All three of the North American professional hockey leagues have been great for our Halifax Mooseheads alumni this past week as a former player has won a championship in each of the NHL, AHL and ECHL.
Photo - NHL Twitter
First, Nikolaj Ehlers (who played for Halifax between 2013-15) helped the Carolina Hurricanes win the franchise's second Stanley Cup championship on Sunday evening in Vegas. The 30-year-old scored an empty net goal during Game 6 of the final to clinch the trophy as the Canes won the match 3-0 to take the series 4-2. Ehlers finished the playoffs with eight goals and 10 assists in 18 games played, which was good enough for being tied-5th among the league leaders.
The Aalborg, Denmark native signed with Carolina almost a year ago as a free agent and was a big part of the club's great season as the Hurricanes won the Metropolitan division title before sweeping Ottawa and Philadelphia in the first two rounds. Raleigh's team were crowned the Eastern Conference champions after defeating the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games. Nikolaj had 71 points during the regular season to finish second in team scoring.
On Monday evening, defenseman Patrick Kyte became a Kelly Cup champion with the Florida Everblades as they defeated the Kansas City Mavericks in six games. The 2025-26 regular season was Kyte's first in a North American professional league and he played for three clubs over the year. Patrick, an alumnus from 2017-2020, recorded 2 goals and 12 points in 24 games while picking up 3 assists in 12 playoff matches. The Pembroke, ON native played just one game in the final series.
Florida won their fourth title in the last five seasons.
Photo - Everblades Twitter
26-year-old Benoit-Olivier Groulx also collected a trophy when the Toronto Marlies won Game 5 by a score of 4-3 on Friday evening on home ice to win the 2026 Calder Cup. Groulx scored the team's second goal of the match which was his 8th of the playoffs to go along with six assists. His 14 points in the post-season had him 10th among league leaders. After being drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, and playing in their system for five seasons from 2020-2025, the Gatineau, QC native signed a two year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent.
Photo - NHL Twitter
Congratulations to Nikolaj, Benoit-Olivier and Patrick Kyte along with their respective teams on winning the league titles. Moose Country is proud of all of you.
Halifax will play 64 games, including 32 at the Scotiabank Centre once again. The Mooseheads will begin on the road with a visit to their provincial rivals Cape Breton Eagles on September 18 at 7:00pm. It will be one of eight games on opening night in the league, which is not normal and neither is the first match being on a Friday.
Other highlights from the schedule include:
The Herd's home opener is set for September 19 against the Moncton Wildcats, puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
Halifax will make four trips to the province of Quebec with the first one being October 29-November 1 as the team visits Gatineau, Victoriaville and Sherbrooke.
A breakdown of the home schedule includes 11 Saturday games, eight Sundays, five Fridays, five Thursdays, two Wednesdays and one on Monday.
The longest home-stand of the season is six matches between October 8-24 while the Mooseheads are set to have two road trips of 4 games each.
Halifax's home finale on March 20 versus the Wildcats is also the club's last game of the regular season.
Events will be announced at a later date. The team's pre-season schedule was announced already. Fans can purchase ticket packages now for what some are anticipating should be an exciting contender season.
FREE AGENT SIGNING Our Halifax Mooseheads announced back on April 21 that they had signed free-agent forward Evan Nee. According to the Herd's press release; 'Nee, a native of Arlington, Massachusetts, will join the Mooseheads as he enters his 19-year-old season. The dynamic left-shooting forward stands 5'11" and weighs 185 pounds, bringing speed, skill, and a proven scoring touch to Halifax's lineup.' He played at St. Mark's School for the last 4 seasons and recorded 146 points during in 118 regular season games. Nee put up impressive numbers during 2025-26 while wearing the C on his jersey, scoring 25 goals and 32 assists over 30 games.
THIS IS MOOSE COUNTRY Check out the video below which is the second season finale episode of the This is Moose Country podcast.
SILVER FOR SWITZERLAND For the third year in a row, the Switzerland men's national hockey team secured a silver medal at the IIHF World Championships after losing 1-0 in overtime to Finland on May 31. In the 2026 version, the Halifax Mooseheads had three former players on the Swiss team in Attilio Biasca, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. 27-year-old Hischier has been apart of all three final games in 2024, 2025 and 2026. I'm sure this loss was a disappointing one as the 2026 World Championship was hosted in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. During a round robin game on May 21 against Austria, all three hooked up together for a goal that finished with Nico putting the puck in the net, see it below.
An All-Mooseheads goal for 🇨🇭 Switzerland at the #MensWorlds.
— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) May 21, 2026
DRAFT DAY TRADE General Manager Cam Russell announced a big move on June 5 during the first round of the draft. The team traded the third overall selection in the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft to Blainville-Boisbriand, along with a 2027 second rounder plus forward Amelio Santini and goalie Nick Cirka in exchange for forward Mateo Nobert. Entering his 19-year-old season, Halifax is hoping that he will bring in more offence after recording 30 goals in 78 points in 62 games played for the Armada during 2025-26. Welcome to the team Mateo and good luck to Santini and Cirka with Blainville.
