The Halifax Mooseheads have defied the chances early on within the 2024-25 Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season after a profitable street journey with 4 wins and one loss as they put together to return to Halifax for his or her house opener versus their rival Quebec Remparts.
After opening the season with 4 consecutive wins, Halifax had their excellent file snapped by the Charlottetown Islanders to finish their street journey.
Mooseheads’s Quick Begin
New head coach Andrew Lord, in his first season with the membership, arrived in Halifax after teaching in Wales with the Cardiff Devils and in South Carolina with the ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits. He has inherited a younger retooling crew that opened the season with eight rookies.
Associated: Halifax Mooseheads Retool for 2024-25 Season
Headlining the rookie class is Daniel Walters, who was chosen 11th total by his hometown Mooseheads in June. Normal supervisor Cam Russell’s first main splash in his retool plan was a commerce that despatched the reigning QMJHL MVP Mathieu Cataford to the 2025 Memorial Cup hosts, Rimouski Oceanic, for a large haul that included first-round picks in 2024 (eleventh total – now Walters) and 2026 together with second-round picks in 2024 (thirty fourth total – ahead Caylen Blake) and 2026 and a 2024 third-rounder (forty eighth total).
Lord’s lineup ranks eleventh in age with a mean of 17.9 years previous. It’s because the crew is holding onto the utmost variety of over-agers attainable, which is an efficient stability with the various rookies, and including one other six sophomore gamers who nonetheless require steerage. One other hurdle Lord will face this season is that Halifax has one of many smallest groups bodily. Lord gained’t use this as an excuse. As an alternative, he has spent coaching camp and pre-season rallying the crew round crew play but in addition with a singular focus: to win.
“I simply assume it offers an excuse, proper? (Rebuilding crew). I imply, we have now to go in, and our mindset must be to win each recreation. There’s no level in eager about our age or, you recognize, what excuses there may very well be.”
Mooseheads head coach, Andrew Lord
Within the first 5 video games, Lord has seen enchancment on particular groups. The ability play (PP) sits at 25%, good for 10th total and practically a full proportion level above the 2023-24 success fee of 24.1%. In the meantime, the penalty kill (PK) has gone from 88.1% to 88.9%, which ranks second within the QMJHL. They’ve additionally been profitable at five-on-five with the seventh-ranked offence with 17 objectives for and the third-ranked protection with 9 objectives in opposition to.
These optimistic outcomes haven’t gone unnoticed because the Mooseheads have been taking pictures up within the Canadian Hockey League’s (CHL) Energy Rankings, now sitting at sixth. Regardless of dropping a number of key expertise in the course of the low season, Halifax is proving they’re nonetheless a pressure within the QMJHL.
Mooseheads’ New Core
The retool means a major shift within the core group. The Mooseheads will rely closely on their veterans till the rookies start to really feel assured of their recreation. Nonetheless, the most important contributor, and maybe the important thing to the season, would be the stellar play in aim by 20-year-old Mathis Rousseau. His 1.47 goals-against common and .947 save proportion not solely make the crew aggressive, however he supplies them with a security internet. His athleticism permits him to make spectacular saves and canopy up any defects within the crew’s defensive recreation. This may purchase Lord the time for his crew to settle into his defensive system.
Walters has one aim and two assists in his first 5 video games whereas enjoying on the crew’s second line. There are excessive expectations for this younger participant as he boasts terrific measurement for his age at 6 ft and 183 kilos. To this point, he has lived as much as his fame as a real two-way ahead with a really excessive and constant compete stage. His efficiency within the faceoff circle has proven flashes of brilliance, however will work on his consistency on this space. He has additionally proven he has good fingers and talent to make performs in tight areas in addition to robust defensive play, all abilities that may serve Halifax effectively this season.
Now Halifax will head again house, eat home-cooked meals, and for the primary time, play in entrance of their 10,000-plus followers who’re able to welcome again the QMJHL-leading crew. They may put their 4-1 file on the road for his or her house opener once they face off in opposition to the Remparts de Quebec who gained the QMJHL title on the Scotiabank Heart in Halifax two seasons in the past.