Liam Kilfoil was walking into practice in the fall of 2023 when someone he didn’t know ran up and approached him.
This was not normal.
Kilfoil spent the previous two seasons playing hockey in New England. The first was as a member of Mount St. Charles’ 14-U team. For 2022-23, he moved to Salisbury to face older players in New England prep hockey. The only people running up to him on the walk into practice were a teammate or coach.
This time, however, it was a kid who Kilfoil didn’t know. The reason: He wanted an autograph.
“Really?” Kilfoil asked. “Me?”
That would be an odd request for a player in prep or full-season U-16 hockey. But Kilfoil opted to challenge himself again in 2023-24, signing with the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL. Autographs come with the territory.
Kilfoil just wrapped up his second season in Halifax. He has become accustomed to these interactions. In late April, a fan recognized him at the airport before boarding his plane for the U-18 World Championships in Frisco, Texas.
“It’s pretty crazy that way,” Kilfoil said.
Until last November, it was thought that most New England players wouldn’t experience this. Kilfoil had made peace with the fact he likely would never play in college because he chose the CHL despite initially wanting to play in the NCAA. A native of Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Kilfoil didn’t mind the move. Most New England natives, however, prefer college hockey.
But then the CHL ruling happened, opening that door and allowing players to play in the QMJHL, OHL or WHL and still be eligible for college hockey.
Others, for whom the QMJHL has regional rights, had these experiences this past winter when they jumped into the league midseason.
Many more are set to follow.
Deciding to go
When Matthew Krayer (Concord, Mass.) was drafted in the 14th round by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL draft last year, he didn’t pay it much attention. Dylan, his older brother, had committed to Arizona State. Eventually playing college hockey was the focus — going to Saint John was not.
Krayer was a standout with Mount St. Charles’ 15O team in 2023-24, amassing 32 goals and 79 points in 56 games.
He mulled whether to jump to junior hockey or not in the summer of 2023. Dylan was heading to the BCHL and he had technically mastered the level.
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“I was thinking about going (to the BCHL with Dylan) but I also thought why not go back to Mount and have a good year and then move on to juniors?” Krayer said. “So yeah, I wasn’t really thinking about the QMJHL.”
That dominance continued into his 16-U season with Mount St. Charles. By mid-December, he had 23 goals and 59 points in 35 games.
Around that same time, Saint John invited him up for a visit. He met with the coaches, caught a few games and toured the facilities.
“I loved it,” Krayer said.
The coaching staff told him that they might be calling him up for the rest of the season or deciding to just wait until next season.
Roughly a week later, Saint John general manager and head coach Travis Crickard called Krayer — they wanted him now.
“It was definitely super hard,” Krayer said of leaving Mount St. Charles. “I don’t love leaving a team in the middle of the year.”
His Mount teammate, Will Bent (Dover, Mass.), was doing the same thing around the same time. Bent had been an invite to U.S. National Team Development Camp in March of 2024. While he didn’t make the team, he was a third-round pick by the Tri-City Storm in the USHL Phase 1 Draft. He was also a 14th-round pick by the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL draft.
Bent, a Providence College commit, elected to go back to Mount St. Charles for his 16-U season. But in December, Halifax invited Bent up for a visit. He loved what he saw. Caylen Blake, a former Mount teammate, was a Moosehead as well. He was sold.
“It was just so sick,” Bent said.
Another person Bent reached out to was Jude Herron (Fort Kent, Maine), who moved to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders almost as soon as the CHL ruling became public.
Herron, a Maine commit, had lived in Prince Edward Island from when he was 2 years old until he was 7. He had a good experience at training camp in August of last year, so he knew that if ever given the chance, he wanted to play for Charlottetown.
Once he did, the Islanders seated Herron, then a 16-year-old, next to captain Marcus Kearsey in the dressing room. Every player on the team made their way over to Herron to introduce themselves.
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Devin Atkin, the Islanders' athletic therapist, told Herron that he was always there for him if he needed to be stretched out or anything from the trainer’s room. He showed him where the sauna and ice baths were.
“By the end of the first day, I already felt like it was my new family,” Herron said.
Krayer’s first QMJHL game came against Charlottetown on Jan. 3. He and Herron had numerous faceoffs against each other throughout the matchup.
“We were just laughing,” Krayer said.
It was a moment of reflection for the two New Englanders, suddenly diving into this new conquest. The moment didn’t last long, as more difficult days lay ahead.
On-ice adjustments
Matthew Krayer and his linemates were getting trapped in their own zone for too long. Krayer, as the center, thought he was doing things the right way — he was helping his defensemen and wingers try and win battles along the walls.
QMJHL hockey, however, was much different from 16-U hockey.
His coaches were quick to point out that because Krayer was helping out so much along the boards, he was getting beaten back to the middle of the ice, which created odd-man situations low in the defensive zone. The solution was to stay off the boards as much as possible and pick and choose times to jump in to help out. And when you do, make sure you’re able to get back to the slot.
“At the U-16 level, I would never think about staying off the wall as much as possible in the defensive zone as I did in Saint John’s,” Krayer said.
Another point of emphasis is stick positioning. Taking away passing lanes, cutting off angles and giving opposing puck-carriers less to work with are teaching points.
“You learn a lot about sticks when you get up there,” Bent said.
Adjusting to the level is difficult, especially coming from being one of the top players in U-16 hockey to being among the youngest playing with college-aged players.
Herron learned that the hard way. In his first game, which came against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, he got hit so hard he almost went over and into the bench.
