Laval Rocket

The Laval Rocket (French: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Laval, Quebec. The team began play in the 2017–18 season, with home games held at Place Bell. They are affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL.

Laval Rocket
CityLaval, Quebec
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionNorth
Founded1969 (1969)
Home arenaPlace Bell
ColoursRed, white and blue
     
Owner(s)Molson family (majority owner)
(Geoff Molson, chairman[1])
General managerJohn Sedgwick
Head coachJean-Francois Houle
CaptainGabriel Bourque
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

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]

Franchise location/name history
1963-65: Omaha Knights (CPHL)
1965-69: Houston Apollos (CPHL/CHL)
1969-71: Montreal Voyageurs (AHL)
1971-84: Nova Scotia Voyageurs (AHL)
1984-90: Sherbrooke Canadiens (AHL)
1990-99: Fredericton Canadiens (AHL)
1999-02: Quebec Citadelles (AHL)
2002-15: Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
2015-17: St. John's Ice Caps (AHL)
2017-Present: Laval Rocket (AHL)

Team information

Logos and uniforms
Team mascot Cosmo at the 2023 AHL All-Star Game.

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 held1
2021–227239265285.5902462313rd, North2022BYE2W, 3–2, SYRW, 3–0, ROCL, 3–4, SPR—
2022–237233297376.5282582475th, North2023L, 0–2, UTI————
2023–247233316274.5142352427th, North2024Did not qualify

Notes

  1. The league allowed each division the choice to hold a divisional postseason. On April 29, 2021, it was announced that only the Pacific Division had elected to hold a postseason tournament to name a division champion, with the other four divisions awarding their champions via regular season records. Consequently, the league would not award the Calder Cup for a second consecutive season.[14]
  2. Beginning in 2022, the top two teams in the Atlantic, top three teams in each of the North and Central, and the first-place team in the Pacific Division received byes into the division semifinals of the Calder Cup playoffs.[15]

Players

Current roster

Updated May 7, 2024.[16]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
28 Sweden Lias Andersson C L 25 2023 Smogen, Sweden Canadiens
52 Canada Justin Barron D R 22 2022 Halifax, Nova Scotia 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 Injured Reserve C L 21 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Rocket
71 Czech Republic Jakub Dobes G L 22 2023 Ostrava, Czech Republic Canadiens
16 Canada Arnaud Durandeau LW L 25 2024 Montreal, Quebec Canadiens
1 Canada Zach Emond G L 23 2023 St. Cyprien, Quebec Rocket
15 United States Sean Farrell LW L 22 2023 Milton, Massachusetts Canadiens
44 Canada Olivier Galipeau D L 26 2022 Montreal, Quebec Rocket
37 Canada Brandon Gignac C L 26 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Canadiens
19 Sweden Emil Heineman LW L 22 2023 Leksand, Sweden Canadiens
37 Canada Chris Jandric D L 25 2024 Prince George, British Columbia Rocket
73 Finland Kasimir Kaskisuo G L 30 2023 Vantaa, Finland Rocket
25 Canada Brady Keeper Injured Reserve D R 27 2023 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadiens
21 Canada Riley Kidney C L 21 2023 Enfield, Nova Scotia Canadiens
61 Canada Philippe Maillet C L 31 2023 Montreal, Quebec Canadiens
24 Canada Logan Mailloux D R 21 2023 Belle River, Ontario Canadiens
38 United States Strauss Mann G L 25 2023 Greenwich, Connecticut Rocket
68 Canada Riley McKay LW L 25 2023 Swan River, Manitoba Rocket
29 Sweden Mattias Norlinder D L 24 2021 Kramfors, Sweden Canadiens
86 Canada Jakov Novak LW L 25 2023 Windsor, Ontario Rocket
34 Canada Jacob Perreault Injured Reserve RW R 22 2024 Montreal, Quebec Canadiens
85 Canada John Parker-Jones D R 24 2022 Brantford, Ontario Rocket
64 Austria David Reinbacher D R 19 2024 Hohenems, Austria Canadiens
10 Canada Joshua Roy LW L 20 2022 St-Georges-De-Beauce, Quebec Canadiens
81 Canada Xavier Simoneau Injured Reserve C R 22 2022 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
17 United States Luke Tuch LW L 22 2024 Baldwinsville, New York Canadiens
43 Canada Alex-Olivier Voyer RW R 25 2023 Sherbrooke, Quebec Rocket
35 Canada Joseph Vrbetic G R 21 2023 Dunvegan, Ontario Rocket
63 Canada Florian Xhekaj LW L 19 2024 Hamilton, Ontario Canadiens
23 Canada Nolan Yaremko LW L 25 2023 Spirit River, Alberta Rocket

Team captains
  • Byron Froese, 2017–19
  • Xavier Ouellet, 2019–22
  • Alex Belzile, 2022–23
  • Gabriel Bourque, 2023–present

Notable alumni

The following players have played both 100 games with Laval and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

  • Gabriel Bourque
  • Jake Evans
  • Michael McCarron
  • Xavier Ouellet
  • Michael Pezzetta
  • Jesse Ylonen

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.
    4. "Laval's AHL team nickname unveiled". Montreal Canadiens. September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
    5. "Canadiens name Carriere GM of AHL Laval Rocket". Sportsnet. June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
    6. "LEFEBVRE NAMED HEAD COACH OF LAVAL, CARRIÈRE GM". American Hockey League. June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
    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.
    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.
    10. "Joël Bouchard quitte le Rocket de Laval". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
    11. "Anaheim Ducks Name Joel Bouchard San Diego Gulls Head Coach". OurSports Central. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
    12. "Jean-François Houle Appointed Head Coach of the Laval Rocket". OurSports Central. July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
    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. "American Hockey League Announces Plans for 2021 Playoffs, Sets Calendar for 2021-22". OurSports Central. April 29, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
    15. "Format Approved for AHL's 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs". OurSports Central. August 5, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
    16. "Laval Rocket Roster 2023-24 Regular Season". TheAHL.com. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
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