Wildcats Busy Preparing for 2025-2026 Opening Night
Published on September 30, 2025 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Moncton Wildcats News Release
There's a buzz in the air as the Moncton Wildcats prepare for Opening Night at the Avenir Centre this Saturday.
It started in the office of Natasha Ostaff, the general manager of business operations, a couple of months ago and spread quickly to the office of Ali Forbes, the director of media and game day operations.
Saturday, it will spill over onto the ice and into the stands when the Wildcats, the reigning Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League champions, entertain the rival Saint John Sea Dogs in their regular season home opener. Game time is 7 p.m.
"We're looking forward to it," said Ostaff, in her third season in the role. "We've been very busy in the summer putting events together. It means the season is on and we're busy preparing for the next event."
The Wildcats opened the season on a four-game road trip, including two losses in Newfoundland to the Regiment with a rookie-laden lineup; and a pair of dramatic wins over the Eagles in Cape Breton.
Before they get down to business with the Sea Dogs though, the Wildcats will celebrate. There's lots to salute: a record-wrecking regular season last year which saw the Wildcats win a team-record 53 games. A championship run which saw them capture the Gilles-Courteau Trophy as league champions. Captain Caleb Desnoyers, drafted fourth overall by the National Hockey League's Utah Mammoth, the highest ever draft choice in Wildcats history. Coach Gardiner MacDougall's selection as coach of the year in the entire Canadian Hockey League.
And oh yes, this: the beginning of the 30th season of Wildcats hockey and the promise of a new and exciting season of Wildcats hockey.
Saturday's festivities begin even before puck drop with a tailgate-style party in the oval outside the rink. The Mainlanders, a popular local band, will be playing beginning around 4 p.m. There will be family-oriented fun out front: bouncy castles, balloons, face-painting; and the debut of the Wildcats new "Hype Crew", 24 kids from ages eight to 16 who will interact with fans around the concourse and perform routines during home games all season.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the pregame ceremonies, including the raising of the QMJHL championship banner, accompanied by an impressive pyrotechnic display.
Marty Kingston, the voice of the Wildcats, will introduce the staff and players with the 2025-26 Wildcats, including team captain Caleb Desnoyers, still sidelined after offseason wrist surgery.
The 30th season of QMJHL hockey in the Hub will be mentioned and acknowledged of course, but it's a lot to fit into a ceremony that will run 15 minutes or so, with fans and players anxious to play.
The Wildcats will pay homage to their 30th anniversary at various points in the season, including a "1996 Night" later in October where there will be a look back at 30 years of QMJHL hockey in the Hub.
Also on deck later this season is "Scotiabank Hockey Day In Canada" with plans well underway for the January 17, 2026 broadcast on Sportsnet. It's actually a week-long celebration of the game.
"I'd say we're moving right along," said Ostaff, the co-chair of the event. Festivities will include a VIP reception earlier in the week, a dinner and "hot stove" conversation hosted by Ron MacLean of Hockey Night In Canada, an "alumni game' including NHL alumni, Wildcats alumni, and local celebrities and an all-day celebration on Saturday with events on the oval in front of the rink, including a parade, and of course, all seven Canadian teams in action on the ice: including the Montreal Canadiens at the Ottawa Senators; the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Winnipeg Jets; the New York Islanders at the Calgary Flames; and the Edmonton Oilers at the Vancouver Canucks. The Wildcats play that night as well - they host the Chicoutimi Sagueneens at 7 p.m. that night at the Avenir Centre.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from September 30, 2025
- Islanders Begin 3-In-3 in Shawinigan - Charlottetown Islanders
- Wildcats Busy Preparing for 2025-2026 Opening Night - Moncton Wildcats
- 2026 Prospect of the Week - Danai Shaiikov - QMJHL
- 2025-26 CHL Top-10 Rankings unveiled for Week 2 - QMJHL
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