Nice breakdown of the Mooseheads players at training camp. Too bad that more teams wouldn't do the same.
FROM THE MOOSEHEADS WEBSITE:
Breaking down the Training Camp roster
Category: Article
August 17, 2023Your Halifax Mooseheads enjoyed a shorter-than-usual offseason thanks to a deep run in the QMJHL Playoffs that saw the team make it all the way to the Gilles Courteau Trophy Finals before bowing out in six games against the eventual Memorial Cup Champion Quebec Remparts. Despite losing several key players either to the pro ranks or aging out of junior hockey, the Mooseheads once again will feature a strong squad that appears to be built for another successful season in Moose Country.
17 returning players are listed on the 49-player roster for Training Camp presented by Eastlink while several highly touted draft picks from recent years are knocking on the door and ready to make an impact with the Herd. There are also a handful of free agents who received invitations to camp who will be motivated to prove themselves to GM Cam Russell and the Mooseheads front office. Practices begin Sunday morning at 9am, while Green vs White intrasquad games will be held Sunday and Monday at 3pm. All practices and intrasquad games are open to the public. A full training camp schedule can be found here.
Space is limited on the backend with six regular defencemen from last season set to return, while there are more opportunities for forwards to crack the opening night roster after the loss of prominent players like Zach L’Heureux, Josh Lawrence, Alex Doucet, Evan Boucher and Attilio Biasca. There are currently only three overage 20-year-old players on the roster with import defenceman David Moravec, forward Brody Fournier and goalie Brady James vying to secure those roster positions.
Camp kicks off on Saturday with player registration at the RBC Centre where Jim Midgley is ready and waiting to take over at the helm this season. The Head Coach was hired following the resignation of Sylvain Favreau and will have Assistants Brad MacKenzie and Liam Heelis on the bench for their third seasons in Halifax.
The preseason begins on Tuesday night at the RBC Centre when Halifax takes on the Cape Breton Eagles at 7pm. Tickets are on sale now.
Here are a few brief words about each of the 49 players coming to camp.
The ReturneesJordan Dumais
The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect and Mooseheads all-time single-season points leader will be back and looking to terrorize opponents once again. He set a record in Moose Country with 140 points last season and is just 25 away from tying Brandon Benedict for the most career points at 303. Dumais became the second member in the history of the Mooseheads to be named QMJHL MVP.
Markus Vidicek
Mr. Consistency has been one of the most dependable players on the team in recent memory. He set career highs in goals (32), assists (48) and points (80) last season and will be a major key to the success of the Mooseheads this season. He is the resident ironman with 179 consecutive games played which is second in team history behind Travis Randell’s 222 game streak.
Jake Furlong
A leader on the blueline and in the dressing room, the San Jose Sharks prospect was a horse during the playoffs by logging major minutes while sacrificing his body along the way. Furlong will be part of arguably the best defense-corps in all of the QMJHL this season. He is one of 12 defenceman in team history with 100 or more career points and could very well become the all-time leader in points by a defenceman by the end of the season.
Mathis Rousseau
The man they call “Rooster” cemented himself amongst the QMJHL’s elite goalies last season and did it as an 18-year-old. His dependability was front and centre during the playoffs which included a stunning performance in the semi-finals versus Sherbrooke. Rousseau’s play did not go unnoticed by scouts as he earned an invitation to development camp with the Vancouver Canucks.
Mathieu Cataford
Cataford is a rising star in the QMJHL and will be ready to take his game to new heights in 2023-24. Fresh off becoming a third round draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, the 18-year-old is set to step into a larger role with the Mooseheads than ever before. He was 20th in league scoring with 75 points last season and was the youngest player to reach the top 20. He not only provides the team with scoring but has shown his gritty ability to drop down and block shots in big moments.
