2022-23 Laval Rocket Discussion Thread

[tomh009]

The AHL season kicks off tomorrow night, with Belleville visiting the Rocket.

[GHT120]

It will be interesting to see how Mesar does ... if he struggles there is still the option of sending him to Kitchner ...  at least he might be going to a decent team ... In his OHL preview in The Athletic, Scott Wheller states that "Mesar would immediately become one of the more dynamic forwards in the OHL, and would likely also move Kitchener past Guelph for me as the early frontrunner for the division" ... and if not (the London Free Press projects them as 5th in their division) he would most likely get traded to a contender.

[dlbalr]

 

That's another development year down the drain for him unfortunately.

[dlbalr]

Mesar's time in Laval has come to a quick end:

 

 

[DON]

Got to say, seems best place for him., maybe Shane Wright will be joining him?

[hab29RETIRED]

3 hours ago, dlbalr said:

Mesar's time in Laval has come to a quick end:

 

 

Good move. Glad they didn’t take too long to decide.

[GHT120]

6 hours ago, DON said:

Got to say, seems best place for him., maybe Shane Wright will be joining him?

 

Sending Wright to the OHL would make sense ... apparently he is a healthy scratch for the Kraken home opener tonight.

 

But Mesar NEEDS to be in Ottawa (I'm selfish, I know).

[dlbalr]

Two-game suspension for Mitchell Stephens.  He has already served the first one from Saturday's game.

 

https://theahl.com/stephens-suspended-221018

[DON]

How soon will habs actually send Xhekaj/Slafkovski to Laval? 

Surely they have 2 other guys that can play 3rd pair/4th line instead.

[alfredoh2009]

where is Schueneman?

 

[dlbalr]

1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

where is Schueneman?

 

7th D with Montreal.

[alfredoh2009]

30 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

7th D with Montreal.

thanks!

 

[DON]

Seems are a few prospects "of interest" playing.

(most of others i just dont know)

Last Game’s Lines:

Harvey-Pinard – Belzile – Ylonen
Richard – Gignac – Martel
Simoneau – Mysak – Bourque
Condotta – Schnarr – Dube

Leskinen – Barron
Norlinder – Dello
Trudeau – Bowey

[GHT120]

6 minutes ago, DON said:

Seems are a few prospects "of interest" playing.

(most of others i just dont know)

Last Game’s Lines:

Harvey-Pinard – Belzile – Ylonen
Richard – Gignac – Martel
Simoneau – Mysak – Bourque
Condotta – Schnarr – Dube

Leskinen – Barron
Norlinder – Dello
Trudeau – Bowey

I agree on 5 of the 6 ... I never had very high hopes for Ylonen and don't see him as part of the long-term top nine.

[tomh009]

19 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

I agree on 5 of the 6 ... I never had very high hopes for Ylonen and don't see him as part of the long-term top nine.

I think he's NHL-capable, whether that's with the Habs or somewhere else.

[DON]

https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1023913

1st

Cayden Primeau (#31)

Laval Rocket

SA: 34 | SV: 34 | TOI: 59:45

 

 

Ylonen 6 shots.

Norlinder 3 shots

[tomh009]

From another site:

https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/ahl-laval-rocket/2022/10/19/23412512/mattias-norlinder-using-focus-stability-to-get-back-track-montreal-canadiens-prospect-laval-rocket

 

Quote

Last year, Norlinder in the AHL was tentative. He wasn’t using the skills that made him a top prospect, and his adjustment to the smaller ice surface meant that his defence was not where it needed to be, either.

 

This year, Norlinder is jumping up into the play, he’s trying to make plays, and the result is a player who once again looks like a future NHLer.

 

Has anyone seen one of the Rocket games so far and can comment on Norlinder's progress?

[dlbalr]

15 hours ago, DON said:

Seems are a few prospects "of interest" playing.

(most of others i just dont know)

Last Game’s Lines:

Harvey-Pinard – Belzile – Ylonen
Richard – Gignac – Martel
Simoneau – Mysak – Bourque
Condotta – Schnarr – Dube

Leskinen – Barron
Norlinder – Dello
Trudeau – Bowey

 

Interesting that you don't have Harvey-Pinard bolded.  He's probably the first prospect to get recalled if a forward gets hurt.

 

2 hours ago, tomh009 said:

Has anyone seen one of the Rocket games so far and can comment on Norlinder's progress?

 

I've seen bits and pieces of a couple of them.  The offensive instincts are definitely there and stand out on a team that doesn't have a lot of offensive instincts.  Still very much a work in progress in his own end.

[hockeyrealist]

Current article on main page re expectations for Laval this year hits the nail on the head.

Nice piece, thx all for the updates on Laval players.

 

[dlbalr]

5 hours ago, hockeyrealist said:

Current article on main page re expectations for Laval this year hits the nail on the head.

Nice piece, thx all for the updates on Laval players.

 

Thanks.  I have the sense that a lot of people are expecting Laval to be a contender for the Calder Cup this season.  I look at their roster which is one that's designed to highlight some younger players and question whether or not they're even a playoff team.  I think this could be a very good season from a development perspective but I don't see them being a contender in the standings which prompted me to pen that piece (which originally had a section about Mesar on the fourth line that I had to throw out).

[hockeyrealist]

3 hours ago, dlbalr said:

 

Thanks.  I have the sense that a lot of people are expecting Laval to be a contender for the Calder Cup this season.  I look at their roster which is one that's designed to highlight some younger players and question whether or not they're even a playoff team.  I think this could be a very good season from a development perspective but I don't see them being a contender in the standings which prompted me to pen that piece (which originally had a section about Mesar on the fourth line that I had to throw out).

Haha had to adapt.

and definitely agree that as much as winning is great, is that what is best for an AHL team? 
when as you pointed out it is often the team full of journeymen minor leaguers who win.

obv don’t want a mindset of losing to permeate but the real point is to make true NHL’ers who are groomed and well versed on the teams systems and style of play.

[dlbalr]

Another loss for Laval tonight, 5-2 to Bridgeport.  The lines were a bit different from Friday's loss:

 

Harvey-Pinard - Belzile - Ylonen
Richard - Stephens - Bourque
Condotta - Mysak - Martel
Teasdale - Abbandonato - Dube

 

Leskinen - Barron
Norlinder - Dello
Trudeau - Bowey

 

Poulin

[DON]

 

[alfredoh2009]

On 10/20/2022 at 6:35 PM, dlbalr said:

 

Thanks.  I have the sense that a lot of people are expecting Laval to be a contender for the Calder Cup this season.  I look at their roster which is one that's designed to highlight some younger players and question whether or not they're even a playoff team.  I think this could be a very good season from a development perspective but I don't see them being a contender in the standings which prompted me to pen that piece (which originally had a section about Mesar on the fourth line that I had to throw out).

 

I agree with the article, I read it last week.

I am one of those optimistic fans who believe that the Rocket may contend, but of course that hinges on some of the AHL players in Montreal to dress for Laval, notably: Harris, Xhekaj, Slafkovsky

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, DON said:

 

Mysak is stuck on the fourth line ... it looks like he may struggle to reach the ceiling we originally thought he had.