Halifax Mooseheads to retire Nathan Mackinnon's number
Colorado Avalanche star player Nathan Mackinnon, is back home. MacKinnon’s number 22 will be retired Friday night by his former junior team, the Halifax Mooseheads.
“It’s awesome for the community, the franchise and the city,” said Rob Goudey, who has been an Avalanche fan all of his life.
Goudey is also a Mooseheads season-ticket holder, and he will be at Friday’s game when MacKinnon’s number is lifted to the rafters at Scotiabank Centre.
“It’s fitting because he’s a big game player,” said Goudey. “And he has ‘it’.”
The last time Maritimers saw MacKinnon in-person in Halifax was the summer of 2022 when he brought the Stanley Cup home for an exciting downtown celebration.
Jon Greenwood coached MacKinnon back in peewee and bantam AAA.
“It’s a great and unique experience that he was able to play here, win here and be remembered here forever,” said Greenwood, who added, this accolade may not equal a Stanley Cup championship, but it is still special.
“When you have jerseys retired, and numbers retired and statues built, that’s as high as it gets.”
Inside Scotiabank Centre, the number 22 is already splashed everywhere.
Team president Brian Urquhart also wants this ceremony to be a memorable occasion for the team’s loyal fans.
“What a great opportunity,” said Urquhart. “They watched so many highlights of Nathan’s in those two years. Tonight, will put a bow on everything from that standpoint.”
Urquhart also called this a circle of life moment.
MacKinnon grew up cheering for the Mooseheads, later playing for the team and leading them to a Memorial Cup Championship. Now, he has returned home to further cement his historic Halifax Mooseheads legacy.
For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Health care in Canada could be more like Norway's, with some improvements: study
Canada is trailing behind other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries when it comes to both the number of physicians relative to the population, and its spending on primary care, according to a new analysis published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Schools closed, more than 100,000 without electricity as snow falls in Quebec
More than 106,000 homes in Quebec are without electricity after Environment Canada reported nearly 25 cm of snow had fallen across the province.
Escaped kangaroo found safe after 3 days on the loose in Ontario
A kangaroo that escaped the Oshawa Zoo last week has been recaptured after more than three days on the loose, with one police officer sustaining minor injuries during the effort to apprehend the marsupial.
Israel orders evacuations as it widens offensive but Palestinians are running out of places to go
Israel's military renewed calls Monday for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
'Potent and impactful storm' on the way to B.C.'s South Coast, Vancouver Island
Heavy rainfall is in store for much of southern B.C. starting Monday, when a 'potent and impactful storm' is forecast to make landfall, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
11 bodies recovered after volcanic eruption in Indonesia, and 12 climbers are still missing
Indonesian authorities halted Monday the search for 12 climbers after Mount Marapi volcano erupted again, unleashing a new burst of hot ash as high as 800 meters (2,620 feet) into the air, officials said.
Serene Chinese boarding school named 'World Building of the Year'
A Chinese boarding school designed to let students unwind and “waste time mindfully” has been named 2023’s World Building of the Year.
Oxford University Press has named 'rizz' as its word of the year
Oxford University Press has named 'rizz' as its word of the year, highlighting the popularity of a term used by Generation Z to describe someone's ability to attract or seduce another person.
Dam threatens to burst in the Laurentians, residents evacuated from homes
People living in Chute-Saint-Philippe and Lac-des-Ecorces in the Laurentians are being asked to evacuate their homes due to potential infrastructure issues at the Kiamika dam and Morier dike.