Brady Schultz
Another key member of the defense-corps, Schultz has become both a fan favourite and a reliable and versatile defenceman for the Mooseheads. He has the ability to chip in offensively while also playing a solid defensive style, capable of delivering some of the hardest hits on the team. Cam Russell struck gold while drafting the Connecticut native in the 14th round of the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft. He is entering his 19-year-old season and will be a fixture on the blueline once again.
David Moravec
Staying with the blueliners, Moravec quietly goes about his business and gets the job done consistently. He will kill two roster spots on the team as both an overage player and one of the two allotted spots for imports. He showed a knack for coming up clutch in the playoffs and is part of an extremely deep and veteran-laden group of defencemen. There’s a good chance his point totals will rise this season after scoring 28 in 60 games last year.
Brody Fournier
Fournier is another 20-year-old overage player who at times got buried amongst the talented forwards last year and mainly played a bottom six role. He fully embraced that role and performed well as an energy/grind line type of player. He also showed well in the playoffs when he was needed for more important offensive minutes. The Ontario forward could be primed for a much more explosive season offensively.
Dylan MacKinnon
A physical force on the blueline and just entering his 18-year-old season, MacKinnon has made a name for himself around the QMJHL as a tough competitor that knows how to play on the edge. He is also now the property of the Nashville Predators after being selected in the third round of June’s NHL Entry Draft. He’s a defensive defenceman with a long reach and excellent skating ability. His physical maturity will only grow with time with the Herd, making him a feared opponent.
Braeden MacPhee
Like MacKinnon, MacPhee is a product of the Moncton Flyers program and is another player that exudes intensity on the ice and knows how to get under the skin of his opponent. MacPhee will be a 19-year-old this season and brings a much-needed style of game to the ice that helps balance out the forward group. He is capable of playing up and down the lineup and has shown that he can score goals from the dirty areas. MacPhee scored 17 points in 68 games and was third on the team in penalty minutes with 47.
Jack Martin
Another Moncton Flyers alumnus is set for his second full season with the Mooseheads. Martin came into his own as a rookie in 2022-23 and forced his way into the lineup with responsible decision-making and a nice touch on offense. Martin finished with 48 games played in the regular season and was a +27 while posting 13 points. He also played in all 21 playoff games, scoring five points – including a goal and an assist in Game 6 of the Gilles Courteau Trophy Finals vs Quebec.
Owen Phillips
A player with pure skill and composure, Phillips looked mature beyond his age of 16 last season as a rookie on the Mooseheads blueline. He will garner the attention of NHL scouts in the coming year ahead of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Phillips has continued to add size and strength over the offseason which will only compliment his attributes that he brings to the team and help with his increased ice-time in key moments of the game. The Hammonds Plains, NS native scored 13 points in 62 games and added seven more assists in the playoffs after the Herd made him the seventh overall pick in the 2022 QMJHL Draft.
Reece Peitzsche
Speaking of size and strength, that’s something that young Reece Peitzsche has plenty of. He will certainly be thrust into a more prominent role amongst the forwards in his second season with Halifax. He was the youngest player in the QMJHL last year and will not turn 17 until December. Peitzsche saw limited minutes in his 64 games played last season but impressed with his ability around the net in along the boards. He tallied six goals and 13 points as a rookie.
Logan Crosby
This is the year that we should see Crosby take a big leap in both ice-time and production. The 2021 first round pick is now entering his third year in the league and expectations remain high for the lanky forward who the Mooseheads traded up in the draft to nab 20th overall. Crosby played a bottom six role last season while scoring 14 points in 58 games but will have plenty of opportunity to make his claim for an increased role this season.
Liam Welsh
Welsh proved to be a tenacious forward when given the opportunity last season in a limited role. He excelled in his fourth line minutes by bringing energy and determination in each shift. He deserves to have the chance for a regular spot in the lineup as he enters his 18-year-old season. and could prove to be a valuable player on the third or fourth line. The 11th round 2021 draft pick had three points in 28 games played during his first full season with the team in 2022-23.
