Laval Rocket

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Laval Rocket
2021–22 AHL season
Laval Rocket logo.svg
CityLaval, Quebec
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionNorth
Founded1969
Home arenaPlace Bell
ColoursRed, white and blue
     
Owner(s)Molson family (majority owner)
(Geoff Molson, chairman[1])
Head coachJean-François Houle
CaptainXavier Ouellet
MediaEnglish:
AHL.TV (Internet)
TSN 690
French:
RDS
91.9 Sports
AffiliatesMontreal Canadiens (NHL)
Trois-Rivières Lions (ECHL)[2]
Websiterocketlaval.com
Franchise history
1969–1971Montreal Voyageurs
1971–1984Nova Scotia Voyageurs
1984–1990Sherbrooke Canadiens
1990–1999Fredericton Canadiens
1999–2002Quebec Citadelles
2002–2015Hamilton Bulldogs
2015–2017St. John's IceCaps
2017–presentLaval Rocket
Championships
Division Championships1: (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 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

Players[]

Current roster[]

Updated August 30, 2021.[14][15][16]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
– Canada C L 23 2021 Laval, Quebec Rocket
49 Canada D L 26 2021 Kirkland, Quebec Rocket
34 Canada LW L 26 2021 Vermilion, Alberta Canadiens
– Canada J.C. Beaudin C R 24 2021 Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec Rocket
– Canada D R 27 2021 Drummondville, Quebec Rocket
22 Canada Alex Belzile (A) RW R 30 2018 Saint-Éloi, Quebec Canadiens
– Canada Gabriel Bourque LW L 30 2021 Rimouski, Quebec Rocket
8 Canada D R 22 2019 Roblin, Manitoba Canadiens
27 Canada Laurent Dauphin C L 26 2020 Repentigny, Quebec Canadiens
– United States D R 24 2021 Crystal Lake, Illinois Rocket
– Canada C L 21 2021 Warwick, Quebec Rocket
– Canada RW L 21 2021 Mirabel, Quebec Rocket
– Canada Alexandre Fortin LW L 24 2021 Blainville, Quebec Rocket
– Canada Brandon Gignac C L 23 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Rocket
11 Canada LW L 22 2020 Jonquiere, Quebec Canadiens
16 Canada C R 21 2021 Oshawa, Ontario Canadiens
25 Russia Arsen Khisamutdinov LW L 23 2021 Ufa, Russia Canadiens
24 Canada LW L 26 2020 Trail, British Columbia Rocket
– Canada Danick Martel LW L 26 2021 Drummondville, Quebec Rocket
40 Canada G L 24 2017 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadiens
18 Czech Republic Jan Mysak C L 19 2021 Litvinov, Czech Republic Canadiens
– Canada D R 25 2021 Boisbriand, Quebec Rocket
43 Canada Xavier Ouellet (C) D L 28 2018 Bayonne, France Canadiens
4 Canada D L 24 2020 Rosemere, Quebec Rocket
23 Canada LW L 23 2018 Toronto, Ontario Canadiens
41 United States Ryan Poehling C L 22 2019 Lakeville, Minnesota Canadiens
– Canada Kevin Poulin G L 31 2021 Montreal, Quebec Rocket
31 United States Cayden Primeau G L 22 2019 Farmington Hills, Michigan Canadiens
– Canada LW R 24 2021 Le Gardeur, Quebec Rocket
6 United States D L 26 2020 Milford, Michigan Canadiens
14 Canada LW L 22 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Canadiens
12 Sweden Lukas Vejdemo C L 25 2018 Stockholm, Sweden Canadiens
26 Finland Jesse Ylonen RW R 21 2020 Scottsdale, Arizona Canadiens

References[]

  1. ^ "Montreal Canadiens Team - Montreal Canadiens - Team: Administration". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  2. ^ "The Canadiens announce affiliation with the new ECHL Trois-Rivières club". Montreal Canadiens Official Website. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  3. ^ "Canadiens moving AHL affiliate to Laval in 17-18". AHL. 11 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Laval's AHL team nickname unveiled". Montreal Canadiens. September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  5. ^ "Canadiens name Carriere GM of AHL Laval Rocket". Sportsnet. 29 June 2017.
  6. ^ "LEFEBVRE NAMED HEAD COACH OF LAVAL, CARRIÈRE GM". AHL. 28 July 2017.
  7. ^ "SYLVAIN LEFEBVRE RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES AS HEAD COACH OF THE LAVAL ROCKET". Laval Rocket. 17 April 2018.
  8. ^ Cowan, Stu (17 May 2018). "Montreal Canadiens name Joël Bouchard head coach of AHL's Laval Rocket". Montreal Gazette. Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  9. ^ "THE LAVAL ROCKET TO PLAY ITS HOME GAMES AT THE BELL CENTRE FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON". Laval Rocket. 6 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Joël Bouchard quitte le Rocket de Laval". journaldemontreal.com (in French). 9 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Anaheim Ducks Name Joel Bouchard San Diego Gulls Head Coach". OurSports Central. July 9, 2021.
  12. ^ "Jean-François Houle Appointed Head Coach of the Laval Rocket". OurSports Central. July 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Logo and uniform reveal of the Laval Rocket - Rocket de Laval". Rocket de Laval. 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  14. ^ "TheAHL.com – Laval Rocket Roster". Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  15. ^ "Rocket de Laval Twitter". Retrieved 2021-07-17.
  16. ^ "Canadiens Montreal Twitter". Retrieved 2021-08-05.

External links[]

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