But I am breaking my silence. With 2012 well underway now, there are a lot of things I am excited about.

WENT TO SEE BLUEJAYS AND A HOCKEY GAME BROKE OUT

Thrusday night sees the Toronto Bluejays Winter Caravan make a stop in Halifax. During the day, current Bluejays J.P. Arencibia, Brett Cecil, and Eric Thames will be joined by Hall of Fame secondbaseman Roberto Alomar to visit a local school and members of the Canadian Forces. Later that eveing they will host an autograph session prior to the Halifax Mooseheads game against the Drummondville Voltigeurs and be included in some on-ice ceremonies.

This combines two of my favourite things. While I really wish we could have had Ricky Romero and Brett Lawrie included on the tour, I am making sure to go get a baseball in the hopes I get a Robbie Alomar autograph.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE FOR THE MOOSE

Following Thrusday night’s game, the Mooseheads’ game againsty the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Friday is set to be broadcast nationwide on Sportsnet. This will be another opportunity for Canada to get a look at Halifax’s top prospect Nathan MacKinnon after he participated in the two QMJHL Super Series games. It may be a better opportunity to showcase his talents though, as he will be with the team he regularly plays with.

There still may need to be some time to build chemistry though. While Halifax was relatively quiet during the Christmas trading period, from now until the playoffs will give them the first real chance to have a consistent stretch with most of their complete forward roster in place. MacKinnnon’s new linemates shape up to be 2011 Q second overall pick Jonathan Drouin, who joined the team just prior to Christmas and Marty Frk, who also returned to the lineup from injury just prior to the Holidays. Frt and MacKinnon got a few games in together, but a nagging shoulder injury also sideline MacKinnon for a few of the games before the break.

DRAFT ELIGIBLE MOOSE

NHL Central Scouting released its mid-term draftig rankings on Wednesday, and the Moose have a number of players included.

Most notable is the aforementioned Martin Frk who has had his draft stock eroded somewhat due to a length stint on the injury list with post-concussion issues. He comes into the mid-term rankings at 25th amongst North American skaters, but back playing consistently with quality linemates should give him a great opportunity to climb the ladder.

Another Moosehead forward that missed significant time due to injury was Andrew Ryan who checks in at #64 (ranked 6th for the Q) in the draft rankings. A good run down the stretch and into the players could really help boost Ryan’s stock as well. At 6’2″ and 200+ lbs, Ryan already has a the frame NHL GMs would love to have on the roster. He has good hands and skating ability for someone with that size, so if he can put the package together he could be a nice pick-up for someone.

Falling down the list, but still included is Luca Ciampini. The Mooseheads first round pick last year, Ciampini struggle for much of the first half of the season after a quick start. He seemed to regain some one that early season production over the Christmas break, when he got a chance to play with Alexandre Grenier and Matthew Boudreault while a number of players were at international tournaments. It will likely take a lot for Ciampini to change the trajectory of his draft stock. He will have to prove he is more than a streaky point producer that has long dry spells in between.

Oh yeah, a guy named Grigo…something ‘er other from the Rempart was ranked second overall for NA skaters.

All in all, this is some exciting stuff to look forawrd to in the early part of 2012. Hopefully the world doesn’t end.

Mooseheads' Abeltshauser earned top defenseman and a birth for Germany at the 2013 World Juniors (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

Abeltshauser, the German captain, was named the tournament’s Best Defenceman and led the blueliner stats with seven points (1+6) and a +10 rating. The German rearguard’s only goal of the tournament couldn’t have come at a better time.

Late in their final game, Germany found themselves trailing Norway 3-2. The Junior Germans need to earn a single point from the game to qualify for the 2013 World Junior invite, but a loss to the Norwegian team would mean the Scandanavian nation would be in Ufa, Russia next Christmas. Abeltshauser got the tying goal with just under four minutes left to play and was on the ice for two late powerplay goals that put the game away for the Germans.

The victory has to be very meaningful for Abeltshauser in that he was able to lead is nation to an important victory on homeice. He will now liklely spend the holidays at home in germany before rejoining the Mooseheads. He will be a welcome addition back into the Halifax lineup as the teams’ defense core has missed the big German as well as Steve Gillard, who has been out with a concussion for some time.

