Mooseheads History

Pat Connolly
           

              As the Halifax Mooseheads enter their 12^th season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League they continue to write a story unparalled in the history of the game in Atlantic Canada. The story of a visionary idea that became a dream, and with the support of a major sponsor that provided the substantial financial requirements, became a reality. The visionary was Harold MacKay, then regional sales manager for Moosehead Breweries who believed in 1993 that the time had come to secure a major junior franchise for Halifax in the QMJHL. His research had disclosed that the league was receptive to his idea of bringing a Maritime team into the fold. Quebec league president Gilles Coutreau encouraged MacKay to further explore the possibility of adding Halifax for the 1994-95 season while also advising him that it would be an expensive undertaking. Gaining the approval of existing teams in a tight geographical area would probably involve granting concessions for travel expenses and other considerations. 

            Given the enormity of the startup costs, it was a high-risk venture in an uncertain market. After an unprofitable 23-year experience with the American Hockey League in Halifax that had produced three Calder Cup championships with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1972, ’76 and ’77 and later affiliate teams of Edmonton Oilers and Quebec Nordiques, there were question marks about the viability of a junior franchise. But MacKay believed the time had come and after the final AHL season in 1992-93 began his serious pursuit with the financial backing of Moosehead Breweries President and CEO Derek Oland, whose personal passion for the game helped to influence his decision. It was a judgment vindicated by a team that has drawn 2.5 million fans.

            After considerable negotiations, the Mooseheads franchise was born and developed in time to open the 1994-95 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season that ranks high among the most memorable in team history. MacKay’s first important signing was Clement Jodoin as Coach and General Manager which provided the team with instant credibility. Jodoin was a youthful veteran of the NHL, AHL and Canadian college ranks who was well and favorably known in the area as coach of the Halifax Citadels in the city’s final AHL season. He was also well connected in the province of Quebec, a vital area for recruiting prospects for the new team and immediately hired a scouting staff headed by Denis LeBlanc in Quebec and Donnie Matheson in the Atlantic provinces, both of whom produced some minor miracles in putting together the first training camp roster.

            Without the benefit of many high draft selections in the 1994 QMJHL pool and not a lot of skilled players in the expansion selections made available, Leblanc and Matheson did a remarkable job of identifying undrafted players and other free agents from junior A leagues who might be helpful. The results were far beyond original expectations and the end result was that the upstart Mooseheads made the playoffs in their first season, finishing ahead of both established teams Victoriaville and Val d’Or with a 24-42-6 record for 54 points in 72 games. Moreover, the Herd came within an eyelash of pulling a major upset in the opening playoff round by taking the first place Beauport Harfangs to a full seven games before bowing out.

            The season produced many surprises and individual heroes, two of whom, Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Jody Shelley have gone on to NHL careers, their numbers retired and sweaters raised high in the rafters at Halifax Metro Centre. Giguere was selected in the 1994 Expansion Draft and the Mooseheads first choice in the Midget Draft Etienne Drapeau played just 105 games with 60 points before fading into a trade. Other major contributing players in that first season included Brant Blackned (45-52-97 pts), Mario Dumolin (23-51-74), Stephane Larocque (28-48-76) and present Mooseheads Marketing Director Derrick Pyke (20-22-42) on a team that otherwise needed a little offence from a lot of players to accumulate an overall total of 257 goals. Most important for the franchise in that first year was that a team of which little was really expected came together as a highly entertaining group that drew a remarkable 135,657 fans for a 36-game average of 3,768, far exceeding the most optimistic forecasts of experienced observers. It was not to be a one, two or three-year wonder in the manner of previous junior experiences in Halifax that enjoyed relatively brief flirtations in the spotlight before disappearing. Like the original Halifax Canadians of the 1930’s, St. Mary’s of the ‘40’s and Junior Canadiens of the ‘60’s who flourished for short periods but never managed to hold the public attention they probably deserved. In all likelihood it was a matter of marketing, something the Mooseheads did well to attract their target markets, beginning with the teenage audience the professionals had mistakenly overlooked over the previous two decades.

