2019-2020 Laval Rocket & ECHL Thread

[Kraken Jokes]

Peca - Poehling - Weise

... is a confirmed line apparently?

Have we heard anything else?

 

[canadiensnation]

Peca - Poehling - Weise

... is a confirmed line apparently?

Have we heard anything else?

Ya Weise mentioned he would be playing on a line with Peca and Poehling on TSN690 today.

I'm going to assume the rest of the lineup is...
Hudon - Evans - Belzile
Varone - Vejdemo - Barber
Pezzetta - Alain - Cox/Jevpalovs

 

[ahmedou]

At HFMTL, who’re the ticket season holders, members and visitors?

 

[Runner77]

 

[BaseballCoach]

Ya Weise mentioned he would be playing on a line with Peca and Poehling on TSN690 today.

Wow. Peca and Weise. Lotsa minutes though.

LOL.

Seriously, I'm ok with that if the Habs feel that Ryan is not ready for a top-9 winger role yet and is not better than Thompson who plays with those scrubs Byron and Weal.

So let's be clear. Playing 6th line with AHLers as your teammates and with weaker opposition and challenges is NOT preferable to being good enough to play on a 4th line in the bigs.

It is just that as a young player, time in Laval is better than being SCRATCHED (i.e. 5th line). Let Cousins have that role of hot-dog eater.

But let there also be no illusion. IFFF... Poehling does well on the 6th line, he will likely get promoted to the 4th line. Like Plekanec before him. He ain't going from Peca and Weise to Gallagher and Tatar in one shot!

 

[ahmedou]

#04/10/19(Game1:Monsters3-2Rocket)

Peca/Poehling/Weise
Hudon(1G)/Evans(1A)/Belzile(1G,1A)
Jevpalovs/Varone/Barber
Alain/Vejdemo/Cox

Ouellet(1A)/Brook
Alzner/Leskinen
Sklenicka/Lamarche

Lindgren(20/23)

 

[Adam Michaels]

The ECHL preseason began yesterday. Last night, a few Habs prospects played.

3 Adirondack Thunder (OT) Reading Royals 2

Antoine Waked with 1 assist / +1 / 2 PIM

ECHL Season So Far: 1 PT (0G, 1A) in 1 GP

Hayden Verbeek with 2 assists / +2 / 3 SOG

ECHL Season So Far: 2 PTS (0G, 2A) in 1 GP

McNiven was not dressed for the game.​

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Laval roster is so much better than previous years but they have started like shit again.

I love Bouchard attitude and he is a great mentor for our young players but he is definalely lacking in terms of tactics and execution. I swear I rarely see a team constantly dominating on shot on goal but still losing games. I thought it was bad luck but now it seems more like system/tactics wise the issues.

 

[ahmedou]

#05/10/19(Game2:Monsters4-1Rocket)

Hudon(-1)/Evans/Belzile(1G)
Peca(-1)/Varone(-1)/Weise
Jevpalovs/Poehling(-2)/Barber(-3)
Alain/Vejdemo/Lynch
Ouellet(-1)/Brook(-1)
Sklenicka(-1)/Lamarche(+1)
Alzner(-2)/Leskinen

Primeau(29/31)

 

[crosbyshow]

Bravo Joël calvaire.....

Poeling on the the third line..

 

[BaseballCoach]

Bravo Joël calvaire.....

Poeling on the the third line..

This is counterproductive. He should be sent down to the ECHL where he can get top minutes with Waked and Adams-Moisan.

 

[Gabe84]

I was at both of the week-end's games and here are some thoughts and observations. Note that for sunday's games, I was sitting in row A, visitor side so it's pretty hard to evaluate properly (it's fun to get a feeling of the pace, but for a global appreciation of the game, it's not ideal).

Overall impression
The Monsters were really aggressive, especially their defensemen. It seemed to bother the Rocket players. They had a really hard time controlling the play and getting out of their own zone. They had very few controlled zone entries. The forecheck gave them trouble at time too. Laval was much more passive in their style of play. Quite a few players seemed disinterested. It was a pretty bad week-end for the Rocket. With the amount of talent on that roster, their performances were very disappointing.

The positive
I thought Hudon played well. He was pretty aggressive. He feuded a bit with Gerbe and Fix-Wolanski and showed passion. He has some great qualities in the AHL but you can tell why he's not "there" yet. His shot is good, not great. His release is too slow. He's smart at cutting passing lanes and retrieving pucks but then he doesn't convert those recoveries into scoring chances or long possessions for his team.

