Laval Rocket: 2023-24 Laval Rocket Thread

[Nevins]

Things take time, development is often a long process. So far it's mostly been the rookies that have been their best players so it's mostly going well. I am shocked that Dobes is struggling but he has been put in some tough spots, that said he has to be better. I thought he would be very good so perhaps I was wrong as I do struggle with goalies.

Mailloux I would like to see better from him but I also expected him to struggle a lot so I'm not surprised but we'll see how much can he progress or not as the season goes on. You can see some flashes for sure and think boy if he ever figures the rest out, you could have something special on your hands there. That said we'll see how bright he is, if he can continue to make major strides even if it takes 2-3 years, it's worth the risk to see if it pays off.

Roy and Farrell have mostly been their best players, Farrell has struggled more early on but lately (didn't see the last game or 2 of the last 3) but he was looking better and better. Both have shown many good things and some things they need to work on, which is why it's good they are in the AHL. If they can get quicker, stronger lower body should help skating/speed. So smart and skilled, going to be so interesting to see how this pans out.

Struble has been their best D so once again the rookies are among our best players. Certainly plays a power game, he hasn't been as physical this season as he was in his few games at the end of last season but that is smart as he does have a temper so he needs to stay focused as you need him on the ice not in the box. Hope they don't rush him, let him keep building off this for now.

Heineman it sucks he got injured with another concussion so you start to wonder about him as he does play a physical brand.

Norlinder and Trudeau have been big disappointments, I really thought Norlinder would take a big step this year but I also wanted him to get traded as it's clear Houle is no fan and I can see why. We'll see though, perhaps things start to settle down at some point for them.

Kidney I like the playmaking but I have had my doubts about him with his frame, not being overly quick, strong. He's looked ok on the bottom lines, they just moved him up so we'll see. I like him more then Mysak but I was never too big of a fan of his.

Very good analysis

 

[WeThreeKings]

Dobes is struggling with confidence/focus rather than not being technically/athletically proficient enough for the AHL. The defense around him is obviously not helping.

 

[BaseballCoach]

I am shocked that Dobes is struggling but he has been put in some tough spots, that said he has to be better. I thought he would be very good so perhaps I was wrong as I do struggle with goalies.

Me too. I think he will come out of it.

Mailloux I would like to see better from him but I also expected him to struggle a lot so I'm not surprised but we'll see how much can he progress or not as the season goes on. You can see some flashes for sure and think boy if he ever figures the rest out, you could have something special on your hands there. That said we'll see how bright he is, if he can continue to make major strides even if it takes 2-3 years, it's worth the risk to see if it pays off.

He is so bad defensively, it may take years to fix, or perhaps he can be turned into a good scoring winger.

Roy and Farrell have mostly been their best players, Farrell has struggled more early on but lately (didn't see the last game or 2 of the last 3) but he was looking better and better. Both have shown many good things and some things they need to work on, which is why it's good they are in the AHL. If they can get quicker, stronger lower body should help skating/speed. So smart and skilled, going to be so interesting to see how this pans out.

I think Roy has a much better chance to have an impact at the NHL level than Farrell, but if Farrell can somehow become another prime Gaudreau that would be a fantastic bonus.

Struble has been their best D so once again the rookies are among our best players. Certainly plays a power game, he hasn't been as physical this season as he was in his few games at the end of last season but that is smart as he does have a temper so he needs to stay focused as you need him on the ice not in the box. Hope they don't rush him, let him keep building off this for now.

I think Struble could get a game or two as injury replacement like Subban did his rookie pro year, but I would not be surprised if Jayden made the squad next year. Very solid player I think.

Heineman it sucks he got injured with another concussion so you start to wonder about him as he does play a physical brand.

Hopefully he gets back to playing eventually, at 100%.

Norlinder and Trudeau have been big disappointments, I really thought Norlinder would take a big step this year but I also wanted him to get traded as it's clear Houle is no fan and I can see why. We'll see though, perhaps things start to settle down at some point for them.

Trudeau is a limited-talent player whose sole claim to fame is exceeding tremendously low expectations last year.

Norlinder is a good candidate for a fresh start elsewhere. He is not going to make any impact here.

Kidney I like the playmaking but I have had my doubts about him with his frame, not being overly quick, strong. He's looked ok on the bottom lines, they just moved him up so we'll see. I like him more then Mysak but I was never too big of a fan of his.

I agree Kidney has more upside than Mysak, but that is the absolute minimum standard to even be a prospect, IMO. It doesn't mean that much really.

Some time in Trois-Rivieres is probably needed, as he is behind Davidson and many others right now.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Norlinder might be the biggest disappointment if you factor in talent, age and upside, especially since it looked like he was starting to turn the corner at the big camp. I was really expecting him to start strong in Laval, but it seems like not making the Habs kinda broke his spirit. Trudeau is only a second year pro and he doesn't have nearly as many tools to work with, I'm willing to cut him some slack.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Norlinder might be the biggest disappointment if you factor in talent, age and upside, especially since it looked like he was starting to turn the corner at the big camp. I was really expecting him to start strong in Laval, but it seems like not making the Habs kinda broke his spirit. Trudeau is only a second year pro and he doesn't have nearly as many tools to work with, I'm willing to cut him some slack.

Norlinder might just be someone who will be better in the NHL than he is in the AHL.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Norlinder might just be someone who will be better in the NHL than he is in the AHL.

