After a sluggish end to the 2023-24 campaign, with exclusion from the playoffs on the penultimate day of the regular calendar, on April 19, changes were in order for the Rocket (33-31-8 – 74 points), who finished in the bottom of the ranking of his section.
This is what the Canadian and the general manager of the Rocket, John Sedgwick, managed to accomplish, without affecting the core of the future of the Montreal organization, made up of around ten players that it requested from the draft.
To support them, the Rocket can count on American League veterans such as Quebec forwards Alex Barré-Boulet, Vincent Arseneau and Laurent Dauphin, as well as defender Tyler Wotherspoon.
Three-year contract for Houle
But before the season began, a change occurred that wasn't in the cards.
Six weeks after the Rocket's last game, and after a wait that, to some observers, seemed intriguing, head coach Jean-François Houle finally put his name to the bottom of a three-year contract with the organization Laval.
Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle. (Christinne Muschi/Canadian Press Archives)
This gesture was to ensure a certain continuity within a very young team which had progressed after a meager harvest of five victories in its first 22 games, including an ugly sequence of nine defeats between November 17 and December 8. 2024.
Shortly after, Houle received a call from Clarkson University — his alma mater — in New York State, which needed a new head of the men's hockey program. A very particular family context finally prompted him to accept Clarkson's offer, about three weeks after he had said yes to the Rocket.
Circumstances helping, Sedgwick and the Canadian were able to turn to another candidate, in Pascal Vincent, who had been fired a month earlier by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Vincent was quick to return to his hometown and join the Canadiens organization, which he did on July 16.
However, despite the rich experience that Vincent has behind the bench of teams in the QMJHL, the American League and the National League, the challenge was great both for him and for the players, because there was a chemistry to create. It clicked quickly.
The Rocket had the best start to the season since arriving at Place Bell – in 2017 – with nine triumphs in their first 10 games and 12 wins in their first 14 games.
This prosperous period was made possible thanks to a series of eight victories, a record in Rocket history, between October 18 and November 8.
Above all, it propelled the Laval team to first place in the general ranking of the American League with an efficiency rate which, then, was close to the 80% mark, as of November 27.
But, as shortages are inevitable over the course of a season – unless you are the Montreal Canadiens of 1976-77 – the Rocket experienced a first down period which began with a defeat in regulation time, precisely on the 27th. November, in Hershey. Two other losses abroad followed in which the Rocket let leads slip away after 40 minutes of play.
Despite this drop in performance and the absences of important players at the beginning of December, including goalkeeper Jakub Dobes, the Rocket was able to pull itself together and regain first place in the standings in its section after the matches on December 22.
Improved Dobes
The Rocket's general performance can be explained, in part, by significantly better and more consistent performances from the goalkeepers, and especially from Dobes.
After 14 games in 2024-25, the 23-year-old Czech has a record of 9-3-1, a goals against average of 2.44 and a save percentage of ‚910. After the same number of outings last year, his record was 4-5-3, his goals against average was 4.05 and his save percentage was .877.
So far, Dobes has benefited from good support from Connor Hughes, a newcomer whose statistics (8-5-1 – 2.43 – .908 and 1 JB) are for all practical purposes identical to those of Dobes.
Among the young players who are identified as prospects for the Canadian, Owen Beck and Swedish defender Adam Engström are attracting attention.
In his first 28 outings in North America, Engström had 15 points and had a defensive rating of plus-10.
Swedish defenseman Adam Engström during the Rocket's opening game against Syracuse. (Dominick Gravel/Archives La Presse)
As for Beck, in his first professional season, he totaled 21 points in 28 games, including four winning goals, a record for the Rocket, tied with Joshua Roy.
Above all, his defensive ratio of plus-11 – tied with Jared Davidson for first place in the Rocket – already suggests that the Montreal organization will be able to count, one day, on a player responsible in all three zones.
Such an analysis also applies to Davidson (12-6-18), who has, after 25 games, one more goal and two more points than in the 38 games to which he was limited during his first professional season, in 2023-24.
In addition, we see a slight increase in the performance of defender Logan Mailloux (23-5-10-15), who scored one goal and two more points than after the same number of games a year ago. His defensive ratio also went from minus-11 to minus-2.
As for Roy, (25-12-11-23) the organization's most prominent prospect, observers probably expected more offensive flashes from him in Laval.
In fact, these same observers perhaps thought Roy would have a blast with the Canadian. However, a very mundane training camp and a brief stint of four games with the Habs where he generated nothing, between November 26 and December 1, keep him in the American League for the moment.
However, maybe something just clicked. Roy scored two goals — winning goals — and added two assists in valuable triumphs against Belleville and Springfield last weekend at Place Bell.
Furthermore, we feel he is more aware of the play in his territory, which translates into a defensive ratio of plus-3 compared to minus-16 after 25 games last year.