Belzile was, in my opinion, the best player for the Rocket this week-end. He's the best forechecker, he plays with a lot of intensity, had good speed and a decent shot. He doesn't have a lot of NHL-level qualities but he could be a good 4th-line energy player that hammers the opposition in their own zone. He's a lot of fun to watch at this level too. He scored a great goal on a breakaway on the PK.

Jake Evans was good, not great. The thing that stood out in his play is his ability to steal pucks without engaging in board battles. He does the dirty work once in a while but he plays an energy efficient game. He's still a wild card to me : he has some really strong abilities, but I'm not sure if that will translate to the NHL. It will be a big season for him in the AHL and this time, he'll have much more help around him, offensively.

On defense, the only guy that really stood out is Xavier Ouellet. He looks a step above everyone. He had a good week-end and made some nice plays. Otherwise, I like Lamarche as the #6 guy in the AHL. He's huge and he can play the game at a decent level.

Jevpalovs was his usual self. Good forecheck, some decent plays, but he has limited talent. He does well within his limits. Dale Weise was alright as well. I think he's going to be a useful player in the AHL. He's really annoying to play against.

The goalies were good too. Lindgren was his usual self: some great saves and a bad goal. He was better than most of his performances last year though. He could've saved that third goal. But the defense kind of left him out to dry on most of these goals.

I really like Primeau. His positioning is great. He follows the play very thoroughly and he, like Price, is great at controlling his rebounds. He sends pucks to the corners, never in front of him. I thought he could've saved the one-timer (I think it was the 2nd goal), but it was a good scoring chance. Again, the defense was really sloppy on the goals.

The negative
The new vets, Barber and Varone, were really disappointing. I don't know if it's because of the demotion but they didn't have the intensity they showed in camp.

Karl Alzner looks like he's just waiting for his contract to end. Then again, I thought he looked pretty disinterested in the NHL too. He's not bad... but at this level, he should be way more dominant. He had some pretty bad shifts, his skating is still deficient (which is not as problematic in the AHL) and his shot is pretty bad.

I really liked Otto Leskinen in camp but this first week-end was not great for him. He still shows flashes of what makes him an intriguing player : great first pass, good skater, but he made some really bad plays that lead to turnovers. He had a pretty rough time handling the intense forecheck.

Josh Brook is just starting at the AHL and we need to be patient with him. He was pretty timid. He had some good plays, you can see the potential, but he lacks the confidence to execute his usual high-risk, high-reward game.

Ryan Poehling had a rough week-end too. Couldn't get anything going offensively. Didn't play with the energy level I expect out of him. He missed many opportunities to throw body checks. He didn't look as fast and as implicated in the plays as we've seen him do in the NHL. He actually looked kind of lost at times. Again... It was his second and third professional games. He's super young. We need to give him time.

Matthew Peca was probably my biggest dud for the week-end. I don't even wanna get into it. This guy should be way better.

It should be a big year for Lukas Vejdemo. He needs to take a step and become a leader on this team. These first two games were not great for him. He couldn't get anything going offensively. He's mostly a defensive center at this point but he needs to get the offense going if he wants a shot at the NHL.

 

[1909]

I was at both of the week-end's games and here are some thoughts and observations. Note that for sunday's games, I was sitting in row A, visitor side so it's pretty hard to evaluate properly (it's fun to get a feeling of the pace, but for a global appreciation of the game, it's not ideal).

Overall impression
The Monsters were really aggressive, especially their defensemen. It seemed to bother the Rocket players. They had a really hard time controlling the play and getting out of their own zone. They had very few controlled zone entries. The forecheck gave them trouble at time too. Laval was much more passive in their style of play. Quite a few players seemed disinterested. It was a pretty bad week-end for the Rocket. With the amount of talent on that roster, their performances were very disappointing.

The positive
I thought Hudon played well. He was pretty aggressive. He feuded a bit with Gerbe and Fix-Wolanski and showed passion. He has some great qualities in the AHL but you can tell why he's not "there" yet. His shot is good, not great. His release is too slow. He's smart at cutting passing lanes and retrieving pucks but then he doesn't convert those recoveries into scoring chances or long possessions for his team.

Belzile was, in my opinion, the best player for the Rocket this week-end. He's the best forechecker, he plays with a lot of intensity, had good speed and a decent shot. He doesn't have a lot of NHL-level qualities but he could be a good 4th-line energy player that hammers the opposition in their own zone. He's a lot of fun to watch at this level too. He scored a great goal on a breakaway on the PK.

Jake Evans was good, not great. The thing that stood out in his play is his ability to steal pucks without engaging in board battles. He does the dirty work once in a while but he plays an energy efficient game. He's still a wild card to me : he has some really strong abilities, but I'm not sure if that will translate to the NHL. It will be a big season for him in the AHL and this time, he'll have much more help around him, offensively.

