Latest news with #LavalRocket
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Blues trade Zach Bolduc to Canadiens for defenseman Logan Mailloux
The St. Louis Blues traded young forward Zach Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Logan Mailloux on Tuesday, who was the No. 31 overall pick in 2021. Mailloux, 22, the No. 31 pick in 2021, has played in just eight NHL games and has two goals and five points. Bolduc, also 22, was the No. 17 pick in 2021. He has 24 goals and 45 points in 97 games and had a breakout season in 2024-25 with 19 goals and 36 points. In 63 games with the AHL's Laval Rocket, Mailloux had 12 goals and 33 points. He's 6-foot-3, 213 pounds and is a right shot. This story will be updated. (Photo of Logan Mailloux)
CTV News
a day ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Canadiens net 2026 draft pick from Hurricanes for Primeau's negotiating rights
Montreal Canadiens goalie Cayden Primeau, right, makes a stop against Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Sean Monahan during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon) The Montreal Canadiens have acquired a seventh-round draft pick in 2026 from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for goaltender Cayden Primeau's negotiating rights. In 2024-25, Primeau appeared in 11 games with the Habs and registered a 2-3-1 record, in addition to 26 games with the AHL's Laval Rocket where he posted a 21-2-2 record, a .927 save percentage and a 1.96 GAA. The native of Farmington Hills, Mich., was selected by the Canadiens in the seventh round (199th overall) of the 2017 NHL entry draft. On souhaite une bonne continuation à Cayden! Thank you and best of luck, Cayden! — Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 1, 2025 This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2025.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Daniel Schneemann sliding stop
Canadiens: Laval Rocket Loses Veteran Center While the Montreal Canadiens didn't advance very far in the playoffs, its farm team in the AHL, the Laval Rocket, reached the semifinals of the Calder Cup. The young group made a deep run backed by a few experienced veterans who guided them through the choppy waters of a Cup quest. One of those veterans was 27-year-old Repentigny native Brandon Gignac, who had been with the organization for the last four seasons, and will leave it with the memories of a deep playoff run. 2:24 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Ottawa Citizen
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Cowan: Canadiens prospect Florian Xhekaj really is a unicorn
Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent described Florian Xhekaj's rookie season as 'remarkable.' Article content It really was — especially for a 20-year-old forward who was selected in the fourth round (101st overall) at the 2023 NHL Draft. The Xhekaj name on the back of his sweater — and the tough-guy reputation his older brother Arber has established in the NHL with the Canadiens — made things even tougher. Article content Article content Article content 'Especially with his last name — there were expectations,' Vincent said about the younger Xhekaj last Friday when members of the Rocket met with the media for the last time this season after getting swept by the Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference final. 'He hasn't played a game yet and the referees are already telling him: 'Relax.'' Article content Article content It was sort of like being a Hanson brother in the classic Slap Shot movie from 1977. Article content Article content Vincent said he didn't have a lot of expectations for Xhekaj as an AHL rookie and added that nobody expected him to score 24 goals. Article content But that's what 6-foot-4, 195-pounder did, to go along with 11 assists, a league-leading 175 penalty minutes and a plus-10 differential. Xhekaj was also learning to play centre after being a left-winger in junior with the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs, posting 34-31-65 totals in 63 games during the 2023-24 season to go along with 81 penalty minutes and a plus-17. Article content Article content 'He scored a lot of goals,' Vincent said about Xhekaj's rookie season in the AHL. 'His shot is amazing. He's got a quick release, accurate, too. But I didn't know about his brain and, to me, that's the thing that intrigues me the most. How they (young players) manage expectations. How they manage and how can they apply info that we give them and to do it right away on the ice or how long does it take for you to gather the info and execute on the ice at a very high speed. For me to see Flo gathering those informations and teachings and to do it on the ice and to execute at the speed he did in his first year with his last name — because the other teams on the other side, they know — this kid has this confidence and he's walking the line. He's not cocky, but he's confident that he can be the man. He's still physically not there yet, but in his mind … so I was quite impressed with him.
