PEI·NewIt’ll be a new season and a new schedule, but there will be many familiar faces when the Charlottetown Islanders take to the ice Friday night. QMJHL squad’s home opener is Friday night against HalifaxStephen Brun · CBC News · Posted: Sep 19, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoCharlottetown Islanders head coach and general manager Jim Hulton says his roster of returning players ‘raises the bar of expectations, both in-house and from our fan base.’ (Jane Robertson/CBC)It’ll be a new season and a new schedule, but there will be many familiar faces when the Charlottetown Islanders take to the ice Friday night. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League franchise opens its 64-game regular season against the Halifax Mooseheads at home in the Eastlink Centre. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. AT. It’s a chance for the Islanders to start fresh after exiting the first round of last season’s playoffs thanks to a sweep at the hands of the Rimouski Oceanic. This year’s squad features a host of returning players, so the atmosphere on the ice and in the locker room is one of optimism. “Experience and size are the two big differences this year. Finally some of the pains of our labour are going to pay off,” head coach and general manager Jim Hulton told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin. WATCH | � What fans can expect from the Charlottetown Islanders this season: What fans can expect from the Charlottetown Islanders this seasonThe Charlottetown Islanders open the regular season on home ice at the Eastlink Centre Sept. 19. This year, there are some changes to the schedule. CBC’s Louise Martin speaks with the team’s general manager and head coach, Jim Hulton, about what fans can expect this season. “What I hope it does is it raises the bar of expectations, both in-house and from our fan base. “I think the fans are sick of hearing about rebuilds and about the future. The future is now, and I think we have to step up to the plate and put a product on the ice that wins on a nightly basis.”Fewer, but longer, Quebec tripsThe players’ experience and maturity should come in handy when it comes to the team’s slightly revised road schedule.This year, the Islanders will make fewer but longer road trips into Quebec. Instead of the usual four trips of three games each, the new schedule includes three forays of four games. The new QMJHL season will also feature twice-annual trips to a new province. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan relocated from New Brunswick to their new home in St. John’s, N.L., for this season. Charlottetown makes its first visit to face the new Regiment team next weekend, and it will mark a homecoming for four Islanders players who hail from Newfoundland. “That’s exciting for us. For our kids in particular, it’s a chance to see what the pros do — get on an airplane and go, and it avoids a long bus trip,” Hulton said. “I think it’s a bucket-list item for everybody in our country to go, and not only that but there’s a lot of spice to the rivalry.” The Eastlink Centre was empty during the Charlottetown Islanders’ practice Thursday, but the stands should be full for the team’s home opener Friday night. (Jane Robertson/CBC)The Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which oversees the QMJHL, has also been navigating the fallout from a recent eligibility change south of the border. In November 2024, the NCAA Division 1 Council voted to make CHL players eligible to play NCAA Division 1 men’s hockey. The change officially came into effect on Aug. 1. Before the change, players had to choose between playing in the CHL or the NCAA — a choice typically made in their mid-teens. Now, CHL players can leave for the American collegiate system once they meet certain criteria set out by the NCAA, such as graduating from high school.But Hulton said, aside from a handful of marquee players who left for the U.S. system, many teams across the QMJHL have actually seen an increase in American recruits. “I think we’ve won more on the entry level than we lost on the exit. A lot more of the young players now are open to coming, the American players in particular,” he said. “A lot of the kids, in particular from New England, wouldn’t consider coming up here because it would jeopardize their NCAA eligibility. That’s no longer the case.” ‘It’s not just winning and losing’Competing with a wealthy U.S. collegiate system, however, does come with some challenges for small-market Canadian teams like the Islanders. WATCH | How this Charlottetown Islander is giving back to his hometown:How this Charlottetown Islander is giving back to his hometownRoss Campbell is bringing Souris to Charlottetown on Friday. He’s donating Islanders tickets to families in the Souris Minor Hockey Association and to Souris Regional School. The assistant captain tells CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin what inspired Ross Campbell Night.Hulton said teams will have to do a better job of recruiting players and selling their programs, and a big part of that is the facilities they have to offer. That’s why he has his “fingers and toes crossed” that proposed upgrades to the Eastlink Centre come to fruition. “When you’re talking about the all-encompassing issues of players, it’s not just winning and losing on the ice. It’s player development, it’s strength and conditioning, it’s nutrition, it’s education,” Hulton said. “A lot of these things are happening under one roof now in a lot of facilities, so it’s a challenge to keep up.” ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen Brun works for CBC in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Through the years he has been a writer and editor for a number of newspapers and news sites across Canada, most recently in the Atlantic region. You can reach him at stephen.brun@cbc.ca.With files from CBC News: Compass
Charlottetown Islanders set to kick off hockey season with more maturity, size on the ice
