The young stars on the Laval Rocket stepped up in Game 1 of the North Division Final. Kale Clague opened the scoring for the Rochester Americans, but Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher battled back to give the Rocket a 2-1 lead going into the second period. After the Americans rallied to make it 3-2, a couple of veterans in Brandon Gignac and Alex Barre-Boulet regained the lead. The Americans tied it in the third period, but Oliver Kapanen took the lead less than four minutes later.
It's a wonderful sight for Montreal Canadiens fans to see all their young players stepping up in big moments. There's a significant chance that Mailoux or Reinbacher will take David Savard's spot on the right side next season, and some outside potential that both will find a spot in the lineup. It was also a welcome sight to see Kapanen pitch in, as some extra North American playoff experience will serve him well for his first full season here in 2025-26.
Laurent Dauphin and Barre-Boulet are the Rocket's leading scorers in this playoffs with seven points in five games. Sean Farrell is behind them with five, but then it starts a list of prospects in Mailloux, Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, and Kapanen. If Laval can advance a couple more series, the young core leading the Rocket to a Calder Cup before challenging for spots on the big roster next season would be a perfect end to the rebuild.
Cayden Primeau starts Game 1
The Rocket chose to start Cayden Primeau in Game 1, which was an interesting decision. Jacob Fowler has been playing well, but they opted for experience over the rookie. Primeau didn't have his most impressive performance, stopping just 23 of 27 shots. You can see Pascal Vincent's line of thinking, but it might be time to give Fowler the starting role.
Fowler is 3-0 in the postseason with a .953 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average. The Canadiens' organization is trying to shelter him from taking on too much responsibility, to avoid what happened to the development of the man standing across from the Rocket in this series, Devon Levi. However, that doesn't mean we haven't seen a rookie goaltender excel in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Fowler passed every test so far, and one bad game isn't going to crater his confidence. It might be time for the Rocket to ride him until that happens, as Laval winning the Calder Cup with the young players contributing would be even better if Fowler is the starter.