“I got absolutely rocked,” Herron said. “I wasn’t scared or anything, but I was like, ‘I’ve got to step it up here. Welcome to the Q.’”
Along with the actual rocking comes the metaphorical rocking of realizing you’re no longer a top-end player, at least not yet.
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Kilfoil grew up a top prospect among the ’07s. He had 49 goals and 133 points in 62 games for Mount St. Charles’ 14-U team in 2021-22. He moved to Salisbury the following year and entered New England prep hockey with considerable hype.
When the 5-foot-11, 176-pound center moved to playing for Halifax, things were different.
“Growing up, I was always kind of the main guy,” he said. “First line, first power play — just kind of getting the opportunity all the way up. Then you come here at 16 and I was on a very good team and you’re competing with guys who are 18, 19 and 20 and been in the league for years.
“You’re just not getting that same opportunity as you were your whole life. It’s new. I’d never been in that spot before.”
Kilfoil had to adapt to make an impact. He began killing penalties. He focused on being more responsible defensively.
What came with that was less offensive production. Kilfoil had nine goals and 20 points in 62 games that first season with the Mooseheads.
“You’ve just got to understand that’s part of the process,” Kilfoil said. “If you’re going to play at 16, it’s very rare to be one of the top guys at 16.”
Herron, Bent and Krayer all experienced that this season. Herron went from 26 points in 22 games with South Kent’s 16-U team to 11 goals and 15 points in 40 games for Charlottetown. Bent had five goals and three assists in 28 games, while Matthew Krayer didn’t score his first goal until his 26th game. That was also his first QMJHL point.
“It was super hard trying to earn respect from my teammates and other players around the league,” Krayer said. “I just had to keep reminding myself that I’m playing junior hockey and I’m only 16 years old. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Krayer notched one more goal three games later, finishing the season with two goals and a minus-17 rating in 30 games.
“You’ve still got to enjoy it and stick with it and keep it in the back of your mind that it’s all going to pay off,” Kilfoil said. “The team is going to change. Guys are going to leave and you’re going to get older and be more experienced.”
That’s what happened for Kilfoil this past season. He scored 21 goals and tallied 46 points in 62 games while being named an assistant captain. NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 90 among all North American skaters for this upcoming draft.
“I obviously would like to be a captain one day,” Kilfoil said.
Life off the ice
On Dec. 31, Herron was in Moncton for a game against the Wildcats. He had heard that New Year’s games in the QMJHL were a big deal.
He got his first glimpse of it when he skated onto the ice for warmups, and most of the arena was full, doing the wave.
“I’m looking around,” Herron said. “I’m not even warming up. Just like, ‘Wow, this is unreal.’”
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A recorded total of 8,524 people were in attendance. High attendance is far from unusual in the QMJHL.
“I was at Salisbury thinking that our student section was a lot of people and that was like 400 people,” Kilfoil said.
While daunting, the fans can also offer motivation.
“You’d think that the crowd would make you a little nervous,” Herron said. “But I really like it because it made me feel like I need to perform better for them.”
That fandom carries away from the ice. Fans regularly wait outside the rink to get autographs. They occasionally go up to them in public.
“That happens all the time,” Kilfoil said. “In Halifax, it’s crazy how we’ll see people everywhere. We get recognized all over and asked for signatures and all that.”
One day, Herron and his parents were eating at Pür and Simple, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast and lunch. The waitress knew who he was and mentioned how her kids didn’t just love the Islanders, but that Herron was their favorite player since he frequented Pür and Simple.
Fortunately for the waitress' family, Herron’s mother had a hockey card of her son to give away.
“They were super excited,” Herron said.
Islanders fans often come down near the locker room to try and get pictures and autographs. Charlottetown regularly has autograph nights that have lines that go throughout the arena.
“It’s so cool just being able to have that and feel like a celebrity,” Herron said.
A less glamorous part of the QMJHL life is school, which teams do differently.
For Krayer in Saint John, practices and workouts are in the morning. After lunch, players have to do at least three hours of school. The whole team gathers in a room and does school online with an in-person teacher to offer assistance. While the majority of players opt for school online, some choose the option of going to Saint John High School. Herron has a similar setup in Charlottetown. He chose to do school online.
“It’s actually better than most people think,” Krayer said.
Kilfoil and Bent, however, have a more traditional school experience, which can be rare in the QMJHL. They attend school in person at a local public high school. Their three to four classes that they take are in the morning. However, they typically miss the fourth period of the day to head to practice.
“It’s good to get in school,” Kilfoil said. “I’d rather (go in person) than online, so I’m glad they make us do that.”
Once at practice, the facilities are high-end. Halifax has a practice rink and a game rink. The practice rink is conveniently located near the billet houses. It comes equipped with a cold tub, a training room and a big gym.
“Pretty much anything you can think of,” Bent said.
Next season, the Scotiabank Centre, where the Mooseheads play their games, is set to be upgraded with a new locker room, hot tubs, lounges, a bigger training room and more offices.
“It’s pretty crazy what they’re doing there,” Kilfoil said.
Charlottetown only has one rink, but it comes with everything: a workout spot across from the locker room, along with a sauna and cold tub next to the showers.
“It’s extremely nice,” Herron said.
Word has spread about the facilities and life in the QMJHL. Even though it’s a road most New England prospects weren’t considering less than a year ago, times have changed.
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More locals are now reaching out to QMJHL players since the season ended.
“I’ve had a lot of people text and call me and my parents as well,” Herron said. “Parents are calling my parents and just asking about the experience. People are showing interest in it.”
