Two youngest Mooseheads off to U-17 World Hockey Challenge

HALIFAX – The Halifax Mooseheads pains are Hockey Canada’s gain with a couple of local young guns now off to Ontario to play in the under-17 World Hockey Challenge.

Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jared McIsaac are headed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. for the best-on-best tournament, with the two youngest players on The Herd off to an impressive start in their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League careers.

The 16-year-olds have both logged big minutes with Halifax so far this season, with Groulx also showing off the scoring prowess that led to his first overall selection in the QMJHL entry draft last summer.

Mooseheads play-by-play commentator John Moore said the youngsters continue to get better every game, but are still prone to making “rookie mistakes” against older skaters given the heavy body of work they’ve been handed.

“There are nights when McIssac…has had 20 plus minutes on the number one power-play unit,” he said, calling it surprising for a rookie, but added that both are responding to the challenges.

Moore believes the pair will be looked up to as leaders at the World Hockey Challenge that begins Thursday and runs through Nov. 5.

“They’ll be on the same playing field with everyone else, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be looked to for leadership and that they’ll have big impacts for their teams.”

With the pair missing from the lineup, Moore said the herd will likely call up a couple players to fill in.

Sixty-six players have been selected to represent their country at the tournament, with Canada having three teams participate, Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White, the defending the champion.

Groulx will be competing for Team Red and McIsaac for Team White.