Laval Rocket

Laval Rocket
2018–19 AHL season
City Laval, Quebec
League American Hockey League
Conference Eastern
Division North
Founded 1969
Operated 2017–
Home arena Place Bell
Colours Red, white and blue
              
Owner(s) Molson family (majority owner)
(Geoff Molson, chairman[1])
Head coach Joël Bouchard
Captain Byron Froese
Affiliates Montreal Canadiens (NHL)
Website rocketlaval.com
Franchise history
1969–1971 Montreal Voyageurs
1971–1984 Nova Scotia Voyageurs
1984–1990 Sherbrooke Canadiens
1990–1999 Fredericton Canadiens
1999–2002 Quebec Citadelles
2002–2015 Hamilton Bulldogs
2015–2017 St. John's IceCaps
2017–present 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.

The franchise was previously based out of 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 Joël 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

Players

Current roster

Updated October 14, 2018.[9][10]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
16 Canada Jeremiah Addison LW L 22 2017 Brampton, Ontario Canadiens
18 United States Kenny Agostino (A) LW L 26 2018 Morristown, New Jersey Canadiens
27 Canada Alexandre Alain C R 21 2018 Quebec City, Quebec Canadiens
24 Canada Daniel Audette C L 22 2017 Blainville, Quebec Canadiens
22 Canada Alex Belzile RW R 27 2018 Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec Rocket
26 Canada Michael Chaput (A) C L 26 2018 Ile Bizard, Quebec Canadiens
10 Canada Jake Evans C R 22 2017 Toronto, Ontario Canadiens
38 Canada Cale Fleury D R 19 2018 Calgary, Alberta Canadiens
21 Canada Byron Froese (C) C R 27 2017 Winkler, Manitoba Canadiens
28 Canada Alexandre Grenier (A) RW R 27 2018 Laval, Quebec Rocket
11 Latvia Nikita Jevpalovs LW R 24 2018 Riga, Latvia Rocket
3 Canada Brett Kulak D L 24 2018 Edmonton, Alberta Canadiens
2 Canada Maxim Lamarche D R 26 2018 Laval, Quebec Rocket
14 Canada Brett Lernout D R 23 2017 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canadiens
35 United States Charlie Lindgren G R 24 2017 Lakeville, Minnesota Canadiens
29 Canada Etienne Marcoux G L 25 2018 La Plaine, Quebec Rocket
25 United States Michael McCarron (A) C R 23 2017 Grosse Pointe, Michigan Canadiens
40 Canada Michael McNiven G L 20 2017 Woodbridge, Ontario Canadiens
6 Czech Republic Michal Moravcik D L 23 2018 Klatovy, Czech Republic Canadiens
20 Sweden Gustav Olofsson D L 23 2018 Boras, Sweden Canadiens
23 Canada Michael Pezzetta C L 20 2017 Toronto, Ontario Canadiens
4 Canada Adam Plant D R 23 2018 Penticton, British Columbia Rocket
39 Canada Hunter Shinkaruk C L 24 2018 Calgary, Alberta Canadiens
5 Czech Republic David Sklenicka D L 22 2018 Rakovnik, Czech Republic Canadiens
12 Sweden Lukas Vejdemo C L 22 2017 Stockhold, Sweden Canadiens
17 Canada Hayden Verbeek C L 20 2018 Kingston, Ontario 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 2018-10-14.
  10. ↑ "Rocket de Laval Twitter". Retrieved 2018-10-14.
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