Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Roster Taking Shape

The Montreal Canadiens training camp still has about ten days remaining but a number of early cuts and players being sent down is starting to give us an idea of what the Laval Rocket lineup will look like as well.

Their first game of the season will be on Friday, October 15th when they face the Belleville Senators.

Who will be in the lineup that night remains to be seen, but 19 players were sent down yesterday afternoon and another handful of players were released from training camp after last night’s preseason game.

The list of players sent down includes Xavier Ouellet and Louis Belpedio who passed through waivers yesterday, as well as Josh Brook, Joel Teasdale, Cam Hillis, Arsen Khisamutdinov, Peter Abbandonato, Cedric Desruisseaux, Justin Ducharme, Brandon Gignac, Jake Lucchini, Shawn St-Amant, Kevin Roy, Terrance Amorosa, Charles-David Beaudoin, Tory Dello, Cody Goloubef, Carl Neill and goaltender Alexis Gravel.

After the preseason game, Lukas Vejdemo and Alexandre Fortin were also sent to the Rocket while Jan Mysak was assigned back to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL.

There are still 44 players remaining at Canadiens training camp so another large number of players are yet to be sent down to the Laval Rocket before their season begins.

They do now have a group that they can begin their own training camp with and it will be led veterans like Xavier Ouellet and Louis Belpedio on the blue line.

The Canadiens play their fourth of six preseason games tonight and will likely reduce their own training camp number quite a big again after that contest.

That would give them an opportunity to ice a lineup that is close to their actual lineup for the final two games of the exhibition schedule as they gear up for the 2021-22 season and their opening game with the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 13th.