MHL season underway

There are a number of players suiting up for teams in the Maritime Hockey League this season that have connections to our Halifax Mooseheads. The MHL regular season began on Thursday evening so let’s explore who those young men are. 

Here’s the list. Players with an * are draft picks/prospects.

Campbellton - Tucker Makinen*

Chaleur - Jameson George*

Photo - Bearcats Facebook

Pictou County - Jack Cameron*, Dominic MacKenzie

Summerside - Cade Moser, Jordan Shaw*, Lincoln Waugh

Truro - Callum Aucoin, Caylen Blake, Antoine Fontaine, Logan Trewin*

Valley - Jack Bell*, Aidan Bent*, Ryan Fletcher*

Yarmouth - Chandler Bell*

Former Herd captain Ryan Falkenham was promoted by the Truro Bearcats to head coach after being the team’s assistant coach the last two seasons. 

There are two alum who were named captain of their respective clubs in Dominic MacKenzie and Antoine Fontaine. Congrats to the pair of 20-year-olds along with Callum Aucoin who received an A from the Bearcats. 

Herd players on dev camp rosters

Now that the NHL entry draft is over, teams are turning their attention to development camps and seeing which prospects they want to bring into training camp later in the summer. Only two current Mooseheads were drafted over the weekend but more were also named on rosters. 

Photo - Elite Prospects

Check out the list below to see who will participate in development camps this week. 

Shawn Carrier - Colorado (2026) - Colorado Avalanche development camp June 30-July 2
Mathieu Cataford - Vegas (2023) - Vegas Golden Knights development camp June 29-July 2
Carlos Handel - Montreal (2025) - Montreal Canadiens development camp June 30-July 2
Quinn Kennedy - undrafted - invited to Utah Mammoth development camp June 29-July 2
Oleg Kulebiakin - Tampa Bay (2026) - Tampa Bay Lightning development camp June 30-July 3
Dylan MacKinnon - Nashville (2023) - invited to Boston Bruins development camp June 29-July 2
Mateo Nobert - Vegas (2025) - Vegas Golden Knights development camp June 29-July 2
Daniel Walters - undrafted - invited to Los Angeles Kings development camp June 29-July 2

I've included Mateo Nobert on here even though he has not played a game for the Herd yet but the team traded for him earlier this month, so I can't see him not suiting up in the red and green. Tampa Bay released their camp roster before the draft and I have not seen an updated version with their new prospects but an article did mention Kulebiakin will be in attendance. 

Hopefully we'll see some of these guys during rookie camps in September. Good luck to the young men this week. 

Three leagues, 3 alumni champions

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.  

Herd Word

Photo - Mooseheads website

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.

🚨 Nico Hischier from Timo Meier & Attilio Biasca

Plus the play by play call from former Mooseheads announcer @DanRTSN ‼️#GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/tdwbOIafmx

— 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)

Mooseheads to pick 3rd again

Photo - QMJHL website

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. 

Here's how the top five currently look like:

Here they are! The Top 5 picks of this year's #QDraft! pic.twitter.com/S3TTP1BacT

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) April 21, 2026

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. 

Reds win AUS Championship

Some congratulations are in order for a few former Halifax Mooseheads players. Herd alum Braeden MacPhee, 21, was in the lineup for the UNB Reds as the school won its eighth consecutive Atlantic University Sport hockey championship title on Thursday evening. The Reds picked up a 4-1 victory in Game 3 of the final series against the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus to win the series 2-1. MacPhee recorded an assist in six playoff games after picking up 20 points in 29 regular season games during his first season at university. Despite having an up and down regular season, UNB still found a way to lift the trophy last week. 

Photo - AUS Facebook page

Peter Reynolds, in his second year, has not played a game since mid-January. For the Aigles Bleus and veteran defenceman Denis Toner, who suited up for the Moose between 2018-2020, it is the third straight year that they have come up short in the championship series against UNB. 

In the OUA playoffs, alum Ethan Larmand scored for the Queen's Gaels in the Bronze medal game on Saturday afternoon to help them to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Metropolitan Bold. Larmand, 22, had three points in 8 total playoff games. 

UNB, U de M and Queen's will all participate now in the 2026 University Cup tournament being held in Halifax March 19-22, hosted by the Saint Mary's Huskies. 

U-Sports alumni stats

Olympics: 5 Moose alum to participate

There are 26 former QMJHL players who will participate in the men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy this month. The Olympics began officially on Friday February 6 and will go to February 22. Our Halifax Mooseheads will have five alumni in the tournament that starts on February 12th. 