Jake Todd
Like Welsh, Jake Todd saw limited opportunities on the ice last season on a deep team but is expected to play a larger role this year. Todd can play a gritty game and isn’t afraid to mix it up with his opponents as we saw when he held his own in a spirited tilt versus a much larger Riley Pitt of Acadie-Bathurst early in the season. He could also have some untapped offensive potential after a strong scoring career with the Cole Harbour Wolfpack U18 when he tallied 79 points in 55 games.
Brady James
The 20-year-old goalie comes to camp with his sights set on landing one of the overage roster spots on the team. He has seen his role diminish over the past two seasons with the emergence of star netminder Mathis Rousseau and will also face heavy competition at camp from 18-year-old Jack Milner. James played well in his 21 games last season by posting a 14-6 record along with a career-best 3.39 goals against average and had an .882 save percentage.
The ProspectsLiam Kilfoil
A draft pick that could be a steal for the Mooseheads, Kilfoil slipped to the second round in June due to his potential NCAA aspirations. Halifax jumped at the opportunity to select the highly touted star forward who was the 13th ranked player in the draft. Kilfoil has committed to the Moose and will instantly become a fixture in the lineup with big expectations for the youngster from Quispamsis, NB. He split last season in the United States between Salisbury School Prep and the Buffalo Regals 16U AAA. In 2021-22 he exploded for 133 points in 62 games with the Mount St Charles 14U program.
Yannik Ponzetto
Halifax went back to the well in Switzerland for their newest import player in the form of Yannik Ponzetto. GM Cam Russell has had substantial success with Swiss players in the past such as Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Attilio Biasca and Ponzetto hopes to continue that trend. He recently scored two points in three games with Switzerland during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and enjoyed a 52 point season last year with Kloten U17 in 34 games played. He figures to slot in on the left wing in the middle six forward lines.
Antoine Fontaine
A third round pick from 2022, Fontaine went back to the Magog Cantonniers and tore up the QM18AAA league to finish second in the scoring race with 57 points in 41 games. He showed well at camp last season as a rookie and was called up to appear in one game as an injury replacement during a road trip in February. He didn’t factor into the scoring in the game against Sherbrooke but he won all four faceoffs that he took against the talented Phoenix. There are high hopes within the organization for Fontaine’s future with the Mooseheads.
Lou Levesque
Another 17-year-old forward, Levesque was a fifth round pick of the Herd in 2022 and impressed many at training camp last season. He has speed and uses that to create offensive opportunities. He scored 21 goals and 34 points last season with St-Eustache in QM18AAA before adding another 10 points in seven playoff games. Another solid camp could force the hand of the Mooseheads staff as he states his case for a roster spot. Lou showed unbelievable perseverance last season after his mother Catherine suddenly passed away at the age of 42.
Cade Moser
The Mooseheads found a good one with their 13th round pick in 2022 in forward Cade Moser. He had a huge season with the Weeks Major Midgets by scoring 15 goals and 33 points in 26 games and helping his squad to both the Provincial and Atlantic championship titles. Moser performed extremely well in the NSU18MHL playoffs with 11 goals and 17 points in 12 games.
Jack Milner
The 18-year-old goalie is more than ready for his opportunity to become a full-time member of the Mooseheads. The competition between Milner and Brady James for the backup role to Mathis Rousseau will be one to watch at camp. Milner was superb in his rookie season with the Truro Bearcats of the Maritime Hockey League in 2022-23 where he had a record of 20-6-1 in 30 appearances, finishing second in the league in wins. He had a 3.31 goals against average and an .897 save percentage.
Ben Wallace
Wallace was a 14th round pick in 2021 and had a big final season with the Weeks Major Midgets last year where he scored 50 points on 25 goals and 25 assists in 35 games. The forward also showed that has plenty of sandpaper in his game with a team-high 82 penalty minutes. His MHL rights are owned by the Valley Wildcats.
