Mooseheads’ coach eyes more success as pre-season action continues

Hockey is back in Halifax.

The pre-season is underway for the Halifax Mooseheads as the club prepares for its 30th anniversary season.

Halifax has yet to get a win in two exhibition games against Maritime division rivals, but that’s not a concern for the head coach.

“The majority of our camp has been rookies,” said head coach Jim Midgley. “There’s nothing to be alarmed about, we have four games left here and it’s an evaluation process.”

Cuts will have to be made as the Mooseheads expect to have a core of last season’s strong team back this year. The Mooseheads fell to the Quebec Remparts after a magical run to the QMJHL finals. Midgley says goalie Mathis Rousseau and MVP Jordan Dumais will be back, along with all six members of the defence.

Midgley said most of the returnees will be back with the club after Labour Day, as they were given a little extra time given the long playoff run last season.

“They had a great season last year and we’re looking to build off the experience returning players gain last season,” Midgley said. “It’s always good to learn how to win and obviously they were real close last year to going to a Memorial Cup.”

For Midgley, it’s a blast from the past as the 45-year-old gets set for his second stint as head coach in Halifax. After being let go after one year with the Herd five years ago, Midgley has coached overseas and spent two years with the NHL’s New York Rangers as Gerard Gallant’s assistant coach.

The Mooseheads’ next preseason game goes Friday night at 7 p.m. against the Islanders at Dartmouth’s RBC Centre. Tickets can be found at the Mooseheads’ website.