Latest news with #HalifaxMooseheads
CBC
13 hours ago
- Sport
- CBC
These teens have been friends forever. Now they'll try to make the Mooseheads together
Social Sharing A few rounds after he was picked third overall in the recent QMJHL draft by the Halifax Mooseheads, defenceman Malik L'Italien was at the team's table speaking with one of the team's players. L'Italien was telling forward Shawn Carrier about how he'd love Halifax to draft a speedy forward from Montreal named Jayden Napon. As L'Italien made his case, he heard the name Jayden Napon announced over the loudspeakers. Excited, he spoke to the team officials. "I was just, like, so happy," said L'Italien. "I was like, 'Did you guys just draft him?' They didn't know he was my best friend." L'Italien and Napon, 16-year-olds who share the same birthday, first met more than a decade ago and are longtime best friends who have often played on the same teams. "I was so happy because the Mooseheads is the best organization and I knew I was back with Malik, so that's why now I'm working so hard to hopefully make the team next year," said Napon. The pair have chemistry from years of playing hockey together, but that bond was also built playing intense games of "mini sticks" indoors, where participants play on their knees and use tiny plastic hockey sticks. "We were kind of cheating," said Napon. "Me and Malik, we were putting ourselves together against his brother and another guy, so we were really strong." Birthday tradition The bond also came from sleepovers and hanging out together. Given the shared birthday, it's a tradition to celebrate at L'Italien's home and then at Napon's on the next day. This past season, Napon played midget AAA hockey for the Laval-Montréal Rousseau-Royal, while L'Italien played at Stanstead College, a Quebec prep school just north of the Vermont border. Napon, who is 5-10 and weighs 160 pounds, is a left winger who can score. L'Italien, who is 6-2 and 190 pounds, is an offensive defenceman comfortable anywhere on the ice. "He's dangerous, like, he moves so well and has a great shot," said Napon. While they can't be linemates, they'd love to be able to share the ice together with the Mooseheads. "I think we're a bit of a cheat code, I would say," said L'Italien. "And because we know each other … we know, like, the plays we're doing and stuff." While L'Italien is a lock to make the team, Napon, a fifth-round draft pick, has a tougher path forward. But the opportunity to again play on the same team as his best friend gives him extra motivation.
CBC
09-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
'Feels like my mom was in the building': For this Moosehead, Fight Cancer Night is personal
For the second straight season on the Halifax Mooseheads' annual Fight Cancer Night, Braeden MacPhee has found a way to honour his late mom. MacPhee's mom, Jolene Conway, died of cancer in April 2023 at the age of 46. MacPhee, a 20-year-old forward from Moncton, N.B., scored his team's first goal on Saturday night on the way to a 2-1 comeback win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. "It just kinda has some relief off the shoulders and it feels like my mom was in the building with me, which is always really special," he said. MacPhee also scored at last season's Fight Cancer Night game. The cancer night games raise funds and awareness for all types of cancer, and the purple jerseys players wear for the night are auctioned off. Halifax Mooseheads goalie Jacob Steinman, 20, joined the team last month in a trade. He said that while he's still getting to know his teammates, he knew what the game meant to MacPhee. "I know this night means the most, [it's] the biggest thing to him," said Steinman. "And just for him to score was just unbelievable to watch and especially just to win." The Mooseheads had a slow start, only getting their first shot on net about 15 minutes into the first period. The team was trailing 1-0 until MacPhee's goal with about one minute left in the second period gave the team a spark. MacPhee was named the first star of the game, earning a rousing ovation from an announced crowd of 8,300. His mother only told him and his younger brother about her cancer diagnosis a couple of months before her death. She wanted them to focus on sports. Her obituary noted Conway's passion for her kids' sporting activities. "She had a kind and generous heart and was always willing to help others," it said. "Her positive outlook on life and infectious smile will be deeply missed by all who knew her." MacPhee said his mom always told him to look at the bright side of things. "It's a missing part of my life, but she would want me to keep working hard, keep chasing after my dreams," he said. "And that's exactly what I'm gonna do."