The earliest we could see Abeltshauser back is the Mooseheads game against the PEI Rocket on December 27th.

Frk and Ryan will compete with the best draft eligible players from the CHL (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

Both Ryan and Frk have been slowed by injuries in this their draft eligible year. Frk, considered to be a consensus first rounder, returned to the Mooseheads in the past week from a preseason concussion. He was the leading scorer for Halifax last year and recorded his his first goal of this season Sunday against the Saint John Sea Dog.

Ryan is a pleasant surprise to be named to the team. Ryan is certainly a talent player with a tantilizing combination of size and skill. He was mentioned on the NHL Central Scouting’s list of top 25 skaters from the QMJHL, but not ranked due to his limited viewing. Perhaps it came into play that scouts wanted to see more of Rayn, and the Top Prospects game offers a great opportuity to do so against his peers.

On the flip side, teammate Luca Ciampini was listed as 25th on that same ranking, but has not been invited. Ciampini had a promising start to the year while playing on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Darcy Ashley, but has struggled of late. He had 16 points in the first 17 games, but has managed only four points in the last 16 games.

The Complete 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Rosters:

Team Orr (White):

Goaltenders:
Malcolm Subban (Belleville Bulls)
Francois Tremblay (Val d’Or Foreurs)

Defencemen:
Gianluca Curcuruto (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Matthew Finn (Guelph Storm)
Olli Maatta (London Knights)
Adam Pelech (Erie Otters)
Derrick Pouliot (Portland Winterhawks)
Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings)

Forwards:
Andreas Athanasiou (London Knights)
Francis Beauvillier (Rimouski Oceanic)
Raphael Bussieres (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Radek Faksa (Kitchener Rangers)
Mikhail Grigorenko (Quebec Remparts)
Tomas Hyka (Gatineau Olympiques)
Scott Kosmachuk (Guelph Storm)
Matia Marcantuoni (Kitchener Rangers)
Tanner Pearson (Barrie Colts)
Colton Sissons (Kelowna Rockets)
Chandler Stephenson (Regina Pats)
Lukas Sutter (Saskatoon Blades)

Team Cherry (Red):

Goaltenders:
Matthew Murray (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Brandon Whitney (Victoriaville Tigres)

Defencemen:
Cody Ceci (Ottawa 67’s)
Mathew Dumba (Red Deer Rebels)
Nick Ebert (Windsor Spitfires)
Slater Koekkoek (Peterborough Petes)
Ryan Murray (Everett Silvertips)
Damon Severson (Kelowna Rockets)

Forwards:
Martin Frk (Halifax Mooseheads)
Brendan Gaunce (Belleville Bulls)
Coda Gordon (Swift Current Broncos)
Charles Hudon (Chicoutimi Sagueneens)
Scott Laughton (Oshawa Generals)
Jarrod Maidens (Owen Sound Attack)
Andrew Ryan (Halifax Mooseheads)
Gemel Smith (Owen Sound Attack)
Dominik Volek (Regina Pats)
Thomas Wilson (Plymouth Whalers)
Nail Yakupov (Sarnia Sting)
Daniil Zharkov (Belleville Bulls)

The addition of Drouin, along with Frk, have helped vault the Mooseheads into the CHL Top 10 (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

Halifax has been on the edge of the National rankings for the past couple months, but were unable to be officially ranked. Following a 9-1 October that included a victory over the highly ranked Quebec Remparts, the team was able to garner Honourable Mention a couple times, but was still on the outside looking in. You could see the talent was there ad their time would come.

Frankly, I didn’t expect this to be the week the Moose were recognized amongst the CHL elite. Friday night, the Mooseheads suffered a 6-1 loss at the hands of the PEI Rocket, the last place team in the Q. Saturday, they dropped another in a 7-3 game against a Saint John Sea Dogs team that was without stars Jonathan Huberdeau, Zack Phillips and Nathan Beaulieu who had left for the Team Canada World Junior Hockey Championship selection camp.

The bounced back to defeat the Dogs on Sunday before adding another win against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Tuesday.

The fact that these rankings are strictly based on results or records, but on perceived strength of the team, may be how they’ve finally made the jump. I have to remind myself of that occassionally. Friday against the Rocket saw the return of last year’s leading scorer and probable 2012 NHL first round pick Martin Frk after suffering a concussion early in the year. Friday night also saw the team lose uber-rookie Nathan MacKinnon to a shoulder injury that kept him out of the weekend games. His loss could certainly account for a drop in performance.

