Laval Rocket

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Laval Rocket
2023–24 AHL season
City Laval, Quebec
League American Hockey League
Conference Eastern
Division North
Founded 1969; 55 years ago (1969)
Home arena Place Bell
Colours Red, white and blue
              
Owner(s) Molson family (majority owner)
(Geoff Molson, chairman[1])
General manager Vacant
Head coach Jean-Francois Houle
Captain Gabriel Bourque
Media English:
AHL.TV (Internet)
TSN 690
French:
RDS
91.9 Sports
Affiliates Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Trois-Rivières Lions (ECHL)[2]
Website rocketlaval.com
Franchise history
1969–1971 Montreal Voyageurs
1971–1984 Nova Scotia Voyageurs
1984–1990 Sherbrooke Canadiens
1990–1999 Fredericton Canadiens
1999–2002 Quebec Citadelles
2002–2015 Hamilton Bulldogs
2015–2017 St. John's IceCaps
2017–present Laval Rocket
Championships
Division Championships 1: (2020–21)

The Laval Rocket (French: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play their home games at Place Bell.

The franchise was previously based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, as the St. John's IceCaps.

History

On July 11, 2016, the AHL and the Montreal Canadiens announced that they would be moving their affiliate to the Montreal suburb of Laval for the 2017–18 season.[3] A name-the-team contest was held from July 11 until August 31, with Patriots, Rapids and Rocket as the final three. On September 8, the winning Laval Rocket name was announced, a tribute to Canadiens' legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard which got a 51% majority of the fan votes.[4] The Rocket are the second hockey team in Greater Montreal to use that nickname, after the QMJHL's Montreal Rocket from 1999 until 2003. In June 2017, the franchise named Larry Carriere as general manager[5] and retained Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach, a position he held since 2012 when the franchise played as the Hamilton Bulldogs.[6]

In the 2017–18 season, Laval finished with a 24–42–7–3 record and placed last overall in the league. Lefebvre was relieved as head coach immediately upon the end of the season[7] and was replaced by Joel Bouchard, who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL.[8]

For the 2020–21 season, the Rocket temporarily relocated to the Bell Centre in Montreal to share the facility with their parent team during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The Rocket were the Canadian Division champions and second-best winning percentage in the league, while playing only the other four teams based in Canada and no postseason during the pandemic. After the season ended, head coach Bouchard left the team at the end of his contract, compiling a 83–67–24 record over three seasons,[10] to become the head coach of the San Diego Gulls.[11] The Rocket then hired Jean-François Houle as their third head coach.[12]

Team information

Logos and uniforms

On January 31, 2017, the Laval Rocket revealed the logo and jersey design that the team would wear during their inaugural season.[13] The colours of the Laval Rocket jersey are red, white, and blue and were chosen to mirror the colours of their parent-club, the Montreal Canadiens. As a further tribute to Maurice "Rocket" Richard, patches with the number 9 and a stylized flame appear on each of the sleeves. The stylized flame is also found below the player's number on the back of the jersey and on the back of the player's socks. Each sleeve also has a shield patch with the word Le Rocket found inside. The name of the city the Rocket play out of, Laval, is displayed on each shoulder as well as in the neck tie region of the jersey.

The main logo is a large blue 'R' that is outlined and highlighted in white. The word 'Rocket' runs along the inside of the 'R' in white. While all other logos and patches alternate colours depending on the home or away jersey, the main logo remains blue on both the red and white jerseys.

Season-by-season results

Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for
Goals
against
Standing Year Prelims 1st
round
2nd
round
3rd
round
Finals
2017–18 76 24 42 7 3 58 .382 206 281 7th, North 2018 Did not qualify
2018–19 76 30 34 6 6 72 .474 195 231 7th, North 2019 Did not qualify
2019–20 62 30 24 5 3 68 .548 183 182 6th, North 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 36 23 9 3 1 50 .694 113 87 1st, Canadian 2021 No playoffs were held
2021–22 72 39 26 5 2 85 .590 246 231 3rd, North 2022 BYE W, 3–2, SYR W, 3–0, ROC L, 3–4, SPR
2022–23 72 33 29 7 3 76 .528 258 247 5th, North 2023 L, 0–2, UTI

Players

Current roster

Updated October 18, 2023.[14][15][16]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
28 Sweden Lias Andersson C L 25 2023 Smogen, Sweden Canadiens
40 Finland Joel Armia RW R 30 2019 Pori, Finland Canadiens
13 Canada Nicolas Beaudin D L 24 2022 Chateauguay, Quebec Canadiens
4 Canada Tobie Bisson (A) D L 27 2023 Rosemere, Quebec Rocket
20 Canada Gabriel Bourque (C) LW L 33 2021 Rimouski, Quebec Rocket
42 Canada Lucas Condotta (A) LW L 26 2022 Georgetown, Ontario Canadiens
49 Canada Jared Davidson C L 21 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Rocket
71 Czech Republic Jakub Dobes G L 22 2023 Ostrava, Czech Republic Canadiens
1 Canada Zach Emond G L 23 2023 St. Cyprien, Quebec Rocket
15 United States Sean Farrell C L 22 2023 Milton, Massachusetts Canadiens
44 Canada Olivier Galipeau D L 26 2023 Montreal, Quebec Rocket
37 Canada Brandon Gignac C L 26 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Rocket
19 Sweden Emil Heineman LW L 22 2023 Leksand, Sweden Canadiens
25 Canada Brady Keeper D R 27 2023 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadiens
21 Canada Riley Kidney C L 21 2022 Enfield, Nova Scotia Canadiens
17 Canada Nathan Legare RW R 23 2023 Montreal, Quebec Canadiens
7 Sweden Gustav Lindstrom D R 25 2023 Ostervala, Sweden Canadiens
61 Canada Philippe Maillet C L 31 2023 Montreal, Quebec Canadiens
24 Canada Logan Mailloux D R 20 2022 Belle River, Ontario Canadiens
38 United States Strauss Mann G L 25 2023 Greenwich, Connecticut Rocket
68 Canada Riley McKay LW L 25 2022 Swan River, Manitoba Rocket
48 Slovakia Filip Mesar RW R 20 2022 Spisska Bela, Slovakia Canadiens
14 Czech Republic Jan Mysak C L 21 2021 Litvinov, Czech Republic Canadiens
29 Sweden Mattias Norlinder D L 23 2021 Kramfors, Sweden Canadiens
10 Canada Joshua Roy LW L 20 2022 St-Georges-De-Beauce, Quebec Canadiens
81 Canada Xavier Simoneau C R 22 2023 Saint-Andre-Avellin, Quebec Canadiens
27 Canada Mitchell Stephens (A) C R 27 2022 Peterborough, Ontario Canadiens
3 United States Jayden Struble D L 22 2023 Cumberland, Rhode Island Canadiens
84 Canada William Trudeau D L 21 2022 Varennes, Quebec Canadiens

Team captains

References

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External links