Defenceman Owen Phillips, left, and forward Reece Pietzsche were the Halifax Mooseheads' top two picks in this year's QMJHL draft. They're shown on the first day of training camp at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth on Sunday - Eric Wynne/Chronicle HeraldBeing drafted by your hometown team is one thing but taking the ice wearing the jersey is a whole other deal.
Like any first-time camper, Phillips admitted to his share of butterflies on opening day but made some composed plays and had a solid overall showing in the morning intrasquad game. Beaver Bank's Pietzsche is trying to play his way into a spot on the fourth line, where there are at least two openings. There are nine full-timers back from last season's forward ranks, as well as off-season signee Brody Fournier who will suit up as a 19-year-old.
"Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I would go out with a bunch of Q guys from Bathurst and some other teams around the league to get ready for this," he said."It was great because those guys are all bigger, stronger and faster so it really helped get me ready for the hitting and the speed today. Defenceman Mathieu Taillefer had a strong first day but he isn't expected to stay in Halifax for the season. He wants to keep his NCAA options open for now and his Quebec midget AAA team is also hosting the 2023 TELUS Cup so the plan at the moment is for him to return to that level for the year. Taillefer was ranked as potential first-rounder for this year's draft but slid to Halifax in the fourth because of the uncertainty about his future.