Photo - Devils Facebook

Canada will have three Q alum on their roster with forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand all wearing the maple leaf later this week. Marchand split his junior career between the Moncton Wildcats, Val-d'Or Foreurs and our Halifax Mooseheads. MacKinnon, of course, spent two seasons with the Herd before being drafted by the Colorado Avalanche first overall in 2013. Brad, 37, has recorded 50 points in 46 games played before the break while 30-year-old Nathan is currently second in the league with 93 points. Team Canada is among four teams in Group A with their first game being against Czechia on Thursday. 

New Jersey Devils teammates Nico Hischier and Timo Meier will be sitting on the same bench during the Olympics in both of their debuts in the international tournament as they suit up for Team Switzerland. The country hasn't seemed to announce their captains yet but I'm sure we will see Hischier wear a letter. 29-year-old Meier has 14 goals and 28 points in 52 games played so far this season. Nico not only leads the team being the captain but he also has the most points on the Devils at the break with 42. Switzerland will join Canada in Group A and take on France on Thursday. 

Photo - Jets Whiteout website

Former Herd Nikolaj Ehlers was a big contributor to Denmark qualifying for the 2026 Olympics and will hope to help his country improve on their 7th place finish from four years ago. The 29-year-old, who will celebrate his birthday at the games on Saturday, has 43 points for the Carolina Hurricanes in 57 games. Denmark is playing in Group C and is set to kick off the tournament on Thursday against Germany.

Canada and Switzerland will meet each other on February 13 at 4:10pm Atlantic time. Each group winner and the best second-place team advance to the quarterfinals while the other eight teams play a qualification round. 

Good luck to all the players in the tournament and congrats to the Mooseheads alumni who are participating. The gold medal game is scheduled for February 22. 

Alumni Update: Pro league stats

Photo - Sportsnet

Well I did the statistics for the North American junior, senior and university leagues back in late December but now that the National Hockey League are on their Olympic break, I thought I would give you finally the stats for professional leagues in North America, Europe and Asia. 

Looks like Nathan MacKinnon will once again be going back and forth as the league leader this season but against Connor McDavid this time. The 30-year-old leads all former Mooseheads players at this point of the season in points and takes that offence to Italy. He also recently recorded his 700th career assist earlier this week. 

Note: some players have played for more than one team in different leagues 
*Stats as of February 6, 2026 (numbers according to Elite Prospects)

National Hockey League 

American Hockey League

ECHL

Kontinental Hockey League / VHL

National League / Swiss League 

EIHL / NIHL

DEL

DEL2 / Germany3

Czechia

Czechia2

Liiga / Mestis

ICEHL

Hong Kong

Ligue Magnus

Alumni Update: Statistics

Logan Crosby of Pictou County
Photo - Jennifer Weeks

There are plenty of former Halifax Mooseheads players suiting up for teams in different leagues on both sides of the ocean. I figured I would share how some of them are doing in terms of statistics for the leagues that are on a holiday break now in North America. It's crazy that we are already this close to Christmas time. 

QMJHL (major junior)

MJAHL (junior a)

QJHL (junior a)

NSJHL (junior b)

U-SPORTS (university)

NCAA

NSSHL (nova scotia senior)

AESHL (newfoundland senior)

CWSHL (newfoundland senior)

LHSAAAQ (quebec senior)

LHSB (new brunswick senior)

NPHL (ontario senior)

LHCS

LNAH (semi-professional)

Good luck to all the players in the second half of their season. 

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."

Herd Word

BEST GOALIE
Goaltender Owen Bresson of our Halifax Mooseheads was named to the Team of the Week on Monday after going 2-0-0-0 during the previous weekend with wins over Baie-Comeau and Moncton. It's the first time this season that a Herd player has been named to the team. Bresson also had a 0.97 GAA between the two matches. Congrats Owen!

Photo - QMJHL website

MACKINNON TRADED
Former Herd defenseman Dylan MacKinnon has been traded from the Moncton Wildcats to the Charlottetown Islanders. The announcement was made on Tuesday, and could be done because MacKinnon is a 20 year old. Moncton receives 3 draft picks in return. Dylan was a healthy scratch in the Wildcats match against the Mooseheads on Saturday so this would explain why. 

The Moncton, NB native has no points so far this season but has only played two games. 'For the Islanders, who currently sit 1st place in the QMJHL, this acquisition sends a clear message: the team is all-in on a championship push. MacKinnon's arrival adds experience, toughness, and a winning mentality to a defensive group that already ranks among the league's best,' says Charlottetown's press release. 

