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Montreal Canadiens: Laval will benefit from having their captain next year

By Omar L

LAVAL, QC - NOVEMBER 01: Byron Froese #21 of the Laval Rocket skates the puck against the Toronto Marlies during the AHL game at Place Bell on November 1, 2017 in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The Toronto Marlies defeated the Laval Rocket 3-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
LAVAL, QC - NOVEMBER 01: Byron Froese #21 of the Laval Rocket skates the puck against the Toronto Marlies during the AHL game at Place Bell on November 1, 2017 in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The Toronto Marlies defeated the Laval Rocket 3-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Byron Froese may a tough time making the Montreal Canadiens out of camp next season, and if that’s the case, the Laval Rocket may have their captain back.

There were a lot of fresh things surrounding the Montreal Canadiens new AHL affiliate. However, the goal of getting to the playoffs remained the same. The Laval Rocket had a decent start to their season, but the team continued to follow a declining trend to the bottom of the standings.

The team gave up too many chances for their opponents to capitalize on that showed in their goal differentials. Additionally, the ones tasked with facing those chances had the short end of the stick. Charlie Lindgren who showed signs of starting potential in the NHL had less than ideal stats with Laval. The same goes for Michael McNiven and Zachary Fucale who struggled to hit .900.

It also didn’t help that the Rocket lost a lot of their best players to call-ups. Byron Froese, Daniel Carr, and Nikita Scherbak all found roles for themselves with the Montreal Canadiens making it hard to get sent back down. The list goes on as Noah Juulsen, Brett Lernout, Nicolas Deslauriers, and Michael McCarron got their call as well.

The loss of talent from the Laval Rocket was tough, but Froese being out of the picture had significance. The 27-year-old was voted by his teammates to serve as the first captain in franchise history. With the number of older players in that locker room, it was interesting to see Froese get the mantle.

His reign as the captain didn’t last too long as he was called up to the Montreal Canadiens four days later. Laval continued with Chris Terry, Matt Taormina, and later acquired veteran Adam Cracknell as the team’s leadership group. However, the team couldn’t get it together at any point.

This isn’t to say that Froese’ call-up was the reason for Laval’s cliff dive. There were many underlying issues that weren’t ever addressed. At the forefront was management’s inability to re-fill those spots with equally capable players. You also have to hold some of the responsibility at Sylvain Lefebvre who couldn’t get the team going.

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But not having their appointed leader for those trying times couldn’t have helped.

Next season is going to be different. The core of the Laval Rocket is going to look new and improved with the number of young players projected to make the squad. There’s also a new face behind the benches in Jöel Bouchard who wants to implement a sense of winning in the team’s culture.

At the same time, Laval will probably have their captain back. It will be tough for Froese to make the Montreal Canadiens out of camp in September. There are other players Claude Julien, and the coaching staff may prioritize. Froese could change that by trying to stand out amongst the others, but he’ll have a steep hill to climb.

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Laval needs to have a captain though. Will Bitten and Alexandre Alain to name a few may need those words of encouragement in the dog days of the regular season. Several things will have to come together for the Rocket to improve. And Froese could have a bigger role in that than many think.

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