Tyler Totten
Totten is a great story and is attending Mooseheads camp on a free agent invitation. The forward started opening some eyes during the 2021-22 season when he was a member of the Fundy Thunder 16UAAA (Minor Midget) team. He scored 40 points that season, prompting a promotion to the NSU18MHL. He went on to score 52 points last season as a 17-year-old with the Cole Harbour Wolfpack and finished second in league scoring.
Alec Nasredinne
The son of former NHLer Alain Nasredinne, Alec became a fourth round pick of the Mooseheads this summer. The forward played for the Notre Dame Hounds, a program in Saskatchewan that has produced NHL alumni like Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Wendel Clark, Rod Brind’Amour and many more. Nasredinne scored 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points in 31 games.
Hugo Boucher
A big defenceman that had fans encouraged about his future after watching him at his first Mooseheads camp last season, Boucher is back and looking to work his way onto the team. He played on a struggling Gatineau L’Intrepede squad in 2022-23 that won just six games and didn’t put up eye-popping numbers with 12 points, 48 penalty minutes and a rating of -24.
Dominic MacKenzie
Another promising prospect from the Weeks Major Midgets U18 is defenceman Dom MacKenzie. He excelled in 34 regular season games with one goal and 24 assists while posting another three goals and six assists in nine playoff games. MacKenzie is certainly one to keep an eye on at camp over the coming days. He was a seventh round pick of the Mooseheads in 2022.
James Chase
Chase is an interesting player on the camp roster. The American forward was picked in the 12th round by the Herd in 2022 and went on to play for the Windy City Storm at two levels last season and combined for 20 points in 27 games. While not a tall player, Chase has a solid frame at 5-foot-9 and 174 pounds and scored 80 points in 2021-22 as a member of the Bishop Kearney Selects where he was a teammate of Jordan Dumais’ younger brother Justin as well as Cape Breton Eagles forward Will Shields.
Eddy Doyle
The scouting staff were thrilled when they landed Doyle in the fourth round in June’s QMJHL Draft. The defenceman from Tignish, PE is full of potential and has plenty of strength, thanks in part to his training and spending his offseason working on the lobster boat. Doyle only played in 24 games last season with the Kensington Wild but managed two goals and six assists during that time.
Will Carroll
Carroll is one-of-two players the Mooseheads drafted in June out of the Champions Hockey Academy program in New Brunswick. The forward hails from Conception Bay South, NL and was also a first round pick of the Edmundston Blizzard in the MHL. Carroll was the Captain at two different levels last season and was a leader on offense with a combined for 78 points in 64 games.
Olivier St-Onge
Big goalie Olivier St-Onge is the other player drafted from the Champions Hockey Academy after the Moose nabbed him in the eighth round. He has pristine numbers last season including an 18-5-2 record with five shutouts in 25 games while posting a 2.37 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. St-Onge is a great future prospect for the Herd between the pipes.
Sam Madgett
Another goaltending prospect to keep an eye on over the next couple of years is local player Sam Madgett from Stillwater Lake, NS. He is already 6-foot-1 and growing and joined the Mooseheads as a 10th round draft pick in June. Madgett had a 9-3-0 record with the Cole Harbour Wolfpack along with a 2.91 goals against average and an .892 save percentage.
George Foti
The list of goalie prospects continues with the 2022 draft pick, George Foti. After being picked by the Mooseheads last summer, he wound up joining the OHA Maroon program in Cornwall, ON that plays in the Hockey Eastern Ontario league. Foti went 8-6-1 with a 3.42 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
Cam McKenzie
The soon-to-be 19-year-old McKenzie was signed as an affiliate player during the 2022-23 regular season and appeared in three games for the Mooseheads. He performed admirably in those outings and should serve as a reliable affiliate yet again while playing in the MHL for the Pictou County Crushers. He has a toughness to his game as evidenced by his 97 penalty minutes with Pictou County last season.
