The Mooseheads walked into training camp with a strong core that leaves very few spots up for grabs on their team. Going into training camp, it appeared that there would be at least one player make the team that isn't quite a QMJHL caliber player. The original training camp roster can be found here:
Mooseheads adjust training camp roster
However, since training camp started there have been a few players that have stepped up to the plate and shown they are ready to contribute for the Moose. The root of all the pre-season rumblings in Halifax has been Dominic Beauchemin, a 19 year old forward who lit the Quebec Midget AAA league on fire last year, who has impressed almost every source that saw him this pre-season. Head Coach Dominique Ducharme even singled him out as an "impressive" player after the first two pre-season games. He had to be returned by August 20th to meet a Quebec schooling deadline, so it appears he has made the Mooseheads roster.
There is lots more training heads being turned by players coming from Ontario, where free agents Max Lindsay, Randy Gazzola and Mackenzie Weegar and draft picks Brian Lovell and Liam Alcade have all made their presences felt in training camp. Alcade and Lindsay are both late-blooming physical forwards who are well-suited for energy line roles. Weegar, Gazzola and Lovell are all offensive defensemen who posted great numbers last year and are impressing in camp. They are the favourites for the two open spots on the Mooseheads back-end. The other standout for the Mooseheads was Jonathan Lacroix-Courville, the highest draft pick from this year to report to camp, and he has played with a lot of energy, doing all the things you would like to see out of a QMJHL fourth liner.
The Mooseheads training camp roster has gone down from 49 to 33 since the start of training camp, Benji Gaudet, Nicolas Iodice and Thomas Flynn were all no shows. Brett McNeil, Willie Macdonald, John Mullaly, Kyle Kavanugh and Max Daigle all left to keep NCAA eligibility, and then the Moose cut Luke Warner, Mike Molloy, Alex Scully, Anthony Cardinal, Craig MacLaughlan, Nick Parker, Phillip Fife and goaltender Marc-Olivier Daigle. Yesterday Mitchell Henneberry and Brennan Bailey were cut as well.
The up-to-date roser can be found here: Two more cuts leaves Mooseheads’ roster at 33
The spots that remain genuinely up for grabs are the final two defense slots, which I feel will be filled by Josh Desmond and Brian Lovell, and for the 2 forward spots remaining I feel Max Lindsay and Jonathan Lacroix-Courville will win those spots. In nets, it is set that Zach Fucale and Anthony Terenzio will be the Mooseheads goalies, with Chris Clarke likely being the call-up.
Keep posted for pre-season game reports, most likely following the September 9th game against Cape Breton.
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