AHL | 01/22 00:00 | - | BEL Senators v LAV Rocket | - | Postponed | |
AHL | 01/20 00:30 | - | [1] UTI Comets v LAV Rocket [16] | W | 3-4 | |
AHL | 01/16 00:30 | - | [13] LAV Rocket v HAR Wolfpack [12] | L | 0-4 | |
AHL | 01/15 00:05 | - | [14] LAV Rocket v SPR Thunderbirds [8] | W | 4-3 | |
AHL | 01/13 00:30 | - | [20] SYR Crunch v LAV Rocket [17] | W | 2-3 | |
AHL | 12/19 00:00 | - | LAV Rocket v SYR Crunch | - | Postponed | |
AHL | 12/18 00:00 | - | [10] PRO Bruins v LAV Rocket [13] | W | 3-6 | |
AHL | 12/12 22:00 | - | [15] LAV Rocket v HER Bears [16] | W | 4-2 | |
AHL | 12/11 00:05 | - | [4] LAV Rocket v ROC Americans [3] | L | 3-5 | |
AHL | 12/09 00:30 | - | [5] MTB Moose v LAV Rocket [14] | W | 2-3 | |
AHL | 12/05 21:00 | - | [21] LAV Rocket v TOR Marlies [10] | W | 5-1 | |
AHL | 12/04 00:00 | - | [11] TEX Stars v LAV Rocket [12] | W | 3-4 | |
AHL | 12/02 00:30 | 1 | [27] TEX Stars v LAV Rocket [22] | L | 4-3 | |
AHL | 11/28 00:00 | 1 | [20] LAV Rocket v BEL Senators [18] | L | 3-7 | |
AHL | 11/27 00:00 | 1 | [21] BEL Senators v LAV Rocket [18] | L | 6-2 | |
AHL | 11/21 00:00 | 1 | [16] LAV Rocket v BEL Senators [27] | L | 2-5 | |
AHL | 11/18 00:00 | 1 | [17] LAV Rocket v TOR Marlies [11] | W | 6-5 | |
AHL | 11/13 18:00 | 1 | [5] UTI Comets v LAV Rocket [9] | L | 5-3 | |
AHL | 11/13 00:00 | 1 | [11] BRI Islanders v LAV Rocket [14] | W | 4-5 | |
AHL | 11/11 00:30 | 1 | [25] BEL Senators v LAV Rocket [21] | W | 0-3 | |
AHL | 11/07 22:00 | 1 | [17] LAV Rocket v UTI Comets [5] | L | 2-4 | |
AHL | 11/06 23:00 | 1 | [13] LAV Rocket v SYR Crunch [17] | L | 0-4 | |
AHL | 10/30 17:00 | 1 | [9] ROC Americans v LAV Rocket [6] | L | 6-5 | |
AHL | 10/29 23:00 | 1 | [22] ROC Americans v LAV Rocket [4] | L | 4-3 | |
AHL | 10/27 23:30 | 1 | [22] TOR Marlies v LAV Rocket [11] | W | 0-5 | |
AHL | 10/24 19:00 | 1 | [2] LAV Rocket v BRI Islanders [7] | L | 0-3 | |
AHL | 10/23 23:05 | 1 | [10] LAV Rocket v PRO Bruins [16] | W | 4-0 | |
AHL | 10/20 23:30 | 1 | [2] MTB Moose v LAV Rocket [3] | W | 4-5 | |
AHL | 10/16 23:00 | 1 | [2] LAV Rocket v BEL Senators [29] | L | 2-5 | |
AHL | 10/15 23:00 | 1 | [2] BEL Senators v LAV Rocket [2] | W | 2-6 |
The Laval Rocket (French: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Laval, Quebec. The team began play in the 2017–18 season, with home games held at Place Bell. They are affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL.
On July 11, 2016, the AHL and the Montreal Canadiens announced that they would be moving their affiliate to the Montreal suburb of Laval for the 2017–18 season. A name-the-team contest was held from July 11 until August 31, with Patriots, Rapids and Rocket as the final three. On September 8, the winning Laval Rocket name was announced, a tribute to Canadiens' legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard which got a 51% majority of the fan votes. The Rocket are the second hockey team in Greater Montreal to use that nickname, after the QMJHL's Montreal Rocket from 1999 until 2003. In June 2017, the franchise named Larry Carriere as general manager and retained Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach, a position he held since 2012 when the franchise played as the Hamilton Bulldogs.
In the 2017–18 season, Laval finished with a 24–42–7–3 record and placed last overall in the league. Lefebvre was relieved as head coach immediately upon the end of the season and was replaced by Joel Bouchard, who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL.
For the 2020–21 season, the Rocket temporarily relocated to the Bell Centre in Montreal to share the facility with their parent team during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rocket were the Canadian Division champions and second-best winning percentage in the league, while playing only the other four teams based in Canada and no postseason during the pandemic. After the season ended, head coach Bouchard left the team at the end of his contract, compiling a 83–67–24 record over three seasons, to become the head coach of the San Diego Gulls. The Rocket then hired Jean-François Houle as their third head coach.
Franchise location/name history
1963-65: Omaha Knights (CPHL)
1965-69: Houston Apollos (CPHL/CHL)
1969-71: Montreal Voyageurs (AHL)
1971-84: Nova Scotia Voyageurs (AHL)
1984-90: Sherbrooke Canadiens (AHL)
1990-99: Fredericton Canadiens (AHL)
1999-02: Quebec Citadelles (AHL)
2002-15: Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
2015-17: St. John's Ice Caps (AHL)
2017-Present: Laval Rocket (AHL)