Laval Rocket

The Laval Rocket (French: Rocket de Laval) is 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
2019–20 AHL season
CityLaval, Quebec
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionNorth
Founded1969
Operated2017–
Home arenaPlace Bell
ColoursRed, white and blue
              
Owner(s)Molson family (majority owner)
(Geoff Molson, chairman[1])
Head coachJoël Bouchard
CaptainXavier Ouellet
MediaAHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesMontreal Canadiens (NHL)
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

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.[2] 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.[3] 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[4] and retained Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach, a position he held since 2012 when the franchise played as the Hamilton Bulldogs.[5]

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[6] and was replaced by Joel Bouchard, who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL.[7]

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.[8] 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
2017–187624427358.3822062817th, North2018Did not qualify
2018–197630346672.4741952317th, North2019Did not qualify
2019–206230245368.5481831826th, North2020Season Cancelled due to COVID-19

Players

Current roster

Updated July 12, 2020.[9][10][11]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
27 Alexandre Alain C R 23 2018 Quebec City, Quebec Canadiens
16 Karl Alzner (A) D L 31 2018 Burnaby, British Columbia Canadiens
46 Joseph Blandisi C L 26 2020 Markham, Ontario Canadiens
37 Joe Cox RW R 26 2019 Chelsea, Michigan Rocket
7 Ryan Culkin D L 26 2018 Montreal, Quebec Rocket
3 Nathanael Halbert D L 24 2020 Nottingham, England Rocket
– Rafaël Harvey-Pinard LW L 21 2020 Jonquiere, Quebec Rocket
– Liam Hawel C R 21 2020 Kanata, Ontario Rocket
11 Nikita Jevpalovs LW R 25 2018 Riga, Latvia Rocket
33 Connor LaCouvee G L 26 2018 Qualicum Beach, British Columbia Rocket
20 Maxim Lamarche D R 28 2018 Laval, Quebec Rocket
24 Jake Lucchini LW L 25 2020 Trail, British Columbia Canadiens
14 Aaron Luchuk C L 23 2020 Kingston, Ontario Canadiens
39 Kevin Lynch C R 29 2019 Grosse Pointe, Michigan Rocket
2 Evan McEneny D L 26 2019 Grimsby, Ontario Rocket
15 William Pelletier LW L 27 2019 Saint-Jean-Chrysostome, Quebec Rocket
23 Michael Pezzetta LW L 22 2018 Toronto, Ontario Canadiens
– Corey Schueneman D L 24 2020 Milford, Michigan Rocket
47 Andrew Sturtz RW R 25 2020 Buffalo, New York Canadiens
38 Yannick Veilleux LW L 27 2019 Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec Rocket
12 Lukas Vejdemo C L 24 2018 Stockholm, Sweden Canadiens
17 Hayden Verbeek C L 22 2018 Kingston, Ontario Canadiens
– Sam Vigneault C L 24 2020 Baie-Comeau, Quebec Rocket
19 Antoine Waked RW R 24 2017 Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec Canadiens
26 Jesse Ylonen RW R 20 2020 Scottsdale, Arizona Canadiens

References
  1. "Montreal Canadiens Team - Montréal Canadiens - Team: Administration". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  2. "Canadiens moving AHL affiliate to Laval in 17-18". AHL. 11 July 2016.
  3. "Laval's AHL team nickname unveiled". Montreal Canadiens. September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  4. "Canadiens name Carriere GM of AHL Laval Rocket". Sportsnet. 29 June 2017.
  5. "LEFEBVRE NAMED HEAD COACH OF LAVAL, CARRIÈRE GM". AHL. 28 July 2017.
  6. "SYLVAIN LEFEBVRE RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES AS HEAD COACH OF THE LAVAL ROCKET". Laval Rocket. 17 April 2018.
  7. 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.
  8. "Logo and uniform reveal of the Laval Rocket - Rocket de Laval". Rocket de Laval. 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
  9. "TheAHL.com – Laval Rocket Roster". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  10. "Rocket de Laval Twitter". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  11. "Canadiens Montreal Twitter". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
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