Montreal Canadiens AHL Affiliate Laval Rocket Poised For Great Season

The Montreal Canadiens have not had much success with their AHL affiliates for the past number of years. The Laval Rocket though, should have an excellent season next year.

The Montreal Canadiens have moved their top farm team from the Hamilton to St. John’s and then now to Laval with little on-ice success in the past eight seasons. The three renditions of the Habs top affiliate haven’t won a playoff series in that time frame and only qualified for the postseason once.

Team success at the American Hockey League level is not imperative for an NHL club. They would rather have a few top, young prospects play well on a losing team than have a handful of veterans lead their team on a deep playoff run.

However, the Canadiens have found no success whatsoever for the past eight years. Not only has the team struggled in the standings, but they have not been graduating top prospects into the Habs lineup with any consistency.

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Over the past eight seasons, players like Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Greg Pateryn, Aaron Palushaj, Sven Andrighetto, Louis Leblanc, Nikita Scherbak, Michael McCarron, Charles Hudon, Daniel Carr and Charlie Lindgren have all had success at the AHL level, but could not translate that to the NHL.

We should see a change in the near future. Not only should the Laval Rocket make the postseason next year, they will have several players that are sure to be impact NHLers in the future.

The Rocket will have lots of options down the middle of the lineup. Nick Suzuki, who dominated the Ontario Hockey League last season, scoring 42 points in 24 playoff games leading the Guelph Storm to the Memorial Cup, will likely be the Rocket’s first line centre.

Jake Evans is another option in the middle. The 22 year old played his first season with the Rocket a year ago and scored 45 points in 67 games. Lukas Vejdemo also returns to the lineup and the smart two-way Swedish centre scored 29 points in 66 games last season while getting used to playing the game in North America.

Another interesting option for the Rocket, especially if there are not many injuries at the NHL level, will be Matthew Peca. He had just ten points in 39 games with the Canadiens last season, but scored 46 in 63 AHL games the year previous with the Syracuse Crunch. He could be sent to the minors after failing to make an impact with the Habs last season.

On the wings, the Canadien signed a pair of veteran AHLers that should bring plenty of scoring to Laval. Phil Varone scored 28 points in just 22 AHL games last season, spending most of the year with the Philadelphia Flyers. In 2017-18, the left winger had 70 points in 74 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and won the AHL MVP award.

Riley Barber, a right winger with the Hershey Bears last season sniped 31 goals and 60 points in 64 games. Behind Barber on the right side, the Rocket will have Alex Belzile returning after leading the team in scoring with 54 points. Michael McCarron is another option on the right side as the hulking winger looks to build on a successful campaign that ended prematurely due to injury.

Back on the left side, behind Varone there are a few interesting options. Joel Teasdale signed with the Canadiens as an undrafted free agent a year ago after an impressive showing as an invite to their training camp.

He continued to impress all season long as the 6’0″ and 203 pound left winger plays a physical game but also puts the puck in the net. He scored 80 points in 66 regular season games for the Blainville-Boisbriand-Boisbriand Armada and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The 20 year old continued to play his power forward style throughout the QMJHL playoffs and into the Memorial Cup where the Huskies were crowned the top Junior team in Canada.

As good as the forwards look for the Rocket, the defence looks even better. Assuming the Canadiens will run with Victor Mete, Brett Kulak and Ben Chiarot on the left side and will also carry Mike Reilly as an extra D, there will be plenty of veteran options left over for Laval.

Xavier Ouellet was unable to take advantage of his NHL opportunity last season, but was excellent for Laval after being sent down. He scored 28 points in 47 games, played an excellent two-way game and was named the captain of the team.

Also on the left side are David Sklenicka who can be counted on to play a defensive role, Karl Alzner will likely be in Laval after passing through waivers early in the year and Otto Leskinen is a 22 year old who scored 31 points in 57 games in Liiga last season. Gustav Olofsson was injured for almost all of last season, but had a few good years in the AHL with the Iowa Wild prior to joining the Canadiens organization.

The right side of the defence could be the team’s biggest strength. Noah Juulsen played well for the Canadiens before an eye injury last season and could start the year in the minors to get his timing and confidence back after not playing a game since the end of December. It’s possible he makes the Canadiens out of training camp, but if he does, it is probably at the expense of Christian Folin who would bring a punishing defensive game to the Rocket blue line.

Two young right shooting blue liners certain to be in Laval are Cale Fleury and Josh Brook. Fleury got better as last season went on and the 20 year old showed he is ready for a top four role this season. Brook was exceptional in the Western Hockey League, scoring 75 points in 59 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

In goal, the Canadiens are excited to have Cayden Primeau turning pro after two excellent seasons with the Northeastern Huskies. He was named the winner of the Mike Richter Award last season as the best goaltender in NCAA Hockey and should receive the bulk of starts for Laval.

Behind him will either be AHL veteran Charlie Lindgren who struggled last season or 22 year old Michael McNiven who posted decent numbers with the Rocket in 30 contests.

This roster should lead to success in the standings next season, but it should also be the jumping off point for many successful NHL careers. Sure, there will be a few veterans who help get wins like Varone, Barber, Peca and Ouellet.

However, the players you are going to want to keep an eye on are youngsters like Suzuki, Teasdale, Juulsen, Brook, Fleury, Leskinen and Primeau who could all have long careers with the Canadiens in the future.

Many AHL teams have to make the choice between winning games and developing young prospects who could become NHL talent. The Laval Rocket have finally found a balance between the two and will be able to win games next season while being led by their young talent.