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Laval Rocket

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Laval Rocket
Rocket de Laval
CityLaval, Quebec
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionNorth
Founded1969; 55 years ago (1969)
Home arenaPlace Bell
ColoursRed, white and blue
     
Owner(s)Molson family (majority owner)
(Geoff Molson, chairman[1])
General managerJohn Sedgwick
Head coachPascal Vincent[2]
CaptainLucas Condotta[3]
MediaEnglish:
AHL.TV (Internet)
TSN 690
French:
RDS
91.9 Sports
AffiliatesMontreal Canadiens (NHL)
Trois-Rivières Lions (ECHL)[4]
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 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 for 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.

History

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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.[5] 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 name of Laval Rocket was announced, a tribute to Canadiens' legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard which got a 51% majority of the fan votes.[6] With this, Laval became the second hockey team in the Greater Montreal area to use that nickname, after the Montreal Rocket of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), from 1999 until 2003. In June 2017, the franchise named Larry Carriere as general manager[7] and retained Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach, a position he held since 2012 when the franchise played as the Hamilton Bulldogs and St. John's IceCaps respectively.[8]

In their inaugural campaign, 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[9] and was replaced by Joel Bouchard, who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.[10]

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.[11] 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,[12] to become the head coach of the AHL San Diego Gulls.[13] The Rocket then hired Jean-François Houle as their third head coach until the foregoing's departure in June 2024.[14][15] Shortly thereafter, on July 16, Lavallois Pascal Vincent was named as the fourth head coach in franchise history.[16] Vincent's impact on the team was instantaneous, with the Rocket posting a franchise record seven consecutive wins to begin the 2024–25 season.[17]

Team information

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Logos and uniforms

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Team mascot Cosmo at the 2023 AHL All-Star Game

On January 31, 2017, the team revealed the logo and jersey design that would be worn during their inaugural season.[18] The colours consist of red, white, and blue and were chosen to mirror those of their parent-club, the Montreal Canadiens. As a further tribute to "Rocket" Richard, patches with the number 9 and a stylized flame appear on each of the sleeves whereas the latter can 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

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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 held1
2021–22 72 39 26 5 2 85 .590 246 231 3rd, North 2022 BYE2 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 — — — —
2023–24 72 33 31 6 2 74 .514 235 242 7th, North 2024 Did 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.[19]
  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.[20]

Players

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Current roster

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Updated December 29, 2024.[21]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
18 Canada Vincent Arseneau LW L 32 2024 Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec Rocket
12 Canada Alex Barre-Boulet C L 27 2024 Montmagny, Quebec Canadiens
62 Canada Owen Beck C R 20 2024 Peterborough, Ontario Canadiens
70 Canada Luke Cavallin G R 23 2024 Swindon, United Kingdom Rocket
42 Canada Lucas Condotta (C) LW L 27 2022 Georgetown, Ontario Canadiens
49 Canada Jared Davidson C L 22 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Canadiens
27 Canada Laurent Dauphin C L 29 2024 Repentigny, Quebec Rocket
56 Sweden Adam Engstrom D L 21 2024 Järna, Sweden Canadiens
15 United States Sean Farrell LW L 23 2023 Milton, Massachusetts Canadiens
37 Canada Brandon Gignac (A) Injured Reserve C L 27 2021 Repentigny, Quebec Canadiens
11 Canada Rafael Harvey-Pinard LW L 25 2021 Saguenay, Quebec Canadiens
65 Canada Zack Hayes D L 25 2024 Calgary, Alberta Rocket
2 Canada Noel Hoefenmayer D L 25 2024 North York, Ontario Canadiens
31 Canada Connor Hughes G L 28 2024 London, Ontario Canadiens
28 United States Joshua Jacobs D R 28 2024 Shelby Township, Michigan Rocket
21 Canada Riley Kidney C L 21 2023 Enfield, Nova Scotia Canadiens
5 Sweden Gustav Lindstrom D R 26 2024 Östervåla, Sweden Canadiens
24 Canada Logan Mailloux D R 21 2023 Belle River, Ontario Canadiens
48 Slovakia Filip Mesar RW R 20 2022 Spisska Bela, Slovakia Canadiens
— United States Cayden Primeau G L 25 2019 Farmington Hills, Michigan Canadiens
64 Austria David Reinbacher Injured Reserve D R 20 2024 Hohenems, Austria Canadiens
10 Canada Joshua Roy LW L 21 2022 St-Georges-De-Beauce, Quebec Canadiens
81 Canada Xavier Simoneau Injured Reserve C R 23 2022 Saint-Andre-Avellin, Quebec Canadiens
84 Canada William Trudeau D L 22 2022 Varennes, Quebec Canadiens
17 United States Luke Tuch LW L 22 2024 Baldwinsville, New York Canadiens
23 Canada Tyler Wotherspoon (A) D L 31 2024 Burnaby, British Columbia Rocket
63 Canada Florian Xhekaj LW L 20 2024 Hamilton, Ontario Canadiens

Team captains

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Notable alumni

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

References

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  1. ^ "Administration". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved June 3, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  2. ^ "Pascal Vincent appointed head coach of the Laval Rocket". Montreal Canadiens. July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  3. ^ "Lucas Condotta named captain of the Laval Rocket". Laval Rocket. October 11, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "The Canadiens announce affiliation with the new ECHL Trois-Rivières club". Montreal Canadiens. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  5. ^ "Canadiens moving AHL affiliate to Laval in 17-18". American Hockey League. July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  6. ^ "Laval team to be named the Rocket". American Hockey League. September 8, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Canadiens name Carriere GM of AHL Laval Rocket". Sportsnet. June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  8. ^ "Lefebvre Named Head Coach of Laval, Carrière GM". American Hockey League. June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ Cowan, Stu (May 17, 2018). "Montreal Canadiens name Joël Bouchard head coach of AHL's Laval Rocket". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Joël Bouchard quitte le Rocket de Laval" [Joël Bouchard Leaves the Laval Rocket]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Anaheim Ducks Name Joel Bouchard San Diego Gulls Head Coach" (Press release). San Diego Gulls. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021 – via OurSportsCentral.com.
  14. ^ "Houle named Laval Rocket Head Coach". Bakersfield Condors. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Laval Rocket and Jean-François Houle mutually agree to part ways". Montreal Canadiens. June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  16. ^ Cowan, Stu (July 16, 2024). "Pascal Vincent hired as head coach of AHL's Laval Rocket". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  17. ^ @RocketLaval (November 2, 2024). "🚀🚀" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "Logo and uniform reveal of the Laval Rocket". Laval Rocket. January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on May 22, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  19. ^ "American Hockey League Announces Plans for 2021 Playoffs, Sets Calendar for 2021-22" (Press release). American Hockey League. April 29, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2024 – via OurSportsCentral.com.
  20. ^ "Format Approved for AHL's 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs" (Press release). American Hockey League. August 5, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2024 – via OurSportsCentral.com.
  21. ^ "Laval Rocket Roster 2024-25 Regular Season". TheAHL.com. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
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