Tuesday night saw another key addition, along with the return of Nathan MacKinnon. Jonathan Drouin, the second overall pick in this years Q draft behind only MacKinnon finally made his debut for the Mooseheads. The tardy rookie jumped right onto the team’s second line and tallied two assists, including on the game winner.

Combine the additions of Frk and Drouin with the temporary loss of MacKinnon and a depleted defense core, and there is certainly justification for the Moose to be in the top ten. With what seems to be a team on the upward trend, Halifax may be able to benefit from having played the fewest games of any team in the Q to date. I suppose I was a bit cynical by the fact the honour was delayed a bit.

Halifax will finish the unofficial first half of the season with a three-game road trip beginning tonight against the Titan before the Holiday break.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 13

1. London Knights (24-6-0-1)
2. Tri-City Americans (25-7-0-0)
3. Quebec Remparts (26-6-2-1)
4. Saint John Sea Dogs (26-10-0-1)
5. Plymouth Whalers (21-8-2-1)
6. Shawinigan Cataractes (23-9-2-2)
7. Kamloops Blazers (23-9-1-0)
8. Edmonton Oil Kings (22-8-1-2)
9. Kitchener Rangers (21-9-1-0)
10. Halifax Mooseheads (21-9-1-2)

Honourable Mention:
Moose Jaw Warriors (20-9-3-1)
Ottawa 67′s (18-9-3-1)
Victoriaville Tigres (21-11-0-2)

Drouin will hit the Metro Centre ice for the first time since last February's Canada Games (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

Jonathan Drouin finally joins the team after starting the year with his AAA midget team in Quebec. Drouin tallied 53 points in his 22 games for the Lac-St. Louis Lions, but it was less about his on-ice development that has him ready to take this step. Since being drafted, the highly touted left-winger has grown an inch and packed on more than 20 lbs to stand 5’10″ and 175lbs. The increased size and strength seem to have made the transition to the Q more comfortable for Drouin when facing physically mature 19 and 20 year-olds on a regular basis.

According to Matthew Wuest of the Metro Halifax, Drouin may find himself on the second line for his debut with Matthew Boudreau and Alexandre Grenier. This may help him feel comfortable as all three are from the west side of Montreal. Could this be Halifax’s version of the French Connection line.

The first line will also be getting a significant boost as Nathan MacKinnon returns to the lineup after suffering a shoulder injury Friday night against the PEI Rocket. MacKinnon sat out the home-and-home series with the Saint John Sea Dogs on the weekend as the team said the injury was not severe, but it was best to rest the team’s leading scorer.

For once, this season though, MacKinnon may be upstaged by the addition of Drouin.

Johnson, a 6’6″ guard from Iowa, averaged 15 points in two Halifax victories this week. His contribution was quality in addition to quantity as he had the game-winning basket on Thursday, Dec. 8th in a 97-96 win over Summerside while pulling down a tidy nine rebounds against the Storm. The Rainmen guard is averaging 12.5 points/game to along with 5.8 rebounds/game on the season.

This is the second time a player from Halifax has received this honour; Joey Haywood received the Player of the Week award last month.

Halifax hits the road for a pair of games this week; Thursday they visit the Quebec Kebs and Saturday travel to Oshawa to meet the Power.

Drouin will be sporting a Mooseheads Jersey as early as Tuesday

Drouin was the second overall pick in the QMJHL draft last June behind only Nathan MacKinnon who was selected by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar before being traded to Halifax. After Halifax failed in their bid to trade up to the top spot in the draft, the Mooseheads swung a deal to get the second pick and Drouin.

At the draft Drouin seemed happy about being selected by the Mooseheads and excitement about joining the club for the upcoming season. Sometime between June and August that excitement faded and turn into…nervousness? anxiety? apprehension?

Drouin informed the club of his decision not to attend training camp and remain home to play AAA midget with the Lac-St. Louis Lions.

The decision caught many off guard. In addition to the comments at the draft, most believed that Drouin had the talent to play and contribute right away in the Q.