QMJHL PROSPECTS GAME
The QMJHL announced on Thursday the names of the 40 players who will participate in the first-ever QMJHL Prospects Game on October 21 at the Palais Leopold-Drolet in Sherbrooke. A few of the young men named are currently playing for Halifax this season; forwards Daniel Walters, Oleg Kulebyakin and William Bent will take part. 

Congratulations to our three players on being named and good luck. The rosters of the two teams participating in the game, which will be called Team Lafleur and Team Crosby, will be announced in the coming days. Full release here. 

THIS IS MOOSE COUNTRY
The second season of the team's podcast; This is Moose Country, is underway and episode 2 was released earlier this week. Episode 1 talked about the home opener and the 2025-26 roster plus Scott MacIntosh and Brad Cuzner were joined by new coaches Brad MacKenzie and Josh Hepditch. Below is the video for the most recent episode where Herd alumni Zach Fucale joined the hosts to talk about his time with Halifax, getting traded to Quebec plus more. 

 

Photo - Avalanche Twitter

FRANCHISE LEADER
The Colorado Avalanche have a new all-time leader in points since the franchise relocated and I am sure it is no surprise that it is former Moose player Nathan MacKinnon. The 30-year-old recorded an assist in the Avs opening game on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Kings. It was his 1,016th point (367 goals, 649 points) in 871 games to break a tie with Joe Sakic (1,015 points in 870 games). 

"He means a ton," Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said of MacKinnon. "He drives our team on a nightly basis, offensively. ... Just so many things he does so well, and I'm not surprised that he's, yet again, breaking another franchise record. You know, it's just kind of what he does, so exciting to see."

Keep it going Nate, congrats on becoming the points leader! 

NCAA season begins tonight

Photo - NCAA Hockey Facebook

This is not a post that I thought I would ever write but with the rule change back in 2024 that players who skated in the Canadian Hockey League could continue their careers in the NCAA, that is where we are. 

It is disappointing that these young men are not staying in Canada to play university hockey especially since as a fan, I would like to see them after they leave the Q however I understand. There are a handful of former Halifax Mooseheads players who will suit up for teams in the United States. 

Jacob Steinman - Bowling Green State Falcons (CCHL)

Mathis Rousseau - Maine Black Bears (Hockey East)

Brady Schultz - Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC Hockey)

Markus Vidicek - Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC Hockey)

Stephane Huard - Sacred Heart Pioneers (AHA)

Alex Carr - New Hampshire Wildcats (Hockey East)

This is the first full season that CHL players are able to play NCAA hockey. Markus Vidicek, Brady Schultz and Quinnipiac will visit Boston College to start the season on Friday. Also happening this evening, Alex Carr and New Hampshire are set to host Mathis Rousseau and Maine. Sacred Heart and Bowling Green begin their season on Saturday. 

Good luck to these guys during the season. 

Several alumni at NHL main camps

There are a number of young men on NHL teams main camp rosters that have suited up for the Halifax Mooseheads sometime in their career. Out of the two current Herd players that were invited to rookie camps last weekend, Kilfoil made the main camp. 

Justin Barron - Nashville Predators
Mathieu Cataford - Vegas Golden Knights
Elliot Desnoyers - Minnesota Wild
Jonathan Drouin - New York Islanders
Jordan Dumais - Columbus Blue Jackets
Nikolaj Ehlers - Carolina Hurricanes
Cavan Fitzgerald - Chicago Blackhawks
Martin Frk - Calgary Flames
Jake Furlong - San Jose Sharks
Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Toronto Maple Leafs
Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils
Liam Kilfoil - Detroit Red Wings
Zachary L'Heureux - Nashville Predators
Raphael Lavoie - Vegas Golden Knights
Nathan MacKinnon - Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand - Florida Panthers
Timo Meier - New Jersey Devils
Xavier Parent - New Jersey Devils
Mackenzie Weegar - Calgary Flames

Check out each club's social media accounts for updates throughout the next few weeks. I will make a post of where alumni have landed this season late next month. Good luck to all the players at their respective training camps. 

Herd Word

Photo - Trevor MacMillan via The Hockey News

It's opening week finally.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League regular season begins this week when the defending league champion Moncton Wildcats visit the Newfoundland Regiment on Thursday night. It will be the first QMJHL game in St. John's since 2008. 