            The 1994-95 season provided more than surprises and excitement, like solid evidence of a team with a future that created a new atmosphere in Metro Centre, the birth of Moosemania that would sweep the city and areas for the next decade without interruption. The first playoffs attracted just over 24,000 fans, an average of 8,000 for the three games against Beauport, most of whom were back for the 1995-96 season, a large number as season ticket subscribers.

            Mooseheads improved rather dramatically in their second season, even though their overage player limit had been reduced to three from the five permitted an expansion team. Giguere returned as a more seasoned goaltender behind a relatively inexperienced defence with the departure of some veterans. Dependable Chris Peyton, the first of a large contingent of Newfoundlanders who would wear Moosehead colours, anchored the backline and the team introduced two young prospects on defence, Fred Belanger who would play 272 games with the team, and Didier Tremblay who played the next 163.

            The offence was spearheaded by two players acquired in trades the previous season, centre Eric Houde from St. Hyacynthe and Fredericton native David Carson who was acquired from Seattle (WHL), each with 40 goals, team captain Nicolas Maheux who chipped in with 27 and then joined the Halifax Fire Department, Jan Melechercik, the first of Mooseheads two European players along with defenseman Elias Abrahammson, tallied 16, Daniel Payette 19 and power play anchor Peyton had 21 goals and 53 points. The team moved up to a fourth place finish in the Dilio Division with a record of 32-36-2-66 points but won only one of six playoff games in a round-robin format.

            That set the stage for an incredible 1996-97 season, one that began with the drafting of the Mooseheads famed “Kid Line” of Alex Tanguay, Jason Troini and Eric Laplante, three 16 year olds with surpassing skills and charismatic presence that made them almost instant fan favourites. Combined, they produced a total of 156 points and 384 minutes in penalties in a remarkable rookie season and played key roles in the Mooseheads moving up one more notch for a third place finish in the Dilio behind Victoriaville and Shawinigan with a franchise best 78 points. Still, it was a collection of veterans who provided the balance to carry this team further in the playoffs than anybody might have imagined. With Giguere producing the kind of heroics in goal that often results in major upsets, Marc Chouinard (24-49-73), Frank Sassville (37-36-73), and with Jamie Brown (14-26-40) and late addition Jeff Sullivan (4-23-27) combining with Captain Jody Shelley (25-19-44) to handle the physical assignments with a combined season penalty total of 1,040 minutes the Mooseheads began a dramatic playoff run.

            First, they disposed of Beauport three games to one, and then stunned the highly favored Shawinigan Cataracts in seven games before taking Chicoutimi Sagueneens to another seven games in the Division final.

            But the ultimate upset was not to be - the Mooseheads lost the deciding game as well as their head coach Jodoin who moved up the hockey ladder to become assistant coach of the Montreal Canadiens. By the time the 1997-98 season began, there was a new man behind the Mooseheads bench, former NHL 50-goal scorer Danny Grant of Fredericton who directed the operation for one season with assistant coach Shawn MacKenzie retained in a dual capacity as assistant coach/general manager.

            The new season also brought many player personnel changes, with some of the veterans moving on through the age factor, a rebuilding program began that would cause a fall in the standings but not at the gate where the momentum of the ‘97 playoff hysteria continued to build. Fans accepted the nature of the junior hockey business, that teams go through a natural replacement process and ticket sales continued to climb, with an average of 5,349 in the third year. The on-ice product continued to be entertaining and natural regional rivalries were beginning to form as the Moncton Alpines were admitted to the Q in 1995-96 and the Granby franchise became Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in time for the 1997-98 season.

            Gone from the Mooseheads were principal stalwarts like Giguere and Shelley, leaving leadership gaps and a goaltending problem that would not be resolved, resulting in a slide to a 5^th place finish in the division and a quick first round playoff exit in five games to the Rimouski Oceanic. But the fans kept the faith and season attendance rose again to an average of 6,428, a four-year total of 714,000 that became the talk and envy of most other teams in the Canadian Junior League from Prince George, B.C. to Cape Breton.

