Montreal Canadiens Youngsters Show Their Stuff, But Laval Rocket Drop Home Opener

The Montreal Canadiens started their season off on Wednesday night and Friday was for the Laval Rocket. They kickstarted their 2023-24 campaign after a hysterical microphone malfunction delayed the anthem singer. In total, five players made their professional debuts. Of the young prospects with the promise to play in the NHL in the next couple of years, Filip Mesar and Jared Davidson were healthy scratches.

Below is a breakdown of Rocket goals, and plays that stood out. They are broken up between the three periods.

First Period

Joel Armia scored the first goal of the season for the Rocket, to open the scoring and break the tie, just under three minutes into the game. Sean Farrell recorded an assist on the tally, which marked his first professional point, and Mitchell Stephens also earned an assist.

Joshua Roy started a nice passing play with Emil Heineman, who passed it back to him around a defender. Roy absolutely danced the Canucks defender, before slipping a quick snapshot past Arturs Silovs, to break the 1-1 tie. The tally marked Roy’s first professional goal and point.

Roy’s strong puck play and relentless net front pursuit with the puck drew a penalty, giving the Rocket their first chance to show off their young special teams unit. The Rocket failed to capitalize on the man advantage, but Roy’s strong play was impressive.

Second Period

Roy and Mailloux were making plays all over the ice, and if the strong play keeps up, it will translate to the scoresheet eventually. Both made very strong cases to make the Habs roster, and the confidence gained from their experience seems to have translated to the American League.

Despite a power play and many high-quality chances, the Rocket could not crack the scoresheet and break the tie. The Canucks went up 3-2, and the Rocket battled hard to tie the game. Trudeau made an ill-advised pass in an attempt to exit the zone, it was intercepted and the Canucks went up by two goals.

The floodgates opened up, and the Canucks slipped their fifth goal past Dobes. He was pulled in favour of Strauss Mann, and while five goals is a lot, I wouldn’t blame Dobes completely. The game was very wide open, with both teams trading chances, and the Rocket had a hole to dig themselves out of a three-goal deficit because of it.

Third Period

After a dreadful middle frame, which saw the Rocket surrender three goals, they were able to pull within two goals of the Canucks. Brandon Gignac potted his first of the season less than three minutes into the third period. It was a great individual effort, he attacked from the blueline, taking advantage of the space he was given, then he fired a nice wrist shot past Silovs.

Armia collected his second goal of the game and the fourth Rocket goal. The tally came during the man advantage and kept the team within two goals of the Canucks. That was as close as they would get though; as Abbotsford scored a seventh goal, which was determined to be insurmountable for the Rocket.

Mailloux also came to the aid of his defence partner Mattias Norlinder, after he was hit awkwardly into the boards. It wasn’t a huge fight, but it showed the character of Mailloux, and his willingness to use his strength and physical presence to defend his mates. He handled himself well in his first game with the puck, but he also proved that he was playing for the crest on his sweater, not the nameplate on the back.

There are some positives, especially when you consider that five players made their professional hockey debuts – Joshua Roy, Sean Farrell, Riley Kidney, Logan Mailloux and Jakub Dobes – each had a solid game. It could be argued that Dobes had a tough night, and getting pulled in your first AHL start is tough, but the defence was giving up too much space. That was the ultimate detriment of the teams’ pursuit to come out of the game with a win.

It was a tough loss, but the team competed the entire game, and the debuting players ensured the fans got a glimpse of what’s to come.

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