Laval Rocket: 2024-25 Laval Rocket Thread

[schwang26]

Dobes as well.

We could have a fully healthy nhl and ahl team! When was the last time THAT happened? Has the curse finally been lifted?

Edit forgot Reinbacher

Literally came to this thread because I was wondering if Mesar was coming back soon lol.

Can't wait to see him in action.

As well, Gignac hasn’t been scoring, but he makes a big difference out there with his speed.

 

[Rapala]

Laval need to work on their PP it's becoming atrocious.
Get Roy off the blueline where he tries far too many no chance shots and kills play.
He needs to be tight to the net with those hands of his and he also needs to be a puck distributor as well as a shooter.
I'd call his play selfish at best recently. Personally I'd use Beck in that left point half wall spot he's good at keeping plays alive and moving.
ABB has also been very bad lately telegraphing everything and making some seriously weak assed pass attempts.
Lots of room for improvement.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Saw the highlights from Xhekaj's 5 point night. Beauty pass on his first assist. Nice deflection on one of his goals too.

Engstrom had one pass where he faked the shot but then gave a beauty to Davidson I think? Man he's skilled. God I hope he can play the right side. Kind of screwed if he can't.

Saw Mailloux actually make some solid D plays. He doesn't look like a lost cause which is good.

Davidson with some nice plays.

Interesting to see what happens when we get some players back from injury.

 

[schwang26]

Saw the highlights from Xhekaj's 5 point night. Beauty pass on his first assist. Nice deflection on one of his goals too.

Engstrom had one pass where he faked the shot but then gave a beauty to Davidson I think? Man he's skilled. God I hope he can play the right side. Kind of screwed if he can't.

Saw Mailloux actually make some solid D plays. He doesn't look like a lost cause which is good.

Davidson with some nice plays.

Interesting to see what happens when we get some players back from injury.

It was great no doubt, but Bridgeport has 5 wins this year. It was actually 2-1 until sometime in the second. We need to keep this in mind. Let’s see them beat Hershey like that and I’ll get excited.

 

[Treb]

It was great no doubt, but Bridgeport has 5 wins this year. It was actually 2-1 until sometime in the second. We need to keep this in mind. Let’s see them beat Hershey like that and I’ll get excited.

Laval are 6th in the league.

 

[schwang26]

Laval are 6th in the league.

They were actually first for a while. Then 3rd. Now 6th. They haven’t looked great for the past 10-12 games. A lot of those points came against bad teams. I’m just saying, don’t get too excited without putting it into context. I’m hoping that a healthy team will allow them to put together a streak, but here comes Belleville on Friday and we all know how that can go.

 

[Don D]

They were actually first for a while. Then 3rd. Now 6th. They haven’t looked great for the past 10-12 games. A lot of those points came against bad teams. I’m just saying, don’t get too excited without putting it into context. I’m hoping that a healthy team will allow them to put together a streak, but here comes Belleville on Friday and we all know how that can go.

Laval is having a good season, great, if compared to some past years. They are sixth, but both Charlotte and Toronto can overtake them as they have played 2 and 3 less games. Wilkes-Barre also has an outside chance to pass them. Still not bad in a 32 team league!

 

[Treb]

Laval is having a good season, great, if compared to some past years. They are sixth, but both Charlotte and Toronto can overtake them as they have played 2 and 3 less games. Wilkes-Barre also has an outside chance to pass them. Still not bad in a 32 team league!

As long as they stay ahead of two of Utica/Belleville/Syracuse it doesn't really matter.

 

[HabsAddict]

I don't care how Laval is doing, I care about the players.

I'm a fan of Mailman...and he's getting under my skin. EVERYBODY makes mistakes, on every level, but he has the knack of making mistakes that turn into goals.

There was one sequence tonight where he passed to a forwards feet. From the angle he passed, at the players 5 o'clock position, that is not a crazy pass nor difficult to receive. But the forward loses the puck and a resulting goal.

I kept playing the sequence over and over, other then throwing it down the ice, not many choices...and of course, it lands up in the net.

I think that there is a serious problem with developing players like M. He needs a veteran to play with were there is structure and disciplin. He has all the tools but the biggest thing he doesn't have is vision. He doesn't process the next two moves were he understands that what he does has consequences in the next two steps. So passing to an open player makes sense to him, except that player is going to be covered a second later. He simply doesn't see that. Nor is it a simple thing to teach. EVERYTHING has a one second decision-action-reaction, so it has to be done at an instinctive level speed.

He needs someone to teach him how to play like Josh George's for now. Basic, simple, non-brutal, quick forward passing hockey. Once he's playing that THEN add the offense.

BTW...AHL is far dirtier hockey then the NHL. Too many worthless journeyman still think that if they get the next dirty hit in, someone will notice them.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I don't care how Laval is doing, I care about the players.

I'm a fan of Mailman...and he's getting under my skin. EVERYBODY makes mistakes, on every level, but he has the knack of making mistakes that turn into goals.

There was one sequence tonight where he passed to a forwards feet. From the angle he passed, at the players 5 o'clock position, that is not a crazy pass nor difficult to receive. But the forward loses the puck and a resulting goal.

I kept playing the sequence over and over, other then throwing it down the ice, not many choices...and of course, it lands up in the net.

I think that there is a serious problem with developing players like M. He needs a veteran to play with were there is structure and disciplin. He has all the tools but the biggest thing he doesn't have is vision. He doesn't process the next two moves were he understands that what he does has consequences in the next two steps. So passing to an open player makes sense to him, except that player is going to be covered a second later. He simply doesn't see that. Nor is it a simple thing to teach. EVERYTHING has a one second decision-action-reaction, so it has to be done at an instinctive level speed.

He needs someone to teach him how to play like Josh George's for now. Basic, simple, non-brutal, quick forward passing hockey. Once he's playing that THEN add the offense.