Believing the team needed more experienced direction, Mooseheads hired former Hull and Sherbrooke coach Bob Mongrain as GM/Coach after securing the right to host the 2000 Memorial Cup and added one of the most exciting players in team history, left winger and European draft selection Ladislav Nagy who led the way to an electrifying ’98-99 season with 71 goals and 55 assists for 126 points and a second place finish in the Dilio division, the highest in franchise history. The goaltending situation was resolved with the addition of Russian Alexi Volkov and a fine rookie named Pascal Leclaire who would grow to rival Giguere and follow him eventually to the NHL as a Columbus draft pick. But the team suffered a serious setback after only 31 games when Alex Tanugay, on his way to a career season with 27 goals and 61 points, suffered a concussion that would sideline him for the rest of the season. Sophomore Brandon Reid, a huge fan favourite as a small centre who played like a giant, had a fine season with (32-25-57 points) and two popular veterans completed their fine careers with the team, Haligonian Billy Manley who played 229 games with 150 points and swift skating Alexander Mathieu who completed 207 games for 158 points and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins. But the Mooseheads had another quick and disappointing playoff, losing their first round series to Bathurst Titan four games to one, still producing their second highest average attendance mark in history for the season, 7,862 and a five-year total of just under 1 million.

The 1999-2000 season was marked early by a flurry of moves designed to develop a top contender for the Memorial Cup playoffs at the Metro Centre in May of 2000. With Nagy and Tanguay both gone, the Mooseheads needed to acquire more scoring and grit and after much negotiating throughout the league finally did business with Bathurst and Val d’Or. Both deals would later prove to be controversial, costing the franchise a piece of their future for immediate help but deals that had to be made at the time for Memorial Cup competition. Still, Halifax added two outstanding players from Bathurst in Ramzi Abid who scored 158 points including 67 goals in the regular season, and scrappy winger Jules-Edy Laraque who provided a large measure of character to go with his considerable skills. Then Mooseheads reached into Val d’Or to reclaim a player they had traded two years earlier, Benoit Dusablon who had found his scoring eye with the Foreur and finished the season in Halifax as fourth top scorer in the Q (135 points). Still, the playoff woes continued and Mooseheads were again eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Rimouski in four straight games. With a five-week wait to host the Memorial Cup, Halifax replaced head coach Mongrain with assistant Shawn MacKenzie who did an excellent job of getting the team back on track. Assistant coach Fabian Joseph was joined by long time NHL defenseman Cam Russell of Dartmouth, recently retired from the Colorado Avalanche, and the new coaching consortium put together the pieces and formulated a game plan that very nearly created an upset at the nationals. Coach MacKenzie made a bold decision to turn the goaltending over to the 17-year old Leclaire and the youngster seized the moment with brilliant performances as the Mooseheads stunned even their most loyal supporters with victories in their first two games of the round-robin, beating the WHL champions Kootaney Ice and the OHL titleholders Barrie Colts, with Ramzi Abid scoring hat tricks in each game. But the Moose failed again in game three against their old nemesis, Rimouski Oceanic, then lost their second and semi-final game against Barrie as Rimouski went on to capture the Memorial Cup for the QMJHL. Overall, the tournament was a smash success, setting new attendance records for the classic and firmly establishing Halifax as a world class site for major hockey events. That success played a large role in securing the 2003 World Junior Championships for the city, another international message that the Mooseheads had created what is now ranked among the two or three best junior hockey markets in the world. But the nature of the business is that things change, on the ice and in management and the Mooseheads were ready to separate the coaching and general managers portfolios for greater efficiency.

