Mann-Dixon Going Home for University

Photo - Mooseheads website

Another university commitment for a former Halifax Moosehead has been announced. Goaltender Blade Mann-Dixon was one of 6 players to be added by the St. FX X-Men for the 2018-19 season.

Mann-Dixon, a native of Antigonish, NS, is going home to play university hockey. The 21-year-old joined the Herd before Christmas 2016 and was a stable force for the last year and a half of his junior career. Blade had a 23-9-0 record this past season with Halifax helping the Moose to a 4th place finish after the regular season. He also played for Saint John, Moncton and Charlottetown in the QMJHL.


Good luck to Blade in Antigonish. The X-Men will start their regular season against the Acadia Axemen on September 28.

Herd Alum Commits To McGill

Photo - Truro Daily

Former Halifax Mooseheads captain Taylor Ford has announced the next journey in his hockey career. The 21-year-old will play the 2018-19 season with the McGill Redmen, Ford tweeted on Friday.

Taylor, a native of LaSalle, QC, was drafted by the Herd in 2013 but played his first season with the team during the 2014-15 season. Ford was named captain in his sophomore year, a position he held until the Moose traded him to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies during the Christmas trade period in 2017. In his 243 games played in the QMJHL, the young defenceman had 57 points, including 13 goals.


Good luck to Taylor in Montreal. The Redmen will start their regular season against Queen's University on October 5.

Development Camp Invites

Alex Gravel - 6th round pick
Photo - Getty Images

Now that the NHL draft is over, teams start having their development camps which are used to help determine who to invite to the rookie camps in September and main camps after that. The Halifax Mooseheads saw 4 players get drafted this past weekend and they are joined by other current and former Herd on camp rosters.

The 6th overall pick by Detroit, Filip Zadina leads a crop of players that will or have been participating in camps trying to prove they have what it takes to make the NHL next season.

Below you'll find a list of Mooseheads who are attending development camps this summer:
Alexis Gravel - Chicago (2018) - Chicago Blackhawks development camp July 16-24
Filip Zadina - Detroit (2018) - Detroit Red Wings development camp June 26-30
Maxime Fortier - undrafted - invited to Columbus Blue Jackets development camp June 25-28
Jocktan Chainey - New Jersey (2017) - New Jersey Devils development camp July 10-14
Arnaud Durandeau - New York (2017) - New York Islanders development camp June 25-30
Otto Somppi - Tampa Bay (2016) - Tampa Bay Lightning development camp June 26-30
Cavan Fitzgerald - undrafted - invited to San Jose Sharks development camp July 3-6
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Anaheim (2018) - Anaheim Ducks development camp June 28-July 1
Jared McIsaac - Detroit (2018) - Detroit Red Wings development camp June 26-30
Connor Moynihan - undrafted - invited to Chicago Blackhawks development camp July 16-24
Antoine Morand - Anaheim (2017) - Anaheim Ducks development camp June 28-July 1
Jake Ryczek - Chicago (2016) - Chicago Blackhawks development camp July 16-24

Events

The Halifax Mooseheads released their schedule for the upcoming season earlier this month and have announced the events happening during the 2018-19 season. With such a late home opener this year, some of the events are in different months than they are normally. Check out below for the dates of the yearly special games.

Annual events
HOME OPENER – October 27 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
DND Appreciation Night – November 9 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Teddy Bear Toss – December 14 vs. Moncton Wildcats
Battle of Nova Scotia/Hurley Cup – December 31 vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Pink in the Rink 10 – January 18 vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Fan Appreciation Night – March 16 vs. Charlottetown Islanders

NHL Draft

The 2018 National Hockey League entry draft was held this weekend in Dallas, Texas.

