Local players to play in QMJHL Cup this weekend: Cape Breton Sports in Brief for Oct. 8, 2026

Three Cape Breton hockey players will represent Nova Scotia in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Cup this weekend in Moncton.

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Goaltender Dylan Mombourquette of L’Ardoise, as well as defenceman Linus Braun of Baddeck and forward Asher Sampson of River Bourgeois, will wear the Nova Scotia colours at the event.

The three-day event will feature teams from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The teams will be made up of top-ranked QMJHL prospects from each province.

It provides an opportunity for QMJHL scouts to get an early look at some of the prospects available for the 2027 entry draft, which will take place next June in Victoriaville, Que.

Nova Scotia will open the event on Friday at 7:15 p.m., against P.E.I. The Nova Scotians will play Saturday at 9:15 a.m., against New Brunswick, and 5 p.m., against Newfoundland and Labrador. The remainder of the team’s schedule will be determined after Saturday’s games.

Nova Scotia has won the last three QMJHL Cup titles after beating Newfoundland and Labrador 7-1 in the final last year in Moncton.

Several Cape Breton hockey players will be on the ice this Thanksgiving weekend to represent Nova Scotia at the annual Atlantic Challenge Cup in Moncton.

In the under-14 male division, defenceman Max Gouthro of Sydney River and goaltender Trace Tanner of Coxheath will suit up for the province.

In the under-14 female division, defender Macey MacPherson of Sydney and forward Rory Stockley of Catalone will be part of the Nova Scotians for the tournament.

In the under-15 male division, defender Marty MacLeod of Sydney River as well as forward Ethan Marche of Sydney Mines, Kellan Buckley of Coxheath, Lincoln MacDonald of Inverness, and Nole Romard of Belle Cote will wear the province’s colours at the event.

Elise Angione of New Waterford will be the lone Cape Breton player on the under-16 female team.

Each tournament will run Friday to Sunday and feature teams from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

A Cape Breton Eagles prospect has signed a Standard Player Development Agreement with a team in the United States Hockey League for the 2027-28 season.

Defenceman Nick Ware officially signed an agreement with the Omaha Lancers, the team announced on social media on Monday.

The 16-year-old defenceman was a fourth-round pick, No. 68 overall, by Cape Breton at the QMJHL Entry Draft last June. He’s also an eighth-round pick, No. 107 overall, by Omaha in the USHL Futures Draft in 2026.

Ware, who attended the Eagles training camp this year and reassigned in August, appeared in 31 games with Belmont Hill School last year, posting 23 assists. He also had four goals and 23 points in 28 games with the NV River Rats under-15 AAA team.

The Weymouth, Mass., product has played two games with the Lancers this season, posting no points.

Cape Breton Eagles captain Will Murphy was named the Cape Breton Eagles student-athlete of the month for September.

The defenceman is currently enrolled in the business administration program at Cape Breton University in Sydney.

The 19-year-old Detroit Red Wings prospect recorded four goals and eight points in 38 games during the 2025-26 Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League season.

Murphy is currently out of the Eagles lineup with an injury, but the club is hopeful he will be able to return later this month.

All 18 teams in the league select a student-athlete of the month each month during the season.

For the first time this season, the Cape Breton Eagles were not ranked in the Canadian Hockey League top 10 rankings on Tuesday.

Cape Breton had been ranked in the league’s top 10 since the pre-season and were ranked No. 5 in the country last week.

The drop comes after the Eagles were defeated 4-3 in a shootout by the Saint John Sea Dogs last Friday at Centre 200 and beat the undefeated Moncton Wildcats 4-2 last Sunday in Sydney.

Quebec (2), Moncton (6), Saint John (7) and Rimouski (10) were the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League teams included in the rankings.

Other teams include Guelph (1), Victoria (3), London (4), Medicine Hat (5), Spokane (8), and Sudbury (9).

Cape Breton will make their first visit to the province of Quebec this season when they hit the road for games against Chicoutimi on Friday, Quebec on Saturday, and Sherbrooke on Monday.

Two Cape Breton players were on the winning side of Australian Football League (AFL) Canadian Club Championship last weekend in Halifax.

Lacey Bellefontaine of Albert Bridge and Steph Lewis of Sydney Mines were part of the Atlantic Pirates, who defeated the Ontario Loons 16-9 in the women’s championship game at Mainland Common Field on Sunday.

The Pirates posted an undefeated 3-0 record in the preliminary round of the tournament, defeating the Loons 27-1, West Coast Kookas 25-13, and the Quebec Saints 9-3.

On the men’s side, Sanford Warren and Daniel Henick were members of the Atlantic Pirates at the tournament. The squad posted a 0-3 record in the tournament, losing 14-13 to the Edmonton Wombats, Quebec Saints 29-14, and the Halifax Dockers 55-0.

The Halifax Dockers won the men’s championship, knocking off Quebec 61-2.

A Cape Breton product recently attended the Chicago Blackhawks main training camp.

Defenceman Cavan Fitzgerald was invited to the NHL club’s training camp and was reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League on Sept. 22.

The 30-year-old, who considers himself to be a product of Lingan, began his 2026-27 AHL season recently. He has no points and a -2 rating in one game with the IceHogs this season.

In 37 games with Rockford last year, Fitzgerald posted two goals and seven points along with a -8 rating and 51 penalty minutes. He was an assistant captain for the club.

Two players with Cape Breton Eagles connections were traded in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League on Sept. 21.

Goaltender Marc-Olivier Pilote, who was invited to attend the Eagles’ training camp in August 2025, was traded from the Victoriaville Tigres to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens for a 12th-round pick in 2028.

The 17-year-old Pilote, who was reassigned from Eagles back one year ago, was invited to attend the Tigres training camp this year.

Meanwhile, former Eagles draft pick Alexandre Carbonneau was dealt from the Gatineau Olympiques to the Sherbrooke Phoenix for a seventh-round pick in 2027.

The 20-year-old has played three seasons in the QMJHL between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Olympiques. In 181 career games, Carbonneau has recorded nine goals and 28 points.

A former Cape Breton Eagles player has suffered an early injury in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.

Forward Émile Ricard of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens suffered a forearm injury late last month and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks of action, according to the Quebec-based team.

The 18-year-old played a season-and-a-half with the Eagles from 2023 to 2024, before being traded to Chicoutimi, where he won the Gilles Courteau Trophy as the QMJHL champion last season.

In 51 games in Chicoutimi last year, Ricard had 11 goals and 37 points. He also added two goals and six points in 19 playoff games. He also appeared in the Memorial Cup.

In two games this season, Ricard has two assists along with a -2 rating and two penalty minutes. He’s committed to the NCAA’s University of Nebraska-Omaha for the 2027-28 season.

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