Laval kicked off the 2025-26 campaign on the road with a stop in Manitoba to take on the Moose. They didn’t play well in the opener but bounced back in the rematch to split the week.
The Week That Was
Oct. 10: Manitoba 4, Laval 1 – Jacob Fowler had a tough start to the game with a pair of goals allowed in the opening period before the defence piled on, putting two more past their own netminder in one of those things you don’t see very often. At the other end of the ice, the Rocket could only beat Dominic DiVincentiis once, that coming off a Joshua Roy shot on the power play.
Oct. 12: Laval 5, Manitoba 2 – The Moose came out firing in this one but Kaapo Kahkonen was up to the task, allowing Laval to take the lead off a shorthanded goal from Laurent Dauphin. That wasn’t the Rocket’s only goal on the penalty kill as Owen Beck added one in the third as well. Roy continued his strong start with a pair of tallies while Sean Farrell had the eventual winner late in the second period.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | SOG | PIMS |
| 2 | Marc Del Gaizo | 2 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Tobie Bisson | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Nate Clurman | 2 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | Tyler Thorpe | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Jacob Dion | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 2 |
| 10 | Joshua Roy | 2 | 3 | 0 | -1 | 5 | 2 |
| 15 | Sean Farrell | 2 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 | 2 |
| 17 | Alex Tuch | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Alex Belzile | 2 | 0 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Ryan O’Rourke | 1 | 0 | 0 | E | 1 | 2 |
| 27 | Laurent Dauphin | 2 | 1 | 2 | +2 | 5 | 0 |
| 38 | Wyatte Wylie | 2 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3 | 2 |
| 42 | Lucas Condotta | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 7 |
| 48 | Filip Mesar | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 1 | 2 |
| 49 | Jared Davidson | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 0 |
| 56 | Adam Engstrom | 2 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 8 | 0 |
| 62 | Owen Beck | 2 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| 63 | Florian Xhekaj | 2 | 0 | 0 | E | 4 | 0 |
| 81 | Xavier Simoneau | 2 | 0 | 1 | E | 1 | 2 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 1 | Jacob Fowler | 0-1-0 | 4.01 | .871 | 0 |
| 34 | Kaapo Kahkonen | 1-0-0 | 2.01 | .926 | 0 |
Team Leaders:
Goals: Joshua Roy (3)
Assists: Belzile/Dauphin/Engstrom (3)
Points: Dauphin/Roy (3)
+/-: Belzile/Dauphin (+2)
PIMS: Lucas Condotta (7)
Shots: Adam Engstrom (8)
News and Notes
– Goaltender Kevin Mandolese attended training camp with both Montreal and then Laval but he was ultimately cut without signing a contract, making him a free agent once again.
– One player in training camp on a tryout did get a contract as Laval signed defenceman Jacob Dion to a PTO with their back end particularly banged up at the moment; David Reinbacher, William Trudeau, and Josh Jacobs are all out.
– Tobie Paquette-Bisson and Alex Belzile were named alternate captains. Lucas Condotta continues as team captain.
Last Game’s Lines:
Farrell – Dauphin – Belzile
Davidson – Beck – Mesar
Tuch – Xhekaj – Roy
Simoneau – Condotta – Thorpe
Del Gaizo – Engstrom
Paquette-Bisson – Clurman
O’Rourke – Wylie
The Week Ahead
Friday/Saturday vs Abbotsford – After starting out West, Laval now faces another Western opponent in the Canucks, the defending Calder Cup champions. They’re 2-0 out of the gate and boast a veteran-laden lineup but feature a couple of newcomers of note. Former Rangers first rounder Vitali Kravtsov cleared waivers in training camp and is now in the minors for the first time in a while. Meanwhile, one of their top prospects, defenceman Tom Willander, is in his first professional campaign.
Final Thought
Heading into the season, I read some comments about expectations for this Rocket team. The consistent element is that they were quite high, spanning multiple rounds. I think those sights might be set a little too high.
Yes, goaltending should be a strength. Assuming Jacob Fowler develops as well as they hope, he and Kaapo Kahkonen should be a strong tandem. But make no mistake, they’re playing behind a much weaker back end. Veterans Gustav Lindstrom and Tyler Wotherspoon are gone. Logan Mailloux may have had some defensive warts but he was a key piece. Even Noel Hoefenmayer was a strong depth player. They’ve been replaced by Marc Del Gaizo, Nate Clurman, and a series of AHL contracts headlined by Tobie Paquette-Bisson. Granted, those three are decent pickups but this is a group that isn’t as strong. Add no David Reinbacher and William Trudeau due to injuries and you have a pretty big question mark.
Up front, it’s largely the same group, just with more young players in bigger roles. From a development standpoint, that’s great. But from a reliability standpoint, it’s a bit iffier. If all goes well, players like Owen Beck, Filip Mesar, and Florian Xhekaj thrive with more responsibility but it’s quite possible that they’ll struggle. And without as much of a veteran supporting cast up front as there was last year, they won’t be as