Maybe, I'd certainly like to see him get a few games with the big team if an opportunity comes, it's the last season on his deal so they do have to figure out if he's worth keeping around or not.

 

[Deas]

This is obviously just stat watching but is there any kind of story to Roy's sudden scoring drought? Or just coincidence/bad puck luck?

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

This is obviously just stat watching but is there any kind of story to Roy's sudden scoring drought? Or just coincidence/bad puck luck?

He's been making the same plays, the team just isn't in a good place right now and people are not converting on them. He definitely has been a part of the solution.

 

[Treb]

This is obviously just stat watching but is there any kind of story to Roy's sudden scoring drought? Or just coincidence/bad puck luck?

Return to the mean. He wasn't going to be 2 ppg in the AHL all year.

 

[SwiftyHab]

At the start of the season, a majority (I included) thought that the Rocket finally had an interesting team that should perform in the AHL (and with rookies with potential)
After 10 games, the Rocket is last in the league and has granted the most goals against. Are we too enthusiastic about Canadian prospects or there are other explanations for these bad performances?

Houle did mention specifically that with the big inflow of new players, they would need a transition period. maybe until christmas till they started figuring things out and wanted some patience with the fans. That being said, dont think anyone thought it would be this bad

 

[BaseballCoach]

At the start of the season, a majority (I included) thought that the Rocket finally had an interesting team that should perform in the AHL (and with rookies with potential)
After 10 games, the Rocket is last in the league and has granted the most goals against. Are we too enthusiastic about Canadian prospects or there are other explanations for these bad performances?

Defensively:

Mailloux is costing the team games. i expected it, but it is even worse than I thought it would be.

Norlinder is horrible, but I never counted on him.

Dobes is having a quite rough start.

Struble is doing well but can't stop the defensive collapse on his own.

Trudeau is the limited-talent D I thought he was.


Up front,

Roy is meeting everyone's expectations.​

​

Farrell is meeting mine (over 0.6 ppg)​

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Heineman has hardly played due to the freak concussion.​

​

Maillet was supposed to help the prospects and he has not.​

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

The goaltending has been very bad. Nobody looks good when the goaltending is terrible and the defensemen start second-guessing everything because they can't count on the goalies to stop anything. Once a goalie claims that net things will start to look much better.

 

[schwang26]

5 games in 7 nights with this team! Yikes

 

[WeThreeKings]

The goaltending has been very bad. Nobody looks good when the goaltending is terrible and the defensemen start second-guessing everything because they can't count on the goalies to stop anything. Once a goalie claims that net things will start to look much better.

The defense is the reason the goaltending is bad, not the other way around. Dobes and Mann have to account for 2-3 options which makes it very difficult to make some of the more routine saves because you are caught between sliding aggressively to a down low option, a cross-ice option, and once you don't trust your defense, you are moving toward the pass option when the shot comes.

 

[Don D]

Norlinder might just be someone who will be better in the NHL than he is in the AHL.

How many players have been better in the NHL than AHL after 80 AHL games, at 23 years of age?

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

The defense is the reason the goaltending is bad, not the other way around. Dobes and Mann have to account for 2-3 options which makes it very difficult to make some of the more routine saves because you are caught between sliding aggressively to a down low option, a cross-ice option, and once you don't trust your defense, you are moving toward the pass option when the shot comes.

Agree to disagree

 

[montreal]

Agree to disagree

he's 100% correct. I have vids of every game but the worst 2 so outside of those games there's not many soft goals they are giving up but they are having a number of defensive breakdowns, which I put most in the vids. It's the entire blueline, everyone has turned the puck over at some point, the D must find a way to tighten things up and the goaltending has to be better.

I don't know what went wrong last game, but before that Dobes was starting to show some good things despite still being too aggressive and over playing some pucks, he was looking better but then last game it sounds like it went badly again.

 

[montreal]

 

[montreal]

 

[Treb]

Houle did mention specifically that with the big inflow of new players, they would need a transition period. maybe until christmas till they started figuring things out and wanted some patience with the fans. That being said, dont think anyone thought it would be this bad

But most of his blueline isn't new.

Trudeau, Struble, Norlinder, Beaudin and Galipeau were all there last year.

Bisson played for him two years ago although admittedly the system changed.

Keeper, Mailloux and Linsdtrom are new.

Laval right now: 2 new G (technically 1 G, but Dobes was there last year and did not play), 3 new D (+1 coming back), 8 new F

1st in:
Atlantic, Hershey: 3 new D, 8 new F
Central, Texas: 6 new D, 4 new F
North, Rochester: 2 new G, 2 new D, 7 new F
Pacific, Henderson: 1 new D, 8 new F

 

[BaseballCoach]

Is Lias Andersson hurt?

 

[Ezpz]

Norlinder might just be someone who will be better in the NHL than he is in the AHL.

Could be confidence too. It was obvious Marty trusted him in pre-season and he responded in turn. Houle did not trust him at all last season and actively put him in situations he wouldn't thrive. I don't know if that was to improve the weak areas of his game or if Houle had never seen tape of him before. He may just feel defeated playing for the guy again.

 

[jrom]

Is Lias Andersson hurt?

Yes, announced yesterday I think

 

[montreal]

Is Lias Andersson hurt?

injured in practice

 

[Treb]

I hate putting Gignac on the first line instead of trying some of the younger guys ( Kidney, Mysak, Davidson). The season is already going in a terrible way, might as well try some guys in a higher position to see if they can grab and run with it.

Gignac is being Darche'd.