MacKinnon, Drouin ruled out for Halifax

Wednesday, 03.06.2013 / 2:49 PM

By Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer / 2013 NHL Draft blog

Share with your Friends


2013 NHL Draft blog
MacKinnon, Drouin ruled out for Halifax
      Jonathan Drouin, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL

The Halifax Mooseheads will be without top 2013 NHL Draft prospects Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon on Wednesday when they face the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at K.C. Irving Regional Centre in Bathhurst, New Brunswick.

Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell confirmed to NHL.com via e-mail that both forwards have been ruled out for the game. The Mooseheads are riding a 10-game winning streak.

There was a slight chance MacKinnon, No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, would return to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 8. The 6-foot, 182-pound center has missed the past 10 games with a lower-body injury.

"Right now it looks like a return on March 11 [at home against Acadie-Bathurst] is possible," Russell told NHL.com. MacKinnon is third on the team with 69 points, including 28 goals, in 41 games.

Drouin, the No. 3-ranked prospect on Central Scouting's midterm list, also is out with a lower-body injury. Drouin currently leads the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 98 points, including 39 goals, in 45 games.

"Jonathan's injury is not serious," Russell wrote.

Halifax has seven games remaining in the regular season and needs just six victories to equal the league record for most wins in a single season. According to Patrick King of Sportsnet.ca, the all-time mark for wins in a season is 58, shared by the Sorel Eperviers (1973-74), the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (1978-79) and the Saint John Sea Dogs (2010-11).

---

NHL.TV™ › SHOP.NHL.COM › NHL AUCTIONS › FOLLOW ON: FACEBOOK TWITTER