton Flyers
RD 11 #186 - LD Jackson Dorrington - Cushing Academy Penguins
RD 12 #204 - D Travis Badcock - East Coast Blizzard MAAA
RD 13 #222 - LD Sid McNeill - Oakland Jr Grizzlies 15's
RD 14 #240 - LD Brady Schultz - Elite Hockey Program 16U

Click here for a list of all draftees. 

In the import draft held at the end of June, Halifax selected Attilio Biasca with the 5th overall pick. This means that the team has moved on from Marcel Barinka.

Photo - Avalanche Twitter

MACKINNON
Kid Mack had another really good season for the Colorado Avalanche and he is being recognized for it. Nathan MacKinnon, who played for the Herd from 2011 to 2013, was nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, the Lady Bing Trophy and the Hart Trophy. The latter is for the league's most valuable player while Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton) and Artemi Panarin (New York) were also nominated. MacKinnon led the Avalanche in scoring with 93 points in 69 games which was also good enough for being top 10 in the league during the regular season.

Congrats to Nathan for being nominated. The award winners will be announced during the conference finals.

NHL PLAYOFFS
It's August and there is playoffs being competed right now, just another sign of how weird this year as been. A number of alumni participated in the qualifying round and there are still four left as of the writing of this post.

Nikolaj Ehlers and the Winnipeg Jets were ousted by the Calgary Flames 3 games to 1 in the qualifying round while MacKenzie Weegar and the Florida Panthers also didn't make it past that round after losing 3-1 to the New York Islanders. Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia), Jonathan Drouin (Montreal) and Brad Marchand (Boston) are still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.

Good luck to all the players participating in the playoffs, especially our former players.