Cam Russell said he was caught completely off guard when Samuel Dube left the team last week.
The Halifax Mooseheads general manager was in the middle of a typical day when word got back to him the third-year forward was packing up and heading back to Europe
"He really didn't get into many details, he just felt his game would be better back in Germany," Russell said. "He wanted to return home and play there."
Dube, 18, was Halifax's first-round pick (12th overall) in 2018 and had eight points in 33 games as a rookie. He put up 12 points in 44 games last season, although he missedtime both seasons with recurring blood clots. He had one assist in four games so far this year.
Russell didn't know which team Dube was going to play for in Europe and said everything happened so fast he never had a chance to explore the possibility of a return to Halifax.
"We honestly didn't discuss it," Russell said. "His wish was to leave and go back home and that was as far as it went. He didn't feel comfortable here and wanted to be home so we're not going to hold him back."
A silver lining is Dube's departure opens the door for rookie William Robitaille. The 17-year-old centre had a strong training camp but couldn't quite carve out a spot on the team. He was the Mooseheads' seventh-round pick in 2019.
"This one feels good because he was the last guy cut in training camp and it was a tough year to make it because we had such a competitive camp," Russell said. "It's always hard to send a player home you feel could've stayed and played, so it's nice to reward him. He was thrilled. He would've walked here. He's quarantining now and we'll see him in two weeks."
There's little doubt Robitaille will get his share of ice time when he ultimately lands in the lineup. The Mooseheads are struggling to ice a full complement of forwards game to game, in part because key players Senna Peeters, Atillio Biasca and Zack Jones are still ineligible to enter Canada under the current COVID-19 travel restrictions, but also because of injuries.
Forwards Kyle Petten, Cole Foston and Alexandre David are all dealing with day-to-day ailments and aren't expected to play on the weekend so Russell has had to rely on call-ups more than usual so far early in the season. Sonny Kabatay and Ethan Landry will be added to the roster for the next two games.
On the plus side, captain Justin Barron should be ready to play his first game of the year and that will give the team a huge boost. The fourth-year defenceman missed the first six games after having a minor corrective procedure on his shoulder in September.
"We're 99 per cent sure he'll be playing Friday and Saturday," Russell said. "He's been in great shape for six months so it's not like he's been out with an injury that's kept him from training. He's been able to skate and work out so he should be ready to play regularly."
The Mooseheads (2-3-1-0) have back-to-back road games against the Cape Breton Eagles (2-4-0-0) on the weekend.
Notes: Goalie Alexis Gravel will be done his quarantine on Friday and will start training and practising with the Mooseheads after that. ... The New Brunswick government gave the Moncton Wildcats clearance to resume games on Wednesday after a recent COVID-19 flare-up in their area of the province. The Wildcats had to postpone two games. ... The 12 teams in Quebec will remain shut down until at least Wednesday because of an increase of cases.