• Defenceman Rasmus Dahlin became only the second Swede to be drafted first overall when the Buffalo Sabres selected him on Friday evening to begin the draft but no one was surprised the Sabres chose him.
• Montreal Canadiens fans weren't very happy after the team decided to pick based on positional need instead of the best player, selecting centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall.
• As a result, Filip Zadina slid down and was still available when the Detroit Red Wings were up to make their first selection, selecting the Halifax Mooseheads forward 6th overall. Zadina was the first QMJHL player drafted this weekend while there was 23 selected overall, a jump from the previous two drafts.
• The 3 other Mooseheads players had to wait until Day 2 to hear their names as Jared McIsaac (36th, Detroit) and Benoit-Olivier Groulx (54th, Anaheim) dropped to the second round while Alexis Gravel was picked 162nd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 6th round.
• The 2019 NHL draft will be hosted by the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver, BC.

Pre-season Schedule Announced

HALIFAX - The Halifax Mooseheads released their pre-season schedule for the upcoming season.

The Mooseheads will play 3 teams this year for a total of six games. The QMJHL along with the Moncton Wildcats decided to not continue with the HubCity Showcase this year so the brass will have a smaller selection of game opportunity to see the new and returning players. Like the last couple of seasons, there will be a two week break between the first 4 exhibition matches and the final two.

Halifax will play 3 homes but two will be in the club's new practice arena; the Dartmouth 4Pad in Burnside. They'll also play an away game in Springhill, NS against the Moncton Wildcats.

Here is the 2018-19 pre-season schedule:
August 19 at 4pm - at Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Centre 200)
August 21 at 7pm - vs Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Dartmouth4pad)
August 22 at 7pm - at Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Centre Regional KC Irving)
August 24 at 7pm - vs Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Dartmouth4pad)
September 7 at 7pm - at Moncton Wildcats (Dr Carson/Marion Murray Community Center - Springhill, NS)
September 15 at 7pm - vs Moncton Wildcats (Halifax Forum)

Check back in August when I'll have more information on ticket prices and camp news.

Herd Word: Four Herd on Final Ranking

The top 5 prospects including Filip Zadina
Photo - TSN Hockey

CRAIG'S LISTWith the National Hockey League draft just around the corner, Craig Button has announced his final draft rankings for the upcoming 2018 NHL entry draft. The Mooseheads have four players who are eligible to be selected this month when the pro teams meet in Dallas, TX. Craig Button, a TSN analyst, named his Top 100 players which includes the first 6 being born from outside of Canada. The first Canadian young gun named to Button’s list is Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds forward Barret Hayton at number 7. Below you’ll find how the four Herd have been ranked.

Filip Zadina; #3
Jared McIsaac; #26
Benoit-Olivier Groulx; #53
Alexis Gravel; #99

AMERICAN DRAFT
On Monday the QMJHL held its first ever American draft for players eligible to play in the QMJHL. The Mooseheads had selections at 16th and 34th overall in the two round draft and picked up goaltender Gavin Fitzpatrick out of Thayer Academy.as well as forward Riley Duran from Malden Catholic High School. Both players were born in 2002. For more info click here.

BODNARCHUK
The American Hockey League finals recently got underway with the Texas Stars and the Toronto Marlies battling each other for the Calder Cup. Former Herd player Andrew Bodnarchuk has spent most of his professional career in the minor leagues and is now an assistant captain on the Stars team. Bodnarchuk has a goal in 18 playoff games played so far this year while Texas finds themselves down 2-1 in the series after Game 3 last night. You can watch the whole series on TSN2 in Canada.

Photo - Naples Daily News

KELLY CUP
A champion is about to be named in the ECHL as the Kelly Cup finals are almost complete with a Mooseheads alumni on one of the last two teams. Stephen MacAulay, who is probably the winningest player in the QMJHL with 2 Memorial Cups & 3 President's Cups, joined the Florida Everblades in 2016-17. The Everblades are one win away from winning the Kelly Cup with a 3-2 series lead over the Colorado Eagles. MacAulay has 5 goals and 4 assists along with 17 penalty minutes in the 2018 playoffs. Game 6 will be played tonight in Florida.