Our Halifax Mooseheads will play a home-and-home series against the Charlottetown Islanders this weekend to start the year, opening up on the road before hosting their home opener on September 20. 

Photo - Crushers Facebook

MHL SEASON UNDERWAY
The Maritime Junior A Hockey League regular season got underway this past Thursday and there are a number of Herd alumni playing in the league. Defenseman Dominic MacKenzie along with forwards Logan Crosby and Cade Moser will suit up with the Pictou County Crushers while the Truro Bearcats have forwards Liam Welsh, Jake Todd and Callum Aucoin on their roster. 

Halifax affiliate players Cole Bent (Valley), Tucker Makinen (Yarmouth), Ryan Fletcher (Valley), Jameson George (Chaleur), Aidan Bent (Valley) and Cole MacLeod (Yarmouth) have also been named to rosters. 

19-year-old Logan Crosby, who played 163 games with the Mooseheads before being traded to the Moncton Wildcats, will wear the C on his chest for the Crushers after being named captain on September 11. In his third season with the Bearcats, Liam Welsh, 20, was given the C while Jake Todd was named an assistant captain on the Truro club. 

KILFOIL SCORES
While participating in Detroit Red Wings camp, forward Liam Kilfoil scored a really nice goal in the Wings' 6-5 loss against the Dallas Stars prospects on Sunday. 

Detroit has not announced their main camp roster so I am not sure if Kilfoil has been invited but I haven't seen the team announce they have released him either. 

A beauty from Liam Kilfoil pic.twitter.com/A0CoJaKTAK

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 15, 2025

SIMONS PUTTING UP MONEY
Back in June, it was announced that the Halifax Mooseheads were asking the Halifax regional council for a loan worth about 1.5 million dollars to build a 4,720-square-foot training facility extension to the RBC Centre in Dartmouth. The council said they would look into it but as of September, had not made a decision. 

Well now, the clubs owners, Simon Sports, are saying they will be willing to pay for the full price of the construction. There are still questions and the final plan needs to be given the green light by the council either way it sounds like. Even once it is, the facility wouldn't be complete for another additional year or so. For the full story, click here. 

QMJHL FIGHT
After not being offered an entry level contract by the Nashville Predators who drafted him in 2023, former Moose defenseman Dylan MacKinnon was invited to Boston Bruins rookie camp over the weekend. The Bruins participated in the two-game Prospects Challenge hosted by Buffalo. During the team's game against New Jersey, MacKinnon fought fellow Q alumnus Cam Squires. 

ARENA UPGRADES
Talking about the home opener, fans should expect to see some changes when they head to the Scotiabank Centre on Saturday evening. A new public address system has been added to the facility, along with new interior and exterior digital signage. There will be new concessions offerings though no more info is given. Work is also currently being completed on a new state-of-the-art player area for the Mooseheads players and coaching stuff which is slated to open later this fall according to the article released by the team. 

Scotiabank renewed its naming rights partnership with the arena back in the spring and it was long rumoured (or known) that upgrades would be made once again to the almost 50 year old building. 

"We're excited to start a new season with our incredible fans. There are many new additions to the fan experience that we are looking forward to sharing with them. We have a great young team and we can't wait for all of us to be together again on Saturday night in Moose Country," said President Brian Urquhart. 

CHL TOP 10 
While our Mooseheads did not make the pre-season top 10 rankings, I thought I would share them for anybody who is interested. 
1. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 
2. Brantford Bulldogs 
3. Spokane Chiefs 
4. Chicoutimi Sagueneens 
5. Windsor Spitfires
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Kitchener Rangers
8. Moncton Wildcats
9. Kelowna Rockets
10. Niagara IceDogs

Other things..

• This is a little late but I wanted to still share it anyways. Nova Scotia was well represented at Hockey Canada's Olympics orientation camp in late August & the four players attending got together for a picture.

  

  'Coupla bluenosers' Marchand, Turnbull, Crosby & MacKinnon
  Photo - Blayre Turnbull's Instagram

  
  
• FloHockey lists Halifax forward Liam Kilfoil as one of top future NHL prospects to watch in the QMJHL this year. Kilfoil went undrafted in 2025 but is eligible again for the 2026 entry draft. 
• Pictou County's Logan Crosby (3G & 1A) and Cade Moser (1G & 3A) have started the MHL season on a good note, with both recording 4 points each in 2 games. Jake Todd had two goals for Truro over the weekend. 
• On September 4, it was announced that the Guelph Storm and Kitchener Rangers were named the finalists to host the 2027 Memorial Cup.