14 PICKED IN HALIFAX Talking about the draft, it was held in Halifax on June 5-6 and the Mooseheads pulled out the red carpet, literally. Prospects along with their families got to walk on the red carpet with fans cheering them on. The Herd selected 14 players over the twelve rounds, most of which are American (9). After trading their 3rd overall pick, Halifax was first up at seventh overall and before making their selection, a nice video was shown on the jumbotron to showcase the club.
Photo - Mooseheads website
Find the selections below: #7 - Emrik Menard RW (Woodbridge Wolfpack 16U) #20 - Jack Cameron D (Pictou County Weeks) #25 - Maveric Thisdelle RW (Woodbridge Wolfpack Premier 15's) #33 - John Queally C (St. Sebastian's School Arrow) #43 - Jack Fichthorn G (Sioux City Musketeers) #44 - Jackson Small C (Winchendon School Wapitis) #61 - Samuel Fishbone D (St. Sebastian's School Arrow) #72 - Carson Mertz G (Blackfalds Bulldogs) #97 - Chase Cleary C (Notre Dame College Albatros) #133 - Jake Donatelli D (St. George's School Dragons) #151 - William Laplante G (OHA Mavericks Prep U17) #164 - Jamie Calla C (Governor's Academy Governors) #187 - JP Montgomery D (St. Louis Blues AAA 16U) #205 - Aaron Carrier LW (Ecole Sec. la Decouverte D2)
Congrats to all the young men who were drafted. Looking forward to seeing these guys in August. Hear what Cam Russell and Allie MacDonald had to say in the Mooseheads draft panel here.
PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced the pre-season schedule last week and our Mooseheads will play six games against three different teams. All times in ADT.
August 21 6:00 pm vs. Cape Breton Eagles (RBC Centre - Dartmouth, NS) August 22 7:00 pm at Cape Breton Eagles (Membertou Sport & Wellness Centre August 26 7:00 pm vs. Charlottetown Islanders (Zatzman Sportsplex) August 29 4:00 pm at Charlottetown Islanders (Simmons Sports Centre - Charlottetown, PE) September 4 7:00 pm at Saint John Sea Dogs (TD Station) September 11 7:00 pm vs. Saint John Sea Dogs (RBC Centre - Dartmouth, NS)
In two weeks time, personnel from the 18 QMJHL teams will ascend in Halifax, NS for the annual entry draft. For the second straight year our Halifax Mooseheads will select 3rd overall.
The Mooseheads have another draft pick in the first round along with 4 picks in the second round because of trades. More moves may be made during draft day but as of today, Halifax has fourteen picks currently.
For the time being, here is where the Herd are picking on June 5 Round 1 - 3rd overall (Rimouski) Round 1 - 7th overall Round 2 - 20th overall (Rimouski) Round 2 - 25th overall Round 2 - 33rd overall (Blainville) Round 2 - 36th overall (Moncton) Round 4 - 61st overall Round 4 - 72nd overall (Moncton) Round 6 - 97th overall Round 8 - 133rd overall Round 9 - 151st overall Round 10 - 169th overall Round 11 - 187th overall Round 12 - 205th overall
Check back in early June to see who Halifax selects. I plan on going to the first round so follow me on Twitter.
The Halifax Mooseheads will select 3rd overall during the upcoming entry draft.
Even though the Herd did not finish in the lower part of the standings, the club still had a chance to win the draft lottery as they hold the Rimouski Oceanic's first round pick after a previous trade. Halifax had 6 balls in the lottery, giving them the second best odds (at 28.6%) to win, however they slid to third.
The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, who had the best odds, won the lottery that was held on Tuesday night and will select first overall. Rouyn-Noranda acquired the pick from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
This is the second straight year that the Mooseheads will pick 3rd overall. In 2025, Halifax selected defenceman Malik L'Italien.
Halifax will host the 2026 QMJHL Entry Draft on June 5-6. The Moose also own the 7th overall pick, plus four more picks in the second round.
In other news....
There are four current players on the NHL Central Scouting final draft rankings; Oleg Kulebiakin #87, Eddy Doyle #108, Danny Walters #114 and Shawn Carrier #178. Good luck to them at the 2026 NHL Draft in late June.
The QMJHL semi-finals are set after the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Newfoundland Regiment 4-2 in their series on Monday. Blainville take on the Moncton Wildcats while the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will battle each other in the other series.
Halifax announced on Tuesday that they have signed free-agent forward Evan Nee. Nee, a native of Arlington, Massachusetts, will join the Mooseheads as he enters his 19-year-old season.
Former Herd bench boss Sylvain Favreau has won the Ron Lapointe Trophy after being named the Coach of the Year after leading the Drummondville Voltigeurs to a 40-18-3-3 record in the 2025-26 regular season.
Mathis Rousseau, an alumni goaltender of the Mooseheads, has committed to Cornell University after entering the NCAA's transfer portal.
Every month, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announces a Scholastic Player of the Month which recognizes a player on each team with his performance on ice and in the classroom. The player is selected based on their school results, their implication, the school-hockey conciliation, their team spirit and their on-ice performances.
For your Halifax Mooseheads, Connor MacPherson was named the Scholastic Player of the Month for March.
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.
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.
