Canadiens: Vincent Arseneau Another Feel-Good Story for the Laval Rocket

After long-time head coach Sylvain Lefebvre was fired, and eventually Marc Bergevin, and Dominique Ducharme, things improved for the Rocket as a whole, and even now, guys like Arseneau play key roles in the case of guys like Joshua Roy getting called up. By the 2021-22 season, I’m assuming someone realized the Rocket couldn’t rely on the Canadiens for support and so made a habit of signing home-grown AHL veterans to short-term AHL contracts, something that ultimately, worked out beautifully in their favour. That year the Rocket were an immensely fun team to cover, led by guys like Danick Martel, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Kevin Roy, Gabriel Bourque, and former Islanders backup Kevin Roy in goal alongside Cayden Primeau. With Harvey-Pinard and Martel especially taking over offensively in the postseason, the Rocket took the Springfield Thunderbirds to 7 games before once-Canadiens prospect Charlie Lindgren of all goalies sent them home.

Since then, it’s only been positive for Laval, being consistently in the playoff mix in each of the last two seasons. Players are in an environment that is positive for development, being able to play at least an exciting brand of hockey as opposed to an entirely losing one. While guys like Arseneau were once simply a name on the back of a jersey to fill a spot, they now serve a role in a well-balanced system, and I think it’s what led to his solid start on both sides of the puck this season. In many ways, Arseneau’s story isn’t too dissimilar to that of Alex Belzile, a long-time ECHL and AHL favorite who became the heart and soul of the Rocket and even the Canadiens for brief periods over the course of 5 seasons. Much like Arseneau, Belzile came from a small town and barely cracked the QMJHL, AHL, and ECHL at different points of his career, eventually posting an impressive 14 points over 31 games for the Canadiens in 2021-22, currently serving as a key veteran leader for the New York Rangers affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.