During the summer, the Mooseheads acquired MacKinnon and were naturally excited about the future. The first and second overall picks in the draft were their’s, not too mention Zachary Fucale taken 11th overall and the first goalie although some had others rated ahead of him.

Perhaps, Drouin underestimated his own abilities as well as those of the Mooseheads and their young roster. A young team is expected to go through some growing pains. 2011/12 was expected to be a step back to prominence for Halifax, nut some may have been surprised at how big a step they’ve taken.

After a strong October that saw the Moose lose only once, and continue to okay solid into November, whispers began about Drouin joining the club. The speculation peaked when Drouin and members of his family visited Halifax in November to see the team and city and attended a game. Many believed he might join the club as Halifax made a road trip to his next of the woods in Quebec, but not so.

A groin injury briefly sidelined Drouin from play, but is subsiding and he’s apparently ready to take the next step in his development. Many felt it was stagnating playing AAA midget, as his talent was far above the competition. in 22 games for the Lions Drouin tallied 22 goals and 31 assists.

The addition acts much like a trade deadline move forgets Halifax Mooseheads, inserting a talented young forward onto a team already performing well. The big difference is they don’t have to give up anyone.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that consensus first round pick forth upcoming NHL Draft Martin Frk is expected to play his first game of the regular season Friday night. And Andrew Ryan has just recently rejoined the team after missing most of the season.

Halifax is making some huge additions to the lineup, without sacrificing any assets. Watch out for a strong stretch run from the Herd.

This happened five times Saturday night for the Q's second star of the week (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

One week ago, Hockey Canada released its roster for the World Junior Hockey Championship selection camp. Not on the list of 41 junior aged players invited to tryout? Nathan MacKinnon. Later that day, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League announced McKinnon as the first star for the week.

Fast forward to this week and MacKinnon is once again being honoured, this week as the QMJHL second star. After, what some dubbed “not his best performance” against Gatineau on Friday where he recorded one assist, MacKinnon almost single-handedly dispatched the Quebec Remparts scoring five goals in the 6-4 victory. The five goals in one game tied team record established in 2001 by Jason King. He finished the week with 5 goals, 1 assist for a total of 6 points and a +/- of +5.

Oh yeah, someone got first star, right?

That honour went to Rimouski Océanic defenseman Jérôme Gauther-Leduc. In two games, he scored 4 goals and added 3 assists for a total of 7 points. Tuesday, in a 6-3 win against the Gatineau Olympiques, he was awarded the third star after tallying 2 goals and 1 assist in a game that was totally dominated by his team in terms of shots on goal (53-13). Friday, against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, he was named the first star after scoring his 16th and 17th goals of the season. He also added 2 assists and thus equalled his personal record with a four-point outing. Rimouski won the game 5-4.

Finally, Quebec Remparts goaltender François Brassard collects the third star. Thursday, against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, he stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in a 7-1 win and was named the first star. He came close to recording his first career shutout, but was finally foiled by Logan Shaw at the 59th minute of the game. Sunday, against the PEI Rocket, he made 38 stops and was named the first star of the game. Brassard is currently sports a goals-against-average of 2.50 and a save percentage of .920.

MacKinnon's five goal performance led the Mooseheads to the win over the Rempart (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

The game featured some of the top young talent in the league, the country, and it could be argued the world: Duclair, Erne, Grigorenko, and of course Nathan MacKinnon. I had this game billed as a match-up between the two next potential first overall picks. While Grigorenko has closed the gap on Sarnia Sting forward Nail Yakupov in the race for the top spot in the next NHL Draft, MacKinnon is the leading candidate for the honour in 2013.

While Grigorenko flashed some of the skill that has him firmly entrenched in that debate, picking up a goal and an assist. MacKinnon stole the show and led the Moose to a 6-4 victory and took the season series from the Remparts.

The start of the game did not look so promising for Halifax. Despite taking the lead on a powerplay goal from Josh Desmond, Quebec responded quickly with two goals in 41 seconds to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Mikail Grigorenko setup Ryan Culkin for the first of the two, and tallied the second one himself.The Moose were outshot in the first period 18-6 and rookie netminder Zach Fucale made some nice saves to keep the deficit to only one.