            Team President Ken Mounce, in one of his last major decisions before retiring after heading the organization for five years, succeeding MacKay who had moved on to another business, scored a ten-strike with his selection of a new general manager, Marcel Patenaude, a 37-year old veteran of 20 years in the business as an assistant and head coach, chief scout, technical advisor and more latterly Director of Operations for the QMJHL, was the choice. With impeccable credentials and reputation as an astute judge of talent with a personal book on every prospect available, Patenaude quickly established himself in Halifax. His first decision was to appoint head coach MacKenzie to the permanent position, retained Russell and added Chris Donnelly as an assistant when Joseph left to become head coach of the Dalhousie University Tigers.

            The 2000-01 season began without such glittering individual stars as Reid, Abid, Tanguay and Nagy and leadership fell to seasoned team veterans like defenseman Ali MacEachern, Brandon Benedict, Robbie Sutherland, Pascal Leclaire, Nick Greenough and Jules-Edy Laraque who became team captain in his final junior season and the team added two talented Europeans, defenseman Milan Jurcina and winger Sergei Klyazmin who scored 33 goals and 61 points. When it appeared that the Mooseheads would need more experienced goaltending to help with Leclaire’s development, Patenaude acquired 19-year old Dany Dallaire who became number 1 with his best career opportunity. But the biggest breakthrough among returning players was made by an 19-year old Newfoundlander named Jason King.

            Confined to bench duty for most of the previous season, King got ice time in the Memorial Cup playoffs and played well, leading to a permanent spot in the 2000-01 season in which he delivered 48 goals and 89 points. The kid from Grand Falls was a driving force for a team that lost 12 of its first 13 games, and then finished the season first in the Dilio’s East Division before stumbling again in the first round of playoffs, losing four games to two to their friends from Rimouski in what was becoming a regular pattern. Yet in a year in which little was expected in the aftermath of the Memorial Cup, much was accomplished, most of all the development of younger players.

            By the 2001-02 season, there was another changing of the guard as Kevin Cameron, former provincial player, coach and executive-director of the Atlantic Universities Athletic Conference returned to the city to succeed Ken Mounce as club President and CEO - another experienced voice in the front office who has a clear understanding of the game and business and who resigned from an attractive job with the Canadian Olympic Association in Toronto for the challenge of the job and the lifestyle of a province for his family that he learned to love growing up in Antigonish. The on-ice product began to look more like a Patenaude creation through some choice late round draft selections and remarkable trades that produced immediate results. From blue chip prospects like defenseman Alexander Picard, forwards Marc-Andre Bernier, Francois-Pierre Guenette and goaltender Jonathan Boutin along with Jean-Francois Cyr who was acquired via trade later in the season. But it was King who continued to shine and enjoyed a monster season, 63 goals, 36 assists for 99 points, that propelled him into becoming a 2002 draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks and spot duty in the NHL in 2002-03.

            It was also another remarkable season for the team, with 90 points, second in the division behind Bathurst with 99 but third overall in the league. Again their destiny was to meet Rimouski in the first round of playoffs but this time Mooseheads prevailed in a tight, tough series, four games to three. Then they ran into a Cape Breton Screaming Eagles team that had roared down the backstretch of the regular season as the hottest team in the league, knocking off Baie Comeau Drakkar in five games of their first playoff series and then beat the Mooseheads four games to two in claiming provincial bragging rights.

            The building process continued for Halifax in 2002-03 as the results of some shrewd decisions were becoming more evident. The team got out of the blocks quickly and continued to improve as the season progressed. Brandon Benedict became the ninth captain in team history, a well-deserved tribute to a young man in his fifth and final season, all with the Mooseheads, a steady contributor whose quiet demeanor belied a sense of responsibility and total commitment to his first and only junior team. He continued to show consistency in his graduating year with 26-50-76 in 72 games for an overall career points total of 303 in 343 games, an average of about a point-a-game over the five years.

