Laval, AHL Making Final Preparations for Season Openers

Just like their big brothers in the NHL, the Laval Rocket and 31 other American Hockey League (AHL) teams are gearing up for their official season openers this week.

For Laval, questions still surround the opening night roster: will Joel Armia actually be assigned to the Rocket? Will Jakub Dobes and Strauss Mann continue as the goaltending tandem to start the year? How many more players will be released from camp and assigned to the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the ECHL?

With a veritable glut of prospects filling many roster positions for the Rocket, it promises to be an exciting season ahead as those young players hone their game and take a step forward in their development.

After Laval won both of their preseason games, including a decisive victory on home ice Sunday afternoon against the Belleville Senators, the team announced their leadership group for the upcoming season. Captain Gabriel Bourque will have the support of Mitchell Stephens, Lucas Condotta, and Tobie Paquette-Bisson as alternate captains.

In other AHL news, with the Chicago Wolves announcing earlier this year that they would no longer be affiliated with an NHL franchise, it's left the Carolina Hurricanes scrambling to find places for their prospects to play. They've had to loan players to a number of different AHL and ECHL teams, including sending goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch's crease has understandably been depleted due to the injury of Andrei Vasilevskiy in Tampa Bay.

On this week's episode of The Press Zone podcast, Amy updates listeners on the ins and outs of Laval's preseason matchups, roster updates, and gives a preview of the opening games at Place Bell this weekend.

Plus, she's joined in the studio by Rick Stephens and Patrick Williams for an 'AHL Hot Stove' segment to discuss the Rocket's top prospects and the situation in Syracuse!

To explore these topics further, we invite you to listen to the latest edition of The Press Zone podcast, hosted by Amy Johnson. This weekly show provides Habs fans with the latest news, analysis, and commentary regarding the Laval Rocket, Canadiens prospects, and American Hockey League news.

You can listen to this episode of The Press Zone podcast here: New Season, Fresh Start

Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.