Alex Barré-Boulet has been a seamless fit with Laval

On Saturday night, the Laval Rocket were busy forcing a comeback against the Hartford Wolfpack, who scored two unanswered goals in the opening frame, and added another before Laval answered back.

But Sean Farrell broke the goose egg with 4:19 left in the first period, assisted by Alex Barré-Boulet and Noel Hoefenmayer. Barré-Boulet's assist, the primary one on the tally was his first of three points on Saturday night. But the game against the Wolf Pack was another great game, which has become the standard that Barré-Boulet has set for himself throughout his seven years in the American Hockey League.

At this stage, the 27-year-old is a well-established professional hockey player and one of the top players perennially in the AHL. But he appears to be a tweener; a guy who will get a callup in a pinch, but generally he makes his money in the minors. I think that shouldn't be a shot to him at all, because the fact that he has stuck in the AHL, is a testament to the player, but most importantly the person that he is.

Barré-Boulet can score points, he has proven that, posting a career-best 84 points with the Syracuse Crunch in 2022-23. He is proving it again, I hate saying proving because he is a proven producer - but he sits at a point-per-game (35 points in 35 games) with Laval this season - looking like a tremendous addition to Pascal Vincent's squad.

His second point of the game came towards the end of the second period, his second-consecutive assist on a goal by Farrell. Barré-Boulet sees the ice well and executes deft passes with precision. With the Rocket young guys, he serves as a great mentor, who shows them how to perform with consistency on the ice and be a professional off the ice.

The importance of having a player who is clutch on the ice, and helps the Rocket win games is important. But having a guy who the coach trusts to put on the ice in all situations is important. Because it speaks to his intelligence and reliability, traits that young players would benefit from learning.

Barré-Boulet's clutch ability came through with 24 seconds remaining in regulation when he fired home a goal assisted by Farrell and Rafael Harvey-Pinard. The tying goal was both, Barré-Boulet and Farrell's third point of the game. It doesn't get any more clutch than that.

This is precisely why a guy like Barré-Boulet is such a great fit with the Rocket, because he helps the team now, and impacts their future also. Montreal is going to call on the guys who are leaned on to play the hard and heavy minutes on the penalty kill and to secure leads. Barré-Boulet plays his strong two-way game and helps the young guys who are working to earn larger roles in the AHL.

Florian Xhekaj scores the OT dagger

After the Rocket battled back to tie the game late against the Wolf Pack to force overtime, the boys weren't finished. With nine seconds remaining in the extra frame, one of Laval's heart-and-soul players, Florian Xhekaj sent the home team to the locker room in defeat with the dagger. Xhekaj fired a shot from the faceoff dot through a screen and caught Dylan Garand off-guard.

Xhekaj isn't projected to be a goal scorer, but he has scored 10 goals through his first 39 AHL games. Many of his goals will translate to the NHL because they require him to be in front of the net and clawing away for space. Xhekaj positions himself on the top of the crease and makes it hard for the defender to move him - using his reach to tip and deflect pucks - making the opposing goaltender's life difficult.

Xhekaj's overtime winner wasn't the hardest, but it was aimed with marksman precision and utilized his surroundings to perfection.