Jameson George
Scouts had plenty of good things to say about George after the Mooseheads made him an eighth round pick in June. The defenceman from the Saint John Vitos is said to play the game the right way and works hard on and off the ice. He had four points in 35 games last season.
Justin Breton
The 17-year-old forward enjoyed a solid second season back in QM18AAA with Levis by scoring 30 points in 42 games. That was an 18 point improvement for the 2022, ninth round pick of the Mooseheads.
Colin Brodeur
A big defenceman who was recently added to the prospect pool during June’s QMJHL Draft, Brodeur is set to play in his first full season with Magog in 2023-24. The 6-foot-1, 185 pound blueliner put up six points and 60 penalty minutes with Sherbrooke of the QM17AAA league before appearing in three games with the Magog Cantonniers.
Hudson Clarke
Clarke is a sturdy forward who played with the Sydney Rush U18 for the last two seasons. He was an eighth round selection of the Mooseheads in 2022 and recently had his MHL rights traded to the Yarmouth Mariners. Clarke combined for 35 points in 65 games over the last two years to go along with 100 penalty minutes.
Tucker Makinen
The Herd picked up the hometown Makinen with their final pick of the 2023 QMJHL Draft. The Bedford native was a rookie with Dartmouth Steele Subaru U18 last season where he scored 18 points in 34 games as a left winger.
Mathis Laplante
Laplante is a 16-year-old right winger who was picked in the 10th round in 2022. He has a December birthday, meaning he was one of the youngest players selected in last year’s draft. Laplante picked up nine points and 50 penalty minutes last season with College Charles-Lemoyne.
Tully Grant
Grant is a free agent invite to camp after an 11 point season with the Truro Bearcats in the MHL. The 18-year-old forward was originally drafted by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the fifth round of the 2021 QMJHL Draft. He played one season with the Notre Dame Hounds prep program before playing for Cape Breton West in the NSU18MHL in 2021-22.
Tristan LeBlanc
LeBlanc was a key contributor with Dartmouth Steele Subaru in 2022-23 by scoring 12 goals and 23 points in 35 games. The Bedford, NS native parlayed his strong season into a free agent invitation from the Mooseheads and will look to make an impression at training camp.
Aidan Bent
Bent is a forward from Berwick, NS who scored an impressive 37 points in 35 games last season with the Valley Wildcats U18. He led the team both in scoring and in goals with 20 to help him earn a free agent invitation from the Moose. Bent is slated to move up to the Junior A ranks with the Valley Wildcats this season after his hometown team made him a fifth round pick earlier this summer.
Ryan Fletcher
Halifax also invited the highest scoring defenceman from the Valley Wildcats U18 program with 17-year-old Ryan Fletcher set to embark on camp this weekend. The Woodville, NS native put up 21 points in 30 games last season with the Wildcats and is expected to play in the MHL for the Truro Bearcats this season.
Keegan O’Neill
Forward Keegan O’Neill of Glace Bay, NS earned one of the nine free agent invites to camp after scoring nine goals and 23 assists for 32 points last season with the Sydney Rush. He was a seventh round picm of the Amherst Ramblers in 2022 and appeared in two MHL games with them last season.
Nik Mokriakov
A defenceman from Middle Sackville, NS, Mokriakov has played at the U18 level for both the Cole Harbour Wolfpack and the Halifax Macs. He tallied eight points in 35 games last season with the Macs. He is a free agent invite to camp and is property of the Cole Harbour Colts of the NSJHL.
Andrew Thompson
The 17-year-old Thompson is a defenceman who hails from Miscouche, PE and is slated to play for his hometown Summerside Capitals in the MHL. He’s a free agent invite who scored 11 points in 25 games with the Charlottetown Knights U18 team last season.
Ben Manos
Manos continues the trend of Weeks Majors U18 players coming to Mooseheads camp. He garnered a free agent invitation after a 10 point season and a solid playoff run on the blueline as he helped his team win the Atlantics en route to a berth in the Men’s U18 Club Nationals.