BTW...AHL is far dirtier hockey then the NHL. Too many worthless journeyman still think that if they get the next dirty hit in, someone will notice them.

He's having a terrible month as a whole, he's nowhere near the player he was earlier in the season, there might be something extra going on (injury, personal, etc.). That said, you're right in saying that he's still missing a couple key elements that will always make it harder for him to get to that next level, unless he can fix them. Missing so much of that key learning/development time in his junior days might be the biggest factor in that IMO, he just didn't get much coaching before age 19.

 

[HabsAddict]

He's having a terrible month as a whole, he's nowhere near the player he was earlier in the season, there might be something extra going on (injury, personal, etc.). That said, you're right in saying that he's still missing a couple key elements that will always make it harder for him to get to that next level, unless he can fix them. Missing so much of that key learning/development time in his junior days might be the biggest factor in that IMO, he just didn't get much coaching before age 19.

X didnt get a lot of coaching either in the past but he turned his game around in a few months after extensive one on ones and practices. The current X is in a different league compared to the season opener X.

Maybe M needs the exact same treatment. Bring him up and work with him by the same coach, one on one, then break him in slowly. It's not like his mistakes will cost us a spot on the Promised Land.

Treat him like the rookie he is rather then expecting him to take over a shift. Play him with Savard and make it Savards job to actually TRAIN him in decision making. Even if he plays 10 minutes every second game, plus practice, we can get the top 4 offensive RHD we desperatly need.

 

[red devil]

 

[Rapala]

X didnt get a lot of coaching either in the past but he turned his game around in a few months after extensive one on ones and practices. The current X is in a different league compared to the season opener X.

Maybe M needs the exact same treatment. Bring him up and work with him by the same coach, one on one, then break him in slowly. It's not like his mistakes will cost us a spot on the Promised Land.

Treat him like the rookie he is rather then expecting him to take over a shift. Play him with Savard and make it Savards job to actually TRAIN him in decision making. Even if he plays 10 minutes every second game, plus practice, we can get the top 4 offensive RHD we desperatly need.

I didn't like Mailloux's play last season down the stretch when it counted most.
I didn't like his play in camp and aside from feasting on one team early this season he's been consistently meh.
They are giving him decent resources to work with in Laval and he doesn't seem to be progressing with any of them.
I'm also not sure how you would play him with Savard seeing they are both RD not to mention nothing he's done recently deserves a call up.

 

[Tyson]

I didn't like Mailloux's play last season down the stretch when it counted most.
I didn't like his play in camp and aside from feasting on one team early this season he's been consistently meh.
They are giving him decent resources to work with in Laval and he doesn't seem to be progressing with any of them.
I'm also not sure how you would play him with Savard seeing they are both RD not to mention nothing he's done recently deserves a call up.

@ChesterNimitz has been warning us not to set the bar too high on Mailloux. At first I disagreed, now I am seeing it.

 

[HabsAddict]

I didn't like Mailloux's play last season down the stretch when it counted most.
I didn't like his play in camp and aside from feasting on one team early this season he's been consistently meh.
They are giving him decent resources to work with in Laval and he doesn't seem to be progressing with any of them.
I'm also not sure how you would play him with Savard seeing they are both RD not to mention nothing he's done recently deserves a call up.

This wouldn't be a promotion as much as better training ground.

We don't have a Markov to work with him. Markov made Komisarek look like an NHLer, then as soon as he left, reverted to AHLer.

I'm hyper critical on players that I want them to succeed. On the power play, he looks like Math on meth. Not that he's getting anywhere fast, but you can see his offensive overdrive. On defense is where he pulls occasional blunders and with his luck, they land up in the net. Like I said before, EVERYONE makes mistakes on every level, but he seems to make them at the worse time.

His other problem is that with Hutson now the go-to PP guy, M is not as much a need now so he MUST have an all around game to make it. Not that Hutsons defense is anything to applaud, but his offense is so prominent, his defensive lapses are ignored...for now.

Lastly...take that play yesterday. M should of made a better pass, but the forward should of also be able to handle the puck better. NOBODY put themselves into the position to receive the pass. His partner was at the circle instead of behind the net, on the boards in order to give him an option. To a degree, you have to be better at the AHL level just to avoid second step consequences.

I'm a million miles from writing him off. If he can bring his defense to consistent top 6 and then add a top 2 offense, he's going to be a fixture on our defense for a decade. If he takes the season to get there, so be it.

 

[Treb]

Hoefenmeyer leaving for the Spengler Cup, just like Beaudin last year.

With 7 other healthy D and Jandric+Sevigny in TR, this will let him play games.

 

[DAChampion]

Which Habs prospects are expected to join the Rocket next year?

 

[Treb]

Which Habs prospects are expected to join the Rocket next year?

The prospects due to be signed are Vrbetic and Miller. I expect only Miller will be signed and he will start in the ECHL.

For the forwards, Kapanen will be back in NA and could be in Laval if he doesn't make the Habs. Demidov obviously makes the Habs. Other forwards could include Rohrer (due 2026) and Harris (due 2027). Hage, Eriksson, Koivu, Khanin and Thorpe are probably more a 2026-2027 thing or later. Sawyer and Merrill are probably even later. The rest won't get signed most likely.

Only D I could see coming in would be Konyushkov if he buys out his last KHL year. Even then, he would probably try for the Habs directly. Protz and Bergvist are more likely 2026-2027. I don't expect much of the rest.

Fowler should join Laval as he has nothing left to prove in the NCAA. As mentionned Miller in the ECHL. Volokhin has a KHL contract until 2027 and Vecvanags will most likely play his 4 years in the NCAA (which he hasn't started yet). Vrbetic and Croteau won't get signed.