2022-2023 Laval Rocket

[sampollock]

I’ll swing for the fences here and guess…..coaching

size??

 

[jrom]

size??

I don’t know enough the Laval players to say for sure but if the “system” is more “make smart reads” this year, players with low or average hockey IQ won’t thrive.

 

[beowulf]

size??

That could be part of it especially with no real tougher guys to back them up.

Simoneau is 5'7"
Martel is 5'8"
Harvey-Pineard, Bourque, Dube and Mesar (well only played 3 games and 1 game each the last two) are all listed as 5'9"

They have only one skater at 6'4" and then it's Barron at 6'2". Heck the 3 goalies who have played for them this year are 3 of the biggest players with 2 at 6'2" and Vrbetic at 6'6".

 

[1909]

Talent level is not very high. Not many NHL bound guys in thant bunch.

They have a smallish team. Lack of grit and muscle.

The D is very weak compared to the one that lead them to their Confrence Finals.

Coaching ??? I dunno. Same crew as the one which brought them to Conference Finals.

 

[OldCraig71]

Here's an idea, since it's Laval and no one cares, why not hire the best coach available instead of the best French speaking coach available? Just a thought.

Back in the day I would receive hate/anger-based pm's for posts like this one.

 

[HuGort]

He can't address everything at once but you can almost see it coming. Not enough successful development happening. We can't have Lefebvre 2.0.

He shouldn't delay on this. Probably development is extraordinary important. He's been here a year. Bad for guys like Barron this is.

 

[Treb]

Talent level is not very high. Not many NHL bound guys in thant bunch.

They have a smallish team. Lack of grit and muscle.

The D is very weak compared to the one that lead them to their Confrence Finals.

Coaching ??? I dunno. Same crew as the one which brought them to Conference Finals.

Ouellet versus Bowey
Belpedio vs Barron
Bisson vs Leskinen
Schueneman
Dello
Niku vs Norlinder
Amorosa/Fairbrother vs Trudeau/Beaudin

Is it really that big of a difference?

 

[1909]

Ouellet versus Bowey
Belpedio vs Barron
Bisson vs Leskinen
Schueneman
Dello
Niku vs Norlinder
Amorosa/Fairbrother vs Trudeau/Beaudin

Is it really that big of a difference?

yes.

 

[Treb]

yes.

Who specifically?

 

[1909]

Who specifically?

I think Ouellet, Belpedio and Bisson are better most of them. They were bigger and playing safer. Niku, while not perfect, was talented enough with his offensive game.

 

[HuGo Sham]

A bit surprised at how bad Laval is this year?
They did lose some decent vets but the D group looks strong and with Richard and Simoneau added to the offense you would think they would be at least as competitive as last year.

Question- why has Laval regressed so much and why are there rarely any AHL prospects that pan put?

Houle, JF

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Everyone is barking up the wrong tree.....

Laval is struggling because they are being asked to mirror MSL's system and they simply don't have the talent level to do so. Houle ran a more conventional system that is far less prone to breakdowns but was asked to convert to the same system that the big club is using. Not really rocket science.......

 

[Naslundforever]

Everyone is barking up the wrong tree.....

Laval is struggling because they are being asked to mirror MSL's system and they simply don't have the talent level to do so. Houle ran a more conventional system that is far less prone to breakdowns but was asked to convert to the same system that the big club is using. Not really rocket science.......

This would make sense… Are they fun to watch at least?

 

[Tyson]

Houle, JF

Some of the vets they brought in aren't getting it done. Richard has been good but it's the same theme as in Montreal- the Vets aren't good enough

 

[Nicko999]

People forget that last year at this time of the year, Bergevin was just fired having left the worst prospect pool in the league.

Just not enough talent. Coaching doesn't help either but #1 reason is lack of talent.

 

[cphabs]

Have not watched a game. Are the players going down swings or just skating?

People forget that last year at this time of the year, Bergevin was just fired having left the worst prospect pool in the league.

Just not enough talent. Coaching doesn't help either but #1 reason is lack of talent.

Farm developments talent.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

This would make sense… Are they fun to watch at least?

Not so much......Marty's system requires hockey IQ and a lack of hockey IQ is the reason that most minor leaguers are minor leaguers.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

This would make sense… Are they fun to watch at least?

Not really. I watch few games and not completely. It's dull hockey. Last 3 years they were a bit more interresting to watch. You don't have rds? (I guess no)

 

[Naslundforever]

Not really. I watch few games and not completely. It's dull hockey. Last 3 years they were a bit more interresting to watch. You don't have rds? (I guess no)

Yeah I have the online membership; I guess I could check out some games, it hadn’t occured to me… If say Slaf, Beck, Mesar, Heinemann were there, or some of the rookie D rotating on the habs I’d have more interest for sure.

 

[Addik04]

Hopefully they go down after the game to tell JF Houle he can go home after this game and let someone else finish the season behind the bench.

From Basu and Godin from The Athletic:

" There are no publicly available underlying numbers for the AHL, but the Canadiens have an analytics department now, so they have their own data to work with, and they tell a different story than the AHL standings. We’re told that according to that data, the Rocket should have had 16 wins this season entering that game in Abbotsford, and not seven. They were, again, according to those numbers, the top offensive team in the AHL at five-on-five and among the top 10 defensively. "

 

[Runner77]

Yeah I have the online membership; I guess I could check out some games, it hadn’t occured to me… If say Slaf, Beck, Mesar, Heinemann were there, or some of the rookie D rotating on the habs I’d have more interest for sure.

My interest has waned on account of dull play and mostly interchangeable undersized types with limited upside. The team has a 10,000 seat arena to fill -- they're not just losing, they don't have enough premium players to spike fan interest. Maybe it's just the result of a holding pattern as we see those players developing in other leagues and eventually making their way to the Rocket.

Somehow, it feels like the Rocket are not getting enough management attention even though we saw Hughes and Sedgwick attending a Rocket away game last week. Just an impression, it doesn't mean they're not working to improve things.

 

[Adam Michaels]

From Basu and Godin from The Athletic:

" There are no publicly available underlying numbers for the AHL, but the Canadiens have an analytics department now, so they have their own data to work with, and they tell a different story than the AHL standings. We’re told that according to that data, the Rocket should have had 16 wins this season entering that game in Abbotsford, and not seven. They were, again, according to those numbers, the top offensive team in the AHL at five-on-five and among the top 10 defensively. "

And yet, they're not winning as much as their numbers suggest. Why is that?

The prospects you want producing are producing. So there is that. But what is the reason their data suggested one thing, but the team is last in their division and bottom 5 in the whole league?

Is the coaching that bad that the team is losing even though they should win? Or is the organization going to let analytics be the tool that leads them?

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Back in the day I would receive hate/anger-based pm's for posts like this one.

Only in Quebec. I understand and agree about the French speaking players, it's a tradition, I want PLD for that reason and because he's a great player. But the coaching thing is ridiculous and never mattered before the media hyenas made it matter.

 

[Addik04]

And yet, they're not winning as much as their numbers suggest. Why is that?

The prospects you want producing are producing. So there is that. But what is the reason their data suggested one thing, but the team is last in their division and bottom 5 in the whole league?

Is the coaching that bad that the team is losing even though they should win? Or is the organization going to let analytics be the tool that leads them?

I have not watched any games, maybe a few period, but not that much.

However, Primeau has a GAA of 3.53 and SV% of .893. Poulin has 3.75 and .873. Thats one thing. Add to that some puck luck that they really dont have?

If they are right, it will come back, but not a top 5 team in the league...

 

[montreal]

Houle = Sylvain Lefebvre, that's why.

Houle's not that bad.