Word on the Herd – July 15th

• Yes it’s only mid-July but it’s starting to feel like the 2015-2016 season is getting close. The exhibition and regular season schedules have been out for some time now and pocket schedules are now available for Mooseheads fans to grab at Antlers store. The collectable fridge magnets will be out later in the summer. The week one training camp schedule was released this week as well. The players will congregate at Cole Harbour Place starting on Tuesday, August 11th which is only 27 days away believe it or not.

• There are definitely some roster battles on tap for the Mooseheads at training camp and it will be your chance to get a first hand glimpse at the latest additions like Arnaud Durandeau, Ilya Putintsev, Walter Flower, Otto Somppi and more. Practices and intrasquad games begin Wednesday, August 12th and are open to the public free of charge. If you take a look at our preseason roster you’ll notice the QMJHL is required to list the names of all eligible players but that obviously won’t be the exact group that we have at Cole Harbour Place next month. One name that stood out to me was Blake Fudge. Wondering who the heck that is? Well Fudge is the lone free agent invite to camp this summer since the team has such a large crop of players the system already. The Conception Bay South forward who will turn 17-years-old later this week produced eight goals and 15 assists in 24 games with the St. John’s Maple Leafs in Midget AAA last season and is known to have some grit to his game. Then there’s goaltender Ryan Huestis and forward Drew Packman who stand out as names not all fans will recognize. The Halifax area natives were both signed as protected free agents late last season by the Mooseheads. Packman excelled as the Captain of Stanstead College, a prep school in Quebec, while Huestis won the NSMMHL’s top goaltender award with the Cole Harbour Wolfpack and was named to the First All Star Team. Those are just a few names that I felt might need some explaining.

• I get the sense that most players will arrive at training camp feeling that they have a good shot at landing a spot on the team. There are so many new faces and not many roster spots set in stone which should make for some fun action on the ice in August.  Just look at the blueline where a few incumbents will need to battle hard to hold onto their spot. Guys like Mathieu Charlebois, Jordan Lepage, Walter Flower and others will be pushing hard to crack the lineup for sure. The returning forwards also have some youngsters to look out for with a big group coming to camp this year. I’m looking forward to the healthy competition because it makes everyone better.

• Details have been announced on the popular Mooseheads Preseason game in Truro. The Herd will face off with the Charlottetown Islanders on Saturday, August 22nd at 7pm at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre. This event serves as the biggest fundraiser of the year for Truro Minor Hockey and the Mooseheads are proud to be a part of it.  Tickets go on sale Monday, July 27th at the R.E.C.C box office for $10 plus applicable service charges. The Mooseheads box office will have a limited number of tickets as well.  Last year Sam LeBlanc scored in the seventh round of the shootout to give Halifax and exciting 4-3 win over the Sea Dogs in Truro. Hope to see you there.

• Looks like Mooseheads draft pick Ilya Putintsev has been hard at work this summer. I know fans are itching to see what this guy brings to the table.

• Construction is going full tilt here at Scotiabank Centre and by the sounds of all the noise being generated on the other side of our office walls they must be working hard at getting those seats installed which I think everyone is pretty excited about. We’re not even allowed to leave our office without an escort right now if that tells you anything about how much is going on inside the building. Bathrooms and concessions are two other areas getting upgrades. The game experience this fall is certainly going to be vastly improved.
• TWEET OF THE WEEK:
  This one comes from @aliiie19 – Yeah, we like that view too.