The Montreal Canadiens' AHL affiliate played three games last week, with the team and some players in noteworthy positions in places on the league's charts.
Last week, the Laval Rocket played two more games at home before heading out for their first road trip of the season. They managed to split the two home games against the Rochester Americans, but came up short when they traveled to Belleville.
After dropping their third consecutive game on Wednesday night, the Rocket finally got in the win column on Friday, largely due to the help of the youngest members of their team. Joshua Roy stole the show in that game with a five-point performance, which included his first pro hat trick.
Other firsts for the weekend included Logan Mailloux's first pro goal, as well as goaltender Jakub Dobes' first pro victory in the crease. Roy, Sean Farrell, Jayden Struble, and William Trudeau all contributed points over the course of the week as well, leaving plenty of positives to review through the three games played.
But we can't ignore the fact that the Rocket are 1-3-1 to start the season, and head out for two more road games against divisional opponents this coming weekend. It was well-established prior to the start of the season that with as many young players as would be on the roster for Laval, wins might not come as easily. How the team responds and builds on their early learning lessons will be key to watch.
Injuries have also hit the AHL club and, coupled with Joel Armia's recall and Filip Mesar's loan to the OHL, Jean-Francois Houle is now working with a bare-minimum of forwards at his disposal.
You watched an excerpt of my latest episode of Rocket Hockey Report at the top of this article, so if you want to hear the REST of my Laval Rocket analysis, simply click the following link to watch this week's episode on YouTube: The Laval Rocket lead the AHL in WHAT categories? + Guest Patrick Williams!
That's right, on this week's show I'm joined by special guest Patrick Williams, the AHL writer for NHL.com and a features writer for the AHL. He gives viewers his thoughts on the start that Laval has had, the impact the young prospects are having, and some notables from all around the American Hockey League.
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.
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