On Friday, the San Jose Sharks and the Montreal Canadiens made a trade that saw Carey Price’s contract get moved. Along with Price, the Sharks received a 2026 fifth-round pick. In return, the Canadiens received defenseman Gannon Laroque [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/canadiens-trade-carey-price-s-contract-to-sharks], whom the Sharks drafted 103rd overall in the fourth round of the 2021 draft. Sophomore Slumps According to eliteprospects.com [http://eliteprospects.com], Laroque [https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/476541/gannon-laroque] hadn’t played a single game last season. The last time he featured in a professional hockey game was in the 2023-24 season, when he played nine games for the San Jose Barracuda [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl/latest-news/former-san-jose-barracuda-goaltender-aaron-dell-announces-retirement] and another nine with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder. It’s unclear what specifically kept him out of last year’s campaign, but there is an understanding that Laroque has gone through some major injuries and surgeries in his young career. The 22-year-old has gone through two separate hip surgeries that have sidelined him over the years. In the last three years, Laroque has only featured in 25 games in the AHL, WHL [https://thehockeynews.com/whl] and ECHL [https://thehockeynews.com/echl]. In September 2024, Laroque made a few appearances for the Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] at the 2024 Rookie Faceoff. He played at least two games [https://www.nhl.com/sharks/news/sharks-begin-2024-rookie-faceoff-with-3-2-victory-over-utah-hockey-club] for San Jose, recording an assist [https://www.nhl.com/sharks/news/sharks-complete-perfect-rookie-faceoff-with-6-3-win-over-avalanche] in each contest. Following the Rookie Faceoff [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/latest-news/sharks-release-golden-state-rookie-faceoff-roster], Laroque spoke to the media about recovering from his injuries and surgeries, explaining he was “feeling good.” [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/latest-news/sharks-release-golden-state-rookie-faceoff-roster] Gannon Laroque (Stan Szeto-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/51cfcb23-ebf0-4b5a-875b-5340c66fd954.jpeg] Gannon Laroque (Stan Szeto-Imagn Images) Despite internally feeling improvements, Laroque didn’t see the ice in 2024-25, leaving questions going into the upcoming season with the Laval Rocket. The season after the Sharks drafted Laroque, he showed great promise in his third year with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. In 63 games, the D-man scored 10 goals and recorded 42 assists for 52 points in 2021-22. Before his junior hockey days, the Edmonton native played two seasons in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League [https://www.csshl.ca/] (CSSHL). He averaged a point per game in both campaigns for the U-16 and U-18 teams, scoring 34 points in 34 games. Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl/latest-news/all-ahl-players-who-have-signed-in-the-khl-this-off-season] and AHL Free Agency signing tracker [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl/latest-news/ahl-free-agency-2025-tracker-and-analysis].