But the momentum of the game slowly began to shift. MacKinnon potted his first on the night with a nifty (I think that is the first time I’ve ever actually typed that word) deflection off a feed from Alexandre Grenier. Remparts rookies Duclair and Erne each answered back to push the lead to two before MacKinnon brought it back to one prior to the end of the second, but the shot totals were beginning to even out.

Less than a minute into the final frame, the Mooseheads rookie took a pass from Cameron Critchlow and walked out from the corner and slid the hat-trick and tying goal by Remparts, and World Junior camp invitee, Louis Domingue. The Moosheads appeared to take the lead a couple times, but Josh Desmond had what would have been his second on the night called back due to the Remparts net being dislodged. That’s even despite the fact that it appeared Domingue was the one responsible for inadvertently pushing it off. The call on the ice was upheld after video review. It seemed like deja vu all over again after MacKinnon had a wrap-arond goal waved off a short time later. The net came off slightly on the play and that, or possibly because the ref didn’t see it cross the line, caused for it to be initially waved off. But this time after review, the Mooseheads had the lead.

With time winding down MacKinnon added his fifth on the night into an empty net and salted the game away for the Herd.

What seemed like it could have been a long night for the Mooseheads after the first period ended up being a game that will be remembered for a long time. Despite the victory and extraordinary performance by Nathan MacKinnon, Halifax showed some weaknesses. They were often pinned in the own zone and had trouble moving it out of the defensive zone smoothly. There were also a few times the puck was coughed up at the wrong time or place and led to Quebec turning the play back toward the Halifax net.

As Halifax climbs the ladder and begins looking toward the playoffs, a defenseman with the ability to move the puck smoothly and QB the powerplay could be on GM Cam Russell’s shopping list.

Halifax will hit the road for a game against PEI next Friday, and then play an important home-and-home with the league leading Saint John Sea Dogs Saturday and Sunday.

Two top prospects Nathan MacKinnon and Mikhail Grigorenko faceoff Satuday night at the Metro Centre (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

Much of the excitement for the game will be tied up in the head-to-head matchup of two of the brightest stars in the QMJHL. Mikhail Grigorenko and Nathan MacKinnon have a good chance at being the first overall picks in the NHL draft for the next two years respectively.

The two Q rookies are both in the top ten in league scoring and are virutally neck-and-neck with one another. Grigorenko is sitting in 6th in scoring with 46 points while MacKinnon is right behind him in 8th with 43 points. The Remparts’ Russian Rookie (x5 XP for alliteration) has played three more games than MacKinnon the Maritime Moose (I’m pushing it I know), making their points per game virtually the same:

Grigorenko – 1.53 ppg
MacKinnon – 1.59 ppg

Grigorenko was just named QMJHL 2nd Star of the month for November, while MacKinnon was just named the 1st Star of the week on Monday. The timing of MacKinnon’s honour held a certain level of irony as it was the same day that Hockey Canada announced the roster for the World Junior Selection Camp and chose not to invite the 16-year-old phenom. Of course that is despite the fact that only one other eligible player selected to the camp had more points in the Q. But let’s not stir that pot again.

In the previous macthups of the two, both super rooks have played significant roles. In the October 22nd game in Halifax, MacKinnon was in on every Moosehead scoring play, recording 1 goal and 3 assists, while Grigo had 1+1 in the 4-3 Moose win.

Grigorenko’s Remparts got their revenge at home in a 6-1 romp over Halifax on November 19th. The Russian posted another 1+1 in that game, while Nathan MacKinnon assisted on the only Halifax goal.

Quebec has been listed in the CHL National Rankings for much of the season. They have climbed as high as first overall and currently sit fourth in the country. The closest Halifax has come to being ranked in the Top 10 is an Honourable Mention a couple times following a strong 9-1 in October.

In actual OMJHL rstanding the difference appears much less. Quebec sits second overall behind the Saint John Sea Dogs, and Halifax is sixth, but holds the thrid best winning percentage in the league. To get over the hump, Halifax will have to start winning more of the games against top end opponents the Remparts.

The Mooseheads will have to avoid doing what I have done and look past the Gatineau Olympiques who are in town Friday night. On the other hand, I would imagine some from the Remparts may be in attendance as they are likely already in town after a dominating 7-1 performance over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Thursday.

If you want to see two of the best young hockey players on the planet, come on out to the Metro Centre Saturday night. There’s also a lot of great young talent I didn’t get to in this post.