Ranked No. 1, Halifax Mooseheads' toughest challenge could be managing expectations

In his previous position coaching the Halifax Mooseheads, Cam Russell found himself on the opposite bench of the man who is now the team's head coach — and he wasn't a fan of him.

"Coaching against Eric [Véilleux] when he was in Baie-Comeau and Shawinigan, I couldn't stand the guy," said Russell, who's been the general manager of the Mooseheads since 2008.

"Typically, it's those guys that have success, the guys who get under your skin. He always had a team that competed, played hard, played physical. They played 60 minutes every night, so you always knew you were in for a battle."

And it's for those reasons that Russell is thrilled to have Véilleux coaching the Mooseheads this season. Véilleux was named the head coach in May after the team turfed Jim Midgley after one season.

Véilleux is an acclaimed head coach, having won a Memorial Cup in 2012, as well as taking the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to the QMJHL finals in 2013 and 2014.

The stakes are high for the Mooseheads this season. The team will be hosting the 2019 Memorial Cup, so it's guaranteed a spot in the four-team tournament that brings together the winners of the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The tournament winner will be crowned Canada's national junior champs.

The Mooseheads play their third game of the season Friday night in Cape Breton and enter the game undefeated.

They are coming off a strong season in which the team finished fourth in the regular season, but were swept by the Charlottetown Islanders in the second round of the playoffs. The team lost some key players, including Filip Zadina, who was drafted sixth overall in June by the Detroit Red Wings, and Otto Somppi, a Finnish player who will play in the Tampa Bay Lightning farm system this season.

Russell has actively beefed up this year's squad, making three trades that brought in four veteran players. Three of the players, Samuel Asselin, Antoine Morand and Jordan Maher, played on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last year where they won the Memorial Cup. Russell said it was important to bring in some guys with that experience, who also offer skill, character and leadership.

The newest trade addition is Ostap Safin, 19. He played last season for the Saint John Sea Dogs and scored 58 points, fourth among rookies in the league.

"I love his size," said Russell. "He's six foot five, 200 pounds. He's a world-class player. He played in the World Juniors last year. He's got tremendous skill and great hands and he's a hard guy to handle down low."

Russell said that while the team doesn't appear to have a superstar on its roster like Zadina or former Moosehead Nico Hischier, the team is stronger as a whole.

Joel Bishop, a fourth-year forward, thinks the team has improved since last season.

"I think we have a highly skilled team and we're very deep from line one to four," he said. "Our top six D are really good, too. I think we're a little bit ahead of last year and it's going to be a fun year."

New coach is 'pretty intense,' says player

He thinks Véilleux is a great coaching addition.

"He's pretty intense and he's a really good teacher … I've had four coaches in four years and this is probably one of the best I've had," said Bishop.

One of the unusual challenges the Mooseheads face this season is their first 15 games are on the road because of renovations taking place at the Scotiabank Centre. While it will mean more home games later on the season, Russell said this should give the team time to "mesh and bond."

'We're going to hit some lows'

Russell said the biggest challenge the team faces is managing the lofty expectations that are being thrust on it.

The team is ranked as the No. 1 team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).

"There's going to be points in the season where we're going to hit some lows and we're not going to win games and we're going to have injuries and other obstacles that come our way," said Russell.

"Our biggest challenge probably is making sure our players don't get too high, don't get too low and keep their focus on the task at hand and not think too far ahead."

The Mooseheads have one previous Memorial Cup win, which came in 2013 when the team was led by stars such as Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin.