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Post by NWTHabsFan on Feb 8, 2019 7:15:05 GMT -5
Tough news for McCarron. He's done for the year after shoulder surgery. It sucks for sure in a number of ways. McCarron was playing really well in December prior to his injury. Perhaps his best stretch in ages. He was hurt in a team practice. Not a very common occurrence. His current contract will be up and he is a RFA...so he no doubt would rather be playing to ensure he gets another deal. This is likely moot as I expect the Habs sign him anyway, he was showing enough prior to the injury and they have tons of contract space left anyway. They will need bodies next year. They only have 43 guys under contract now and not all will be back. Even with the newbies coming in like Suzuki, Teasdale, Brook, Tyszka, likely Poehling and perhaps Walford, they will still need players as there are some UFAs and RFAs that should not be back. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Feb 12, 2019 10:41:12 GMT -5
With their captain Froese traded, the Rocket announced today their new bearer of the letter "C"....Xavier Ouellet.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 13, 2019 19:30:22 GMT -5
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 17, 2019 9:06:25 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Feb 17, 2019 9:16:26 GMT -5
Rocket have been on a slide of late, but they had a good weekend getting four points in back to back wins. They definitely look like they will be well out of the playoffs again this season.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 23, 2019 18:14:52 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Feb 28, 2019 23:30:34 GMT -5
Laval battles hard for a big 5-4 win tonight. They were down by two goals three times in the game, but finished strong with the game’s last three goals. Lindgren started, McNiven finished and got the win. Goals by the killer vees: Verbeek (2), Vejdemo (2) and eVans (GWG).
Over their last seven games, they have 11 out of a possible 14 points. Still 8 back of a playoff spot with 19 to play. The playoffs are not very likely, but not going down lightly.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 7, 2019 13:32:10 GMT -5
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 7, 2019 16:45:22 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 10, 2019 9:39:53 GMT -5
After getting shut out against the Marlies on Friday night, the Rocket bounced back with a great come from behind effort against the Comets last night. Fleury had a great game with a goal and two helpers. He shows his ability to get shots on net...and good things happen. #38 in red.
Vejdemo had a 1+1 game, as did Alain. Grenier woke up with a 1+2 game and Lindgren got a much needed win.
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Post by folatre on Mar 10, 2019 21:50:54 GMT -5
With all of the injuries and all of the veteran offensive forwards lost (Agostino, Chaput, Froese), it is admirable how the Rocket continued to battle into March.
I really like Fleury's progression. Nice to see guys like Verbeek and Vejdemo working hard and making things happen. Evans may prove me wrong. I was not very high on him despite his distinguished career at Notre Dame. But he really seems like a smart and steady player.
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Post by seventeen on Mar 11, 2019 1:00:56 GMT -5
After getting shut out against the Marlies on Friday night, the Rocket bounced back with a great come from behind effort against the Comets last night. Fleury had a great game with a goal and two helpers. He shows his ability to get shots on net...and good things happen. #38 in red. Vejdemo had a 1+1 game, as did Alain. Grenier woke up with a 1+2 game and Lindgren got a much needed win. When you try to figure out how Weber gets the points he does, it boils down to having a strong shot and getting it through. I'm not even talking about his slap shot. Many of his dangerous plays comes from scooping the puck off the boards and wristing it on net very quickly. He's not agile, he doesn't dipsy doodle, he can't stickhandle past a fire hydrant, but he puts up consistent points by just getting the puck on net. If Cale Fleury is adept at that, he's already on his way to an NHL career. |
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Post by seventeen on Mar 11, 2019 1:03:53 GMT -5
With all of the injuries and all of the veteran offensive forwards lost (Agostino, Chaput, Froese), it is admirable how the Rocket continued to battle into March. I really like Fleury's progression. Nice to see guys like Verbeek and Vejdemo working hard and making things happen. Evans may prove me wrong. I was not very high on him despite his distinguished career at Notre Dame. But he really seems like a smart and steady player. He is good, but what is working against him is that he played 4 years in college and will be 23 in June, without having cracked the NHL line-up. It's hard, though not impossible, to make that next jump. Daniel Carr is the latest example, though I liked his game a lot. He may simply have not had enough foot speed. Good scorer though. A mini-Gallagher. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 14, 2019 7:16:10 GMT -5
Rocket lost 4-2 to Syracuse last night, but Vejdemo scored late to make it a one goal,game with some great effort going to the net. Unfortunately, the Crunch scored an empty netter 30 seconds later to seal the deal.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 14, 2019 7:22:30 GMT -5
Full highlights of the 4-2 Crunch win. Laval had their chances.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 16, 2019 1:08:04 GMT -5
Rocket win 3-2 in a shootout. LaCouvee with la win. Vejdemo scores again. He is finishing the season strong.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 16, 2019 9:31:41 GMT -5
A really nice play by Evans #10 on the PP. He makes a nice controlled zone entry, show nice vision to dish off a little pass, then gets the puck back and feeds Ouellett for the great one timer, whose rebound gets whacked into the net. Kirk Muller should take notes.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 19, 2019 16:48:49 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 21, 2019 13:22:40 GMT -5
The chances of playoff hockey in Laval are very, very slim, but we watch the games now to see how key prospects are doing to position themselves for next year and finishing this season off strongly. Case in point: Evans and Fleury who were on display in last night's 3-2 shootout win. Both were instrumental in generating the Rocket's two regulation goals. Fleury was named third star, but Evans also had a very solid game. LaCouvee got the win in net.
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Post by Anardil1 on Mar 23, 2019 11:05:54 GMT -5
Even if they don't make the play offs this year, they are exponentially much more watchable this year. It's incredible what a difference is made by having a competent coach behind the bench. Now they need Berg to do his job and improve the players.
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Post by blny on Mar 23, 2019 11:27:18 GMT -5
Even if they don't make the play offs this year, they are exponentially much more watchable this year. It's incredible what a difference is made by having a competent coach behind the bench. Now they need Berg to do his job and improve the players. There should be an injection of legit talent in the Fall. Suzuki and Brook age out of the CHL. They'll be in Laval next year, with an outside shot at some NHL games. If Poehling opts out of his senior year, he'll be there. It will be interesting to see if Walford and Tyzska get contracts. Given the number of open slots the club has, I expect they will. It will be a young team next year, but the talent level should go up significantly imo. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 24, 2019 7:37:53 GMT -5
The Rocket win in OT to get three out of four points this weekend. McNiven with the win, and Fleury read the play really well to jump in and get his 9th of the season.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 26, 2019 10:46:51 GMT -5
Although the team shut down Juulsen for the season and said he would be back next season, it is news like this that gives you some hope that he is and will make a full recovery from the injury where he took that puck to the face. Great to see him skating with the Rocket, even if it is with a no-contact jersey. It would be downright silly and irresponsible to risk anything further at this point of the season.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 26, 2019 20:20:52 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Mar 27, 2019 17:53:43 GMT -5
Laval play tonight. 6 points back, with nine to play. A long way to go, but this team just won’t quit. Bouchard has really improved this team in many ways. Add some more influx of talent next year, and they will keep heading in the right direction.
LaCouvee gets the start, his second in a row. In his nine games this year, he has a 6-1-2 record, 1.88 gaa, and .933 svg%. He and McNiven have been very solid this season, despite the team not being a playoff team. They would be a pretty solid goalie tandem next year.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Apr 4, 2019 20:48:52 GMT -5
Laval is done with five games left. Injuries piled up of late, and offence was non existent.
Some Primeau news. Why he did not get games in.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Apr 8, 2019 10:57:10 GMT -5
Sounds like the Habs may be dipping into the European free agent market. Even with an ELC, it would be a two way deal. I am not sure a guy would sign from Europe making KHL money to play on an AHL deal. Under a two way ELC, he could still be assigned to play in Laval without clearing waivers. Here is his profile and stats. Not overwhelming, but he has played some international games for Russia over the years. www.eliteprospects.com/player/159423/vladimir-bryukvin |
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Post by blny on Apr 8, 2019 12:36:33 GMT -5
Sounds like the Habs may be dipping into the European free agent market. Even with an ELC, it would be a two way deal. I am not sure a guy would sign from Europe making KHL money to play on an AHL deal. Under a two way ELC, he could still be assigned to play in Laval without clearing waivers. Here is his profile and stats. Not overwhelming, but he has played some international games for Russia over the years. www.eliteprospects.com/player/159423/vladimir-bryukvinLast name is a mouthful. Always hard to tell what a KHL player can do based on his numbers. Coaching use is so prevalent over there. Played with Shipachyov. Likely where they spotted him. Still shocked that Ship busted out. Vlad's hockeydb pick is with a Habs jersey from last Summer.  www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=160340 |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Apr 13, 2019 8:00:33 GMT -5
The Rocket season will come to an end tonight on the road. The team is barely fielding an AHL team at this point with callups, players lost to waivers, injuries etc. They will miss the playoffs again. Sounds just like last year, right?
Actually, it is night and day. This team did not have the lineup to make the playoffs, but they achieved the other goal that eluded Lefebvre his entire, long, painful stay with our farm team: player development. The team did not have many what we would consider good NHL prospects in it, but the ones they had all showed positive development this season. And even more importantly, the team culture was a total turnaround from last year. Every players who was asked about it commented on the change.
Bouchard is a demanding coach. Tough, but the players all felt he is fair at the same time. They commented on everything was black and white with him. They knew where they stood, and what he wanted of them to get them ready to be an NHL player. And Bouchard and the players all talk about team “buy in”. Win or lose, they played like a team. They competed way harder, they were more structured. Heck, they looked like a well coached team. Who knew? Actually, the answer to that last question is most of us on this board!! Berg should read us.
Andrew Z covers this team very closely. Here are a number of his recent tweets about just how decimated this team was this season. And even promising young guys like Evans and Vejdemo are injured these days and won’t play again until next season. The good news: Evans, Fleury, Vejdemo, McNiven all got better this season. Even McCarron was playing his best hockey in years before his season ending shoulder injury in practice in the new year.
p.s. Brook has looked good so far from all accounts. As the Habs keep feeding better prospects to the farm, better times should be coming to Place Bell.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Apr 14, 2019 8:57:05 GMT -5
Laval wins its final game of the season 5-4 in OT. Brook had an assist, which is his first AHL point. He is down low on the boards, digs the puck loose, and passes it back to Ouellet who fires it home.
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