            Benedict was the principal catalyst in Mooseheads amassing their highest points total in history, 101, and a second place finish in the Dilio division and in the League overall. They also showed an ability to win away from home, with 19 of their 44 victories away from the friendly confines of Metro Centre, a Moosehead hallmark in most of their first nine seasons. In 640 regular season games, Halifax has won 122 of their total 319 victories on the road, a 43 per cent record enviable in any league and evidence of consistent strength of character.

            The 2002-03 team was carefully crafted, obtaining a proven scorer in Thatcher Bell from Rimouski via trade and the P.E.I. native who had missed much time with injuries in the previous two seasons, essayed a fine comeback by putting up impressive numbers (36-46-82) to finish with a QMJHL career total of 303 points. Marc-Andre Bernier and J.F. Cyr, each had 29 goals and the impressive QMJHL Rookie of the Year Petr Vrana ended with 37. 18-year old F.P. Guenette exploded for 38 goals and 87 points in a career breakthrough. GM Patenaude acquired experienced goaltender Guillaume Lavallee in trade at modest cost, a move that paid rich dividends as the 19-year old posted 20 victories with a 3.13 goals against average in 43 games and then performed playoff heroics, 15 wins with five shutouts and an average of 2.72.

            By the January trading deadline, Patenaude was faced with the question of whether it was best to stay with all of the young prospects or to prepare for a Memorial Cup run. Mooseheads decided on the latter course and pulled off a highly controversial and complicated trade with Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in which Halifax acquired high scoring centre Stuart MacRae, power play defenseman Steeve Villeneuve and tough winger George Davis. In return, Cape Breton gets Moosehead youngsters Bernier, Guenette, Cyr and defenseman Alexander Picard for the 2003-04 season after which Bernier, Guenette and Picard return to Halifax and Villeneuve is returned to Cape Breton in December of 2003.

            The deal enabled Mooseheads to make a determined playoff run that carried them to within one game of the Memorial Cup playdowns and all three acquisitions played important parts. MacRae contributed 40 points in 30 regular season games and 24 in 23 playoffs. Villeneuve was solid and chipped in with 16 playoff points and Davis gave the team respect.

            Optimism ran high as the playoffs opened and Mooseheads obliged their fans by performing as expected in the opening round, knocking off the Screaming Eagles, but then were faced with two brutally played seven game series before getting past Bathurst and Baie Comeau, rated the best overall team in the league. That set the stage for what appeared to be a relatively easier match-up with Hull Olympiques for the President’s Cup but a combination of Hull momentum in the playoffs and Moosehead exhaustion proved to be the difference. After stealing the first game of the series at Metro Centre, the Olympiques gave up the acquired home ice advantage in game three at Hull as the Mooseheads romped to victory and moved on to take a 3-2 lead after five. But the Herd was running out of gas quickly, dropping the sixth game in Hull and the deciding game at home and, as in the spring of ’97, had come to within one game of the Memorial Cup prize so coveted.

            For the 2.5 million fans who have watched the Mooseheads over the last 9 years, part of the fun and excitement is watching young players develop, some of whom have gone, some to greatness, in the NHL. In that development aspect, the 2002-03 Mooseheads produced the most number of players (6) ever taken in the NHL draft, Petr Vrana in the second round by New Jersey, Marc-Andre Bernier in the second round by Vancouver, Alexander Picard in the third by Philadelphia, Jonathan Boutin in the third by Tampa Bay, Jimmy Sharrow in the fourth by Atlanta and Francois-Pierre Guenette in the seventh by the Vancouver Canucks who seem attracted to Mooseheads after their successes with Brandon Reid and Jason King. Add Giguere, Pascal Leclaire, Eric Houde, Jody Shelley, Ryan Flinn, Carlyle Lewis, Alex Tanguay, Alexandre Mathieu and Marc Chouinard to an impressive list of graduates. 

     2003-2004      

The 2003-04 season for the Halifax Mooseheads can best be described in one word, disappointing. For the first time in the 10-year history of the team, Mooseheads failed to qualify for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league playoffs, never able to recover from a sputtering start in which they lost the first 6 games of the season and won but 3 of 17 through the months of September and October. 

