The Laval Rocket is enjoying an interesting streak of success despite the absences of important players at various times in the first month of the calendar. Now that November is here, the trend of losing significant resources continues.
For very different reasons, the Laval team will be deprived of the services of captain Lucas Condotta and forward Jared Davidson for the two weekend games in Belleville, against the Senators, its biggest rivals in the American League.
Condotta was recalled by the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, the eve of the first of a four-game road trip. As for Davidson, he will be out for at least a week with a lower-body injury sustained in the second period of the Oct. 30 game against the Utica Comets.
Each in their own way, Condotta and Davidson helped the Rocket build a record of eight wins and one loss and the best efficiency percentage in the American League (.889) tied with the Milwaukee Admirals.
While saying he was happy for Condotta, head coach Pascal Vincent said he is a difficult type of player to replace.
“It has to be done as a group because not only is he an excellent leader, he played important minutes five on five, on the power play, on the penalty kill. We played a lot of close matches and he played the right way,” described Vincent after the Rocket’s training session on Wednesday.
Along the way, Vincent noted traits of Condotta’s character that impressed him in his role as captain.
“His consistency, his work ethic,” he identified. One of the things he told me was that he loves helping others become better. He’s really very, very good. He does this naturally. »
In the case of Davidson, we are talking about a re-evaluation on a weekly basis, but Vincent wanted to be reassuring.
“We are not talking about months [d’absence]. [Le groupe médical] We’ll keep an eye on him and see when he’s ready. But it’s not necessarily long term. It’s not short term either. It’s in between,” Vincent said.
Davidson is not the Rocket’s most spectacular player, nor the most productive offensively. In eight games, he has four goals and six points. However, he displays a defensive ratio of plus-6, which allows him to share first place in the Laval team with forward Owen Beck as well as defenders Zack Hayes and Tyler Wotherspoon.
“Davidson brings speed, offense. He has a physical aspect, he goes in traffic. His play reads are good. He’s a good teammate. There are a lot of things he does well,” Vincent analyzed.
“He has a very good shot, so he is effective on the power play. He’s a guy who can play center, who can play wing. (His absence) hurts us, that’s for sure. Maybe we could have used him at center on the second line instead of ‘Condo’,” Vincent also noted.
In recent weeks, the Rocket has scored victories despite the absences of players like defender Logan Mailloux, forwards Alex Barré-Boulet, Filip Mesar and Brandon Gignac, as well as goalie Jakub Dobes.
However, according to the Rocket head coach, there are ways to win hockey games despite a somewhat decimated team. But collective play must take precedence.
“There are times when (the situation) is extreme and it’s difficult to win, but your game structure should be in place so that you can at least perform and give yourself a chance to win. So you don’t replace a guy like Condotta with a player. This is going to be the team structure that should be in place so that we can continue to perform. »
Defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon is aware of the importance of Condotta and Davidson thus far. However, the veteran is confident because, precisely, the Laval team managed to pull the chestnuts out of the fire in a context that was not always ideal, he estimated.
“In times like these, it’s an opportunity for some players to play bigger roles,” Wotherspoon said.
“As we’ve seen so far this season, the guys have done a great job in that regard. We played with four trios and three pairs of defenders. So far it has been a collective effort and if we continue like this everything will be fine,” he added.
Gignac makes a reading similar to that of his teammate.
“Lucas is always a positive guy in the locker room. It’s fun to be around him. Also, he’s a big guy and he finishes his checks. Jared played with confidence. He managed to score big goals. These are two big pieces that we lose, but we have a lot of depth. »
If Condotta and Davidson will not be available, the Rocket could at least count on the services of Barré-Boulet and Dobes during the weekend. Absent during the two games against the Providence Bruins, Friday and Saturday, the two players participated in training on Wednesday.
Furthermore, the Rocket recalled forward Jacob Perreault from the Trois-Rivières Lions.
