The last time a Canadian school club played a playoff game was in 2017. The so-called IceCaps then played their local games in Newfoundland and had Max Friberg as captain.
Posted yesterday at 11:12 p.m.
The previous time, in 2011, Aaron Palushaj was the key element of the attack of the Hamilton Bulldogs, led at the time by Randy Cunneyworth.
The probable accession of the Laval Rocket to the American Hockey League (AHL) playoffs should therefore not be taken lightly.
There are of course mitigating circumstances to these lean years. In 2020, the team led by Joël Bouchard was at the heart of the race when the COVID-19 caused the interruption of the season and the cancellation of the playoffs. And in 2021, the Rocket was crowned champion of a division that didn’t hold a playoff. However, the number of playoff games since the club established itself on Jesus Island in 2017 is stuck at zero.
If the current ranking of the North Division of the AHL gives Laval residents the right to be optimistic, nothing is assured yet.
In this strange season, the clubs had the choice of playing 72 or 76 games, so the classification is established according to the rate of accumulated points. With five games still scheduled on its schedule, the Rocket sits second in the North Division. His lead over the Toronto Marlies and the Rochester Americans should theoretically be enough to keep him going. But no one is immune to a turnaround.
“A bigger margin”
“I would like to have a bigger margin,” admitted head coach Jean-François Houle on Wednesday morning. A victory Friday against the Toronto Marlies could settle the question.
However, the pilot refuses to confuse himself with hypotheses and complex calculations. The only thing that matters to him is how his team plays. That’s good, because it’s going rather harmoniously these days. Six wins in the last eight games, and a recent five-game trip that resulted in seven of ten points.
Despite a few slumps, the club have been relatively consistent, and their 37-24-6 record would put them in a much better position in a lower division. These successes are all the more impressive since no less than 48 players, all positions combined, have worn the Rocket uniform, through injuries, COVID-19 and multiple recalls by the Canadian. No less than 16 of them shared their time between the northern crown and the metropolis.
This is what makes Houle say that “throughout the year, we have talked about the importance of staying in the present moment”.
We don’t look too far ahead, only one game at a time. It worked, and I think it was the right approach, considering everything that can happen in the American League.
Jean-François Houle, head coach of the Laval Rocket
The most recent unexpected: Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was recalled by the Canadian. A lot of good news for the main interested party, but a headache for his coach who, in addition to losing his top scorer, must replace his winger within the dynamic trio he forms with Jesse Ylönen and Jean-Sébastien Dea as well as on the units of numerical advantage and disadvantage.
Who will be chosen to take their place? “No idea,” candidly admits Houle, who will solve the riddle this Thursday in training.
Feverishness
Even if the series are not yet acquired, the feverishness is obvious.
Staff turnover has (finally) slowed down, and the band has had a chance to bond for good. “The guys are playing well, with confidence, summarizes Dea, second pointer for the Rocket. It’s fun to find that energy again at the arena. We played a lot of games on the road, so we bonded and it shows on the ice. »
Goalkeeper Kevin Poulin, for his part, evokes the “good mix” of “veterans who calm things down” and “young people who produce”, which contributes to the symbiosis of the group. The first trio testifies to this, while Dea, at 28, has developed an obvious bond with Harvey-Pinard (23) and Ylönen (22). Ditto in net, where Poulin is 10 years older than his partner Cayden Primeau.
Poulin, in fact, is having a spectacular season: 17-7-2 record, 2.22 goals-against average and .925 save percentage, which places him among the best goalkeepers in the league. Not so bad for a player who signed a contract last summer knowing that he would be the third goaltender in the hierarchy and that he would probably end up with the Trois-Rivières Lions, in the ECHL.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Kevin Poulin with the Trois-Rivières Lions last October
That is indeed what happened, but Primeau spent several weeks in Montreal and Michael McNiven was traded. He was quick to take over.
“I had no expectations,” he says bluntly. But with COVID-19 and injuries, I had a chance. This is my 12and year in the professionals, I know how to manage several situations. So far, things are going well. »
In short, things are rolling at the Rocket, and even if we don’t want to put the cart before the horse, the smell of the series is a dream.
On Wednesday morning, the players took part in a promotional photo shoot inside Place Bell. Looking up at the stands, Dea took a moment to think “of the fans and the shows.”
“I started getting chills,” he said. It’s already exciting, our matches are almost all sold out. There are a lot of people, you can feel their energy. It’s gonna be really fun. »
There is only a small push left before we get there. Players know all too well that their objective can still slip through their fingers if they let their guard down. So they don’t want to miss their shot.