On defense, the only guy that really stood out is Xavier Ouellet. He looks a step above everyone. He had a good week-end and made some nice plays. Otherwise, I like Lamarche as the #6 guy in the AHL. He's huge and he can play the game at a decent level.

Jevpalovs was his usual self. Good forecheck, some decent plays, but he has limited talent. He does well within his limits. Dale Weise was alright as well. I think he's going to be a useful player in the AHL. He's really annoying to play against.

The goalies were good too. Lindgren was his usual self: some great saves and a bad goal. He was better than most of his performances last year though. He could've saved that third goal. But the defense kind of left him out to dry on most of these goals.

I really like Primeau. His positioning is great. He follows the play very thoroughly and he, like Price, is great at controlling his rebounds. He sends pucks to the corners, never in front of him. I thought he could've saved the one-timer (I think it was the 2nd goal), but it was a good scoring chance. Again, the defense was really sloppy on the goals.

The negative
The new vets, Barber and Varone, were really disappointing. I don't know if it's because of the demotion but they didn't have the intensity they showed in camp.

Karl Alzner looks like he's just waiting for his contract to end. Then again, I thought he looked pretty disinterested in the NHL too. He's not bad... but at this level, he should be way more dominant. He had some pretty bad shifts, his skating is still deficient (which is not as problematic in the AHL) and his shot is pretty bad.

I really liked Otto Leskinen in camp but this first week-end was not great for him. He still shows flashes of what makes him an intriguing player : great first pass, good skater, but he made some really bad plays that lead to turnovers. He had a pretty rough time handling the intense forecheck.

Josh Brook is just starting at the AHL and we need to be patient with him. He was pretty timid. He had some good plays, you can see the potential, but he lacks the confidence to execute his usual high-risk, high-reward game.

Ryan Poehling had a rough week-end too. Couldn't get anything going offensively. Didn't play with the energy level I expect out of him. He missed many opportunities to throw body checks. He didn't look as fast and as implicated in the plays as we've seen him do in the NHL. He actually looked kind of lost at times. Again... It was his second and third professional games. He's super young. We need to give him time.

Matthew Peca was probably my biggest dud for the week-end. I don't even wanna get into it. This guy should be way better.

It should be a big year for Lukas Vejdemo. He needs to take a step and become a leader on this team. These first two games were not great for him. He couldn't get anything going offensively. He's mostly a defensive center at this point but he needs to get the offense going if he wants a shot at the NHL.

Were Barber or-and Varone expecting to play at NHL level this season ? I hope not. Same with Weise, Peca and Alzner. Vets might be useful on an AHL team, but not pouting vets.

 

[Gabe84]

Were Barber or-and Varone expecting to play at NHL level this season ? I hope not. Same with Weise, Peca and Alzner. Vets might be useful on an AHL team, but not pouting vets.

Expecting... probably not. But I suppose they were hoping. They had a great camp. I don't think they're going to be skulking for the entire season. I just think we're seeing a bit of a cold streak due to the disappointment of being close to the NHL but not making the cut. Peca must be going through the same thing. He lived the NHL life for a season. Must be a hard pill to swallow.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Expecting... probably not. But I suppose they were hoping. They had a great camp. I don't think they're going to be skulking for the entire season. I just think we're seeing a bit of a cold streak due to the disappointment of being close to the NHL but not making the cut. Peca must be going through the same thing. He lived the NHL life for a season. Must be a hard pill to swallow.

I agree - sometimes it takes guys a few games to get back into the game after being cut. Thanks for the great report. Definitely a disappointing opening weekend but I think with all that talent they'll figure things out before too long. I hope Poehling is completely recovered from his concussion.

 

[1909]

I’m not totally blaming Suzuki for that play, I’m sure he won’t make that mistake again. As for Laval, they have not been good. I really don’t get it. The vets that they have, they should be cruising. I thought that Varone guy was a leading scorer in the AHL? He’s done nothing. Evans and Belzile, maybe Hudon are the only guys going.

It is always puzzling for me to see AHL level players like Barber and Varone thinking that they are more talented that they really are, and are pouting because they are "still' at AHL level. Maybe they don't like the fact that they are living in Quebec and paying more taxes. They should had thought about it before signing. Did these guys thought they would make the Habs line up ?

 

[montreal]

It is always puzzling for me to see AHL level players like Barber and Varone thinking that they are more talented that they really are, and are pouting because they are "still' at AHL level. Maybe they don't like the fact that they are living in Quebec and paying more taxes. They should had thought about it before signing. Did these guys thought they would make the Habs line up ?

