Laval Rocket

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.

Laval Rocket
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])
General managerVacant
Head coachJean-Francois Houle
CaptainAlex Belzile
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 titles1: (2020–21)
Current season

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
2017–187624427358.3822062817th, North2018Did not qualify
2018–197630346672.4741952317th, North2019Did not qualify
2019–206230245368.5481831826th, North2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21362393150.694113871st, Canadian2021No playoffs were held
2021–227239265285.5902462313rd, North2022BYEW, 3–2, SYRW, 3–0, ROCL, 3–4, SPR—
2022–237233297376.5282582475th, North2023L, 0–2, UTI————

Players

Current roster

Updated May 10, 2023.[14][15][16]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
98 Canada Peter Abbandonato C L 25 2021 Laval, Quebec Rocket
13 Canada Nicolas Beaudin D L 23 2022 Chateauguay, Quebec Canadiens
20 Canada Gabriel Bourque (A) LW L 32 2021 Rimouski, Quebec Rocket
8 Canada Madison Bowey D R 28 2022 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadiens
58 Canada Santino Centorame D R 27 2022 Mississauga, Ontario Rocket
42 Canada Lucas Condotta LW L 25 2022 Georgetown, Ontario Canadiens
5 United States Tory Dello D R 26 2021 Crystal Lake, Illinois Rocket
30 Canada Philippe Desrosiers G L 27 2022 Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Rocket
71 Czech Republic Jakub Dobes G L 21 2023 Ostrava, Czech Republic Canadiens
92 France Pierrick Dube RW R 22 2022 Lyon, France Rocket
2 Canada Gianni Fairbrother D L 22 2021 North Vancouver, British Columbia Canadiens
44 Canada Olivier Galipeau D L 26 2022 Montreal, Quebec Rocket
37 Canada Brandon Gignac C L 25 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Rocket
11 Canada Rafael Harvey-Pinard (A) LW L 24 2020 Jonquiere, Quebec Canadiens
19 Sweden Emil Heineman LW L 21 2023 Leksand, Sweden Canadiens
18 Canada Danick Martel LW L 28 2021 Drummondville, Quebec Rocket
68 Canada Riley McKay LW L 24 2022 Swan River, Manitoba Rocket
14 Czech Republic Jan Mysak C L 20 2021 Litvinov, Czech Republic Canadiens
29 Sweden Mattias Norlinder D L 23 2021 Kramfors, Sweden Canadiens
85 Canada John Parker-Jones D R 23 2022 Brantford, Ontario Rocket
39 Canada Kevin Poulin G L 33 2021 Montreal, Quebec Rocket
31 United States Cayden Primeau G L 23 2019 Farmington Hills, Michigan Canadiens
90 Canada Anthony Richard C L 26 2022 Trois-Rivieres, Quebec Canadiens
6 United States Corey Schueneman (A) D L 27 2020 Milford, Michigan Canadiens
81 Canada Xavier Simoneau C L 21 2022 Saint-André-Avellin, Quebec Rocket
27 Canada Mitchell Stephens C R 26 2022 Peterborough, Ontario Canadiens
3 United States Jayden Struble D L 21 2023 Cumberland, Rhode Island Canadiens
24 Canada Joel Teasdale LW L 24 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Canadiens
– Canada Miguel Tourigny D R 21 2023 Victoriaville, Quebec Rocket
84 Canada William Trudeau D L 20 2022 Varennes, Quebec Canadiens
36 Canada Eric Williams D R 27 2023 Newmarket, Ontario Rocket
23 Canada Nolan Yaremko LW L 24 2023 Spirit River, Alberta Rocket
26 Finland Jesse Ylonen RW R 23 2020 Scottsdale, Arizona Canadiens

Team captains

References
    1. "Montreal Canadiens Team - Montreal Canadiens - Team: Administration". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
    2. "The Canadiens announce affiliation with the new ECHL Trois-Rivières club". Montreal Canadiens. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
    3. "Canadiens moving AHL affiliate to Laval in 17-18". American Hockey League. July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    4. "Laval's AHL team nickname unveiled". Montreal Canadiens. September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    5. "Canadiens name Carriere GM of AHL Laval Rocket". Sportsnet. June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    6. "LEFEBVRE NAMED HEAD COACH OF LAVAL, CARRIÈRE GM". American Hockey League. June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    7. "SYLVAIN LEFEBVRE RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES AS HEAD COACH OF THE LAVAL ROCKET". Laval Rocket. April 17, 2018. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
    8. Cowan, Stu (May 17, 2018). "Montreal Canadiens name Joël Bouchard head coach of AHL's Laval Rocket". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved May 17, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    9. "THE LAVAL ROCKET TO PLAY ITS HOME GAMES AT THE BELL CENTRE FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON". Laval Rocket. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    10. "Joël Bouchard quitte le Rocket de Laval". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    11. "Anaheim Ducks Name Joel Bouchard San Diego Gulls Head Coach". OurSports Central. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    12. "Jean-François Houle Appointed Head Coach of the Laval Rocket". OurSports Central. July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    13. "Logo and uniform reveal of the Laval Rocket - Rocket de Laval". Laval Rocket. January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on May 22, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
    14. "Team – Rocket Laval". Laval Rocket. Retrieved May 10, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    15. "Rocket de Laval Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 10, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    16. "Canadiens Montreal Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 10, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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