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

U.S. assassination attempt charges 'confirm' Trudeau's claims about India had 'real substance,' former national security advisers say
The indictment of an Indian national for the attempted assassination of a Sikh separatist and dual U.S.-Canadian national 'validates' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations that the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen as having 'real substance,' according to two of Canada's former national security advisers.
Bonnie Crombie wins Ontario Liberal leadership after 3 rounds of voting
Ontario Liberals have selected Bonnie Crombie, a three-term big city mayor and former MP who boasts that she gets under the skin of Premier Doug Ford, as their next leader to go head to head with the premier in the next provincial election.
Trump calls Biden the 'destroyer' of democracy despite his own efforts to overturn 2020 election
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Saturday attempted to turn the tables on his likely rival in November, President Joe Biden, arguing that the man whose election victory Trump tried to overturn is "the destroyer of American democracy."
Search for runaway kangaroo in Ontario continues
The search continues for the kangaroo that is hopping around somewhere in Ontario after it escaped zoo handlers from a transport truck Thursday night.
What was a hospital like in medieval times? Researchers analyzed 400 skeletons to find out
In medieval times, hospitals took care of the 'poor and infirm,' but how were inhabitants selected and what were their lives like? Researchers analyzed 400 skeletons to find out.
James Webb Telescope confirms existence of massive dusty galaxy from early universe
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed the existence of a massive, dusty, star-forming galaxy which was first spotted years ago by a ground telescope, but was completely invisible to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Rocky planets may be able to form under more high-stress scenarios than previously known: study
A study of one of the most extreme, radiation-heavy environments in the universe has found that it might be possible for rocky planets comprised of water, carbon and other familiar molecules to form under far more intense circumstances than previously believed.
Teen girls are being victimized by deepfake nudes. One family is pushing for more protections
A mother and her 14-year-old daughter are advocating for better protections for victims after AI-generated nude images of the teen and other female classmates were circulated at a high school in New Jersey.
7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the southern Philippines and a tsunami warning is issued
A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck Saturday off the cost of the southern Philippines island of Mindanao and Philippine authorities issued a tsunami warning.