I don't get how it could be puzzling, I'm sure these guys have worked very hard and dreamed for a very long time of playing in the NHL, it has to be very hard to have your dreams dashed no matter how realistic they may or may not have been. Varone played over 50 games in the NHL last year, Peca was with us all year, Barber may have thought this was his last chance, who knows what goes through their heads but to be puzzled as to why it effects them seems very odd to me as this is their life and the chance to make a lot more money even if for just a short time.

I highly doubt it has anything to do with taxes, what an odd thing to say, do you think they just figured it out now and didn't take any length of time to find out what their pay would be? That sounds logical to you? Would you ever take a job and not have some idea of the pay structure?

 

[montreal]

I’m not totally blaming Suzuki for that play, I’m sure he won’t make that mistake again. As for Laval, they have not been good. I really don’t get it. The vets that they have, they should be cruising. I thought that Varone guy was a leading scorer in the AHL? He’s done nothing. Evans and Belzile, maybe Hudon are the only guys going.

well it's been 2 games and you have a bunch of guys that never played together mixed with some crappy lines and several of the vets just look disinterested. If they continue to play this way after a few weeks then I would be highly concerned but not when they have had so little time playing together since camp in the AHL is very short.

Varone killed it in the AHL 2 years ago so I would expect a good to very good year from him. The phantoms were one of the best teams in the league when he was last there so that helped his numbers for sure since he's more of a playmaker but once they figure things out and hopefully get better line match ups it should go better.

I'm a little worried about the defense and it's lack of puck moving abilities as it really hurt them badly last year. I am hoping that Brook and Leskinen plus if Olofsson can stay healthy, as we know Alzner, Lamarche and Sklenicka aren't great at moving the puck. Both rookies had their ups and downs in the 1st 2 games, so hopefully they improve quickly.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Poehling has no offensive talent to play with in Laval. It's going to be frustrating for him IMO. I think he should be playing with Hudon. Lets face it, Poehling doesn't drive offense on his own and he needs to play with good wingers.

What's the PowerPlay line-ups? Curious

 

[montreal]

Poehling has no offensive talent to play with in Laval. It's going to be frustrating for him IMO. I think he should be playing with Hudon. Lets face it, Poehling doesn't drive offense on his own and he needs to play with good wingers.

What's the PowerPlay line-ups? Curious

no offensive talent to play with? Barber was one of the leaders in goals last year, Hudon was among the top goal scorers in his last season in the AHL, Varone was just under a ppg in his last full AHL season, Peca has been a good AHLer.

 

[Habs Halifax]

no offensive talent to play with? Barber was one of the leaders in goals last year, Hudon was among the top goal scorers in his last season in the AHL, Varone was just under a ppg in his last full AHL season, Peca has been a good AHLer.

I think Hudon fits in terms of being a creative AHL offensive player to play with Poehling. I understand we have a few guys with AHL success but not sure they mesh well with Poehling

 

[montreal]

I think Hudon fits in terms of being a creative AHL offensive player to play with Poehling. I understand we have a few guys with AHL success but not sure they mesh well with Poehling

it's been 2 games and one of his wingers was Weise who should be more of a 3rd liner in Laval. If Poehling stays down for a bit, I'm sure Bouchard will get him better wingers. Last year he started the season with Alain on the 2nd line which was just a bad call as he was not very good, but in time he moved him down to the 3rd and then the 4th where he should have been all along. It takes time to figure out who will mesh with who since they play so little together before the season. The good news is that they have a long period in between games so they can work on things. Let's see where they are at in a month or so.

 

[Habs Halifax]

it's been 2 games and one of his wingers was Weise who should be more of a 3rd liner in Laval. If Poehling stays down for a bit, I'm sure Bouchard will get him better wingers. Last year he started the season with Alain on the 2nd line which was just a bad call as he was not very good, but in time he moved him down to the 3rd and then the 4th where he should have been all along. It takes time to figure out who will mesh with who since they play so little together before the season. The good news is that they have a long period in between games so they can work on things. Let's see where they are at in a month or so.

Like I said, I think he should play with Hudon. Weise playing with Poehling is not something any of us agree on. Is Bouchard trying to protect him or something?

Peca? The guy can skate but his vision and play making is not good.

Hudon / Poehling / Barber or Belzile is a better line to try.

 

[montreal]

Like I said, I think he should play with Hudon. Weise playing with Poehling is not something any of us agree on. Is Bouchard trying to protect him or something?

not sure what his thoughts are on his lines. I put Hudon with Evans and Belzile, Poehling should be with Barber who should be their best sniper I would think.

 

[Habs Halifax]

not sure what his thoughts are on his lines. I put Hudon with Evans and Belzile, Poehling should be with Barber who should be their best sniper I would think.

Hudon / Poehling / Barber
??? / Evans / Belzile