          Because of the loss of so many veteran core players from the team that lost the 2002-03 Q championship series in seven games to Gatineau Olympiques, it was a season in which 14 new players including five 16-year old rookies were introduced into the lineup. Consequently there were not great expectations but still it was what team management and fans hoped could at least earn a playoff spot but the pieces never fell into place to meet the challenges. A disastrous slump in the last dozen games of the schedule wrote an early end to the learning curves for the youngest team in the league. Summed up, a season with a bad start and bad finish and not enough in between.

          In the final analysis, Mooseheads won only 17 and tied 6 while losing 44 of the 70 games, scored a scant l94 goals while giving up 274 for a winning percentage of 24.3, lowest since the first-year Herd in l994-95 won 24 games and tied 6 for a 33.3 success rate. Still, it was a season with many upsides, most of all the development of the young players including a couple  who blossomed into stars in difficult circumstances, encouraging signs for the 2004-05 season. Chief among the most developed were goaltender Jason Churchill of St. John's who played  the season behind a  mostly young and inexperienced defence yet survived to become the 9th ranked goaltender in the 2004 NHL amateur draft.

          Another star to emerge was David Brine of Truro, acquired in an off-season deal with Quebec Remparts who finished with 22 goals and 47 points, second only to leading scorer Daniel Sparre who counted most of his 38 goals and 68 points as a Victoriaville Tigre before becoming a Moosehead in January. Brine was also among the top defensive players on the team, excellent penalty-killer and rated among the top face-off centres in the Q. Churchill and Brine, along with youngsters like Justin Saulnier, Kenzie Sheppard, Jimmy Sharrow, Jan Steber, Freddie Cabana, Franklin MacDonald, Ryan Moore, James Pouliot, Justin Minden and Jean-Francois Brault appear to be the cornerstones of the future Mooseheads.

           A major reason for the Mooseheads decline over the season was a debilitating injury suffered by team captain and leading scorer Petr Vrana. Despite having to play with a shoulder that required after season surgery, Vrana put in a courageous year, still managed to contribute 38 points while playing at about 60 per cent efficiency. With the shoulder repaired and a new professional contract with New Jersey Devils signed, Captain Petr will be healthy again by September. It was also the farewell junior season for overagers Randy Upshall and Bobby Clarke as well as George Davis, and long time Moosehead Derrick Kent was traded early in the season to the championship-bound Gatineau Olympiques.

          Despite the trials and tribulations of a difficult season, the young Mooseheads remained hard working and entertaining and their grit was appreciated by loyal Moosemaniacs who continued to lead the league in attendence with a season average of 7,601, the identical number  from the exciting 2003-04 season in which the Herd made their unfinished run to Q glory. General Manager Marcel Patenaude prepared for training camp in August by re-signing head coach Shawn MacKenzie and assistants Chris Donnelly and Patrick Dallaire to new contracts. Assistant coach Jim Bottomley left to become General Manager/Coach of the new Halifax Wolverines franchise in the Maritime Junior A League while continuing his association with the Mooseheads.

           The 2003-04 season was also marked by a change in majority ownership when Moosehead Breweries decided to withdraw after 9 years of development to focus their business resources exclusively on a growing product export market based in Saint John. The torch was passed to North Sydney native and frequent Halifax visitor Bobby Smith, long time NHL star player with Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars and former General Manager of the Phoenix Coyotes.

          Transfer of majority ownership was a smooth transition with minority ownership shared mostly to Metro business interests unchanged. Smith is also recognized by his peers as a progressive thinker and astute businessman who has now committed himself to the ongoing health and development of the Mooseheads franchise.

          The picture for the 2004-05 season looks bright indeed with a healthy Vrana, the return from Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of defenceman Alexandre Picard and top forwards F.P. Guenette and Marc-Andre Bernier and the developing class from the spring of '04. Along with at least five other teams, the Mooseheads will be ranked among the top contenders again in what promises to be a most interesting new season.

           2004-2005