Montreal Gazette
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Cowan: Canadiens prospect Florian Xhekaj really is a unicorn
By Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent described Florian Xhekaj's rookie season as 'remarkable.' It really was — especially for a 20-year-old forward who was selected in the fourth round (101st overall) at the 2023 NHL Draft. The Xhekaj name on the back of his sweater — and the tough-guy reputation his older brother Arber has established in the NHL with the Canadiens — made things even tougher. 'Especially with his last name — there were expectations,' Vincent said about the younger Xhekaj last Friday when members of the Rocket met with the media for the last time this season after getting swept by the Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference final. 'He hasn't played a game yet and the referees are already telling him: 'Relax.'' It was sort of like being a Hanson brother in the classic Slap Shot movie from 1977. Vincent said he didn't have a lot of expectations for Xhekaj as an AHL rookie and added that nobody expected him to score 24 goals. But that's what 6-foot-4, 195-pounder did, to go along with 11 assists, a league-leading 175 penalty minutes and a plus-10 differential. Xhekaj was also learning to play centre after being a left-winger in junior with the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs, posting 34-31-65 totals in 63 games during the 2023-24 season to go along with 81 penalty minutes and a plus-17. 'He scored a lot of goals,' Vincent said about Xhekaj's rookie season in the AHL. 'His shot is amazing. He's got a quick release, accurate, too. But I didn't know about his brain and, to me, that's the thing that intrigues me the most. How they (young players) manage expectations. How they manage and how can they apply info that we give them and to do it right away on the ice or how long does it take for you to gather the info and execute on the ice at a very high speed. For me to see Flo gathering those informations and teachings and to do it on the ice and to execute at the speed he did in his first year with his last name — because the other teams on the other side, they know — this kid has this confidence and he's walking the line. He's not cocky, but he's confident that he can be the man. He's still physically not there yet, but in his mind ... so I was quite impressed with him. 'We know about the toughness and all of that,' Vincent added. 'But for him to play the way he did in a position that's really hard to learn as a centre to improve. Early in the season he couldn't win a draw, or it was really hard, and then he got better. He's a thinker and he's a great teammate. Guys love him. We're very fortunate to have him. Very impressed with him. Not so much the goals and stuff, but how he executed the details that we talked about. And because of that I think he scored goals.' The Xhekaj brothers lived together this season in Montreal — but they probably weren't playing with toy cars like the Hansons in Slap Shot. Arber spoke this season about how he was hard on his brother, who is three years younger, while they were growing up in Hamilton along with sisters Sophia and Dominika. 'For me, I was the hardest guy on him because my dad was hard on me and then my dad was not hard on the youngest child,' Arber said. 'So that pissed me off. I'm like, OK, if you're not going to do it, I'll do it. 'It's all love at the end of the day,' Arber added. 'I'm the first guy there for him. I think I saw his potential and I knew what he had and I knew I just had to dig deep for it. So I was hard on him and he pulled it off. He's a good player.' Another person who saw the younger Xhekaj's potential was Nick Bobrov, the Canadiens' co-director of amateur scouting. Bobrov described Xhekaj as a 'unicorn' ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft. Xhekaj was ranked 131st among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting heading into the draft. 'To me, I'd personally like to walk away with that guy,' Bobrov said about Florian in a behind-the-scenes video the Canadiens released of a scouting meeting held ahead of the 2023 draft in Nashville. Xhekaj showed his versatility and why he is a 'unicorn' by playing on all four lines this season with Laval while making the adjustment to playing centre. 'I can score goals, I can make plays,' he said. 'But I'm also a physical kind of in-your-face player. I think those are good tools to have to be put in any line, any role.' Xhekaj said his main goal this summer is to add more weight and muscle. When asked to assess his rookie AHL season, he said: 'I think it was pretty good. My first year pro and everyone was so great, so welcoming. I feel like I've grown a lot as a person and a player, so a lot of positives.'
