# 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 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

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. A name-the-team contest was held from July 11 until August 31, with Patriots, Rapids and Rocket as the final three candidates. 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 fan votes. 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 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.
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 and was replaced by Joel Bouchard, who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL.
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. 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, to become the head coach of the AHL San Diego Gulls. The Rocket then hired Jean-François Houle as their third head coach until the foregoing's departure in June 2024. Shortly thereafter, on July 16, Lavallois Pascal Vincent was named as the fourth head coach in franchise history. Vincent's impact on the team was instantaneous, with the Rocket posting a franchise record seven consecutive wins to begin the 2024–25 season.

## Team information
### Logos and uniforms

On January 31, 2017, the team revealed the logo and jersey design that would be worn during their inaugural season. 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 be found below the player's number on the backside of the jersey as well as their hockey socks. Each sleeve also has a shield patch with 'Le Rocket' inscribed therein. Laval, being the name of the city in which the Rocket play out of, 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.
In January 2025, the team introduced a retro jersey concept which pays homage to former Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) franchise the Laval Chiefs, as well as past iterations of major junior teams in the area, namely the National, who rebranded as the Voisins and Titan between 1979–85.

## Season-by-season results

| Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | 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 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2018–19 | 76 | 30 | 34 | 6 | 6 | 72 | .474 | 195 | 231 | 7th, North | 2019 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 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 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020–21 | 36 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 50 | .694 | 113 | 87 | 1st, Canadian | 2021 | No playoffs held$^1$ | No playoffs held$^1$ | No playoffs held$^1$ | No playoffs held$^1$ | No playoffs held$^1$ |
| 2021–22 | 72 | 39 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 85 | .590 | 246 | 231 | 3rd, North | 2022 | BYE$^2$ | 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 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
Notes
* 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.
* 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.

## Players
### Current roster

Updated March 19, 2025.
| No. | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace | Contract |
| 18 | Vincent Arseneau | LW | L | 32 | 2024 | Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec | Rocket |
| 12 | Alex Barre-Boulet | C | L | 27 | 2024 | Montmagny, Quebec | Canadiens |
| 16 | Alex Beaucage | RW | R | 23 | 2024 | Trois-Rivières, Quebec | Rocket |
| 62 | Owen Beck | C | R | 21 | 2024 | Port Hope, Ontario | Canadiens |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta (C) | LW | L | 27 | 2022 | Georgetown, Ontario | Canadiens |
| 49 | Jared Davidson | C | L | 22 | 2023 | Edmonton, Alberta | Canadiens |
| 27 | Laurent Dauphin | C | L | 29 | 2024 | Repentigny, Quebec | Rocket |
| 26 | Will Dineen | F | L | 24 | 2025 | Hinsdale, Illinois | Rocket |
| 56 | Adam Engstrom | D | L | 21 | 2024 | Järna, Sweden | Canadiens |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | LW | L | 23 | 2023 | Milton, Massachusetts | Canadiens |
| 37 | Brandon Gignac (A) | C | L | 27 | 2021 | Repentigny, Quebec | Canadiens |
| 11 | Rafael Harvey-Pinard | LW | L | 26 | 2021 | Jonquière, Quebec | Canadiens |
| 65 | Zack Hayes | D | L | 25 | 2024 | Calgary, Alberta | Rocket |
| 2 | Noel Hoefenmayer | D | L | 26 | 2024 | North York, Ontario | Canadiens |
| 31 | Connor Hughes | G | L | 28 | 2024 | London, Ontario | Canadiens |
| 28 | Joshua Jacobs | D | R | 29 | 2024 | Shelby Township, Michigan | Rocket |
| 21 | Riley Kidney | C | L | 21 | 2023 | Enfield, Nova Scotia | Canadiens |
| 5 | Gustav Lindstrom | D | R | 26 | 2024 | Östervåla, Sweden | Canadiens |
| 24 | Logan Mailloux | D | R | 21 | 2023 | Belle River, Ontario | Canadiens |
| 48 | Filip Mesar | RW | R | 21 | 2022 | Spisska Bela, Slovakia | Canadiens |
| 86 | Jakov Novak | LW | L | 26 | 2023 | Windsor, Ontario | Rocket |
| 30 | Cayden Primeau | G | L | 25 | 2019 | Farmington Hills, Michigan | Canadiens |
| 64 | David Reinbacher | D | R | 20 | 2024 | Hohenems, Austria | Canadiens |
| 46 | Vincent Sevigny | D | L | 23 | 2024 | Quebec City, Quebec | Rocket |
| 81 | Xavier Simoneau | C | R | 23 | 2022 | Saint-Andre-Avellin, Quebec | Canadiens |
| 84 | William Trudeau | D | L | 22 | 2022 | Varennes, Quebec | Canadiens |
| 17 | Luke Tuch | LW | L | 23 | 2024 | Syracuse, New York | Canadiens |
| 23 | Tyler Wotherspoon (A) | D | L | 32 | 2024 | Burnaby, British Columbia | Rocket |
| 63 | Florian Xhekaj | LW | L | 20 | 2024 | Hamilton, Ontario | Canadiens |

### Team captains

* Byron Froese, 2017–19
* Xavier Ouellet, 2019–22
* Alex Belzile, 2022–23
* Gabriel Bourque, 2023–24
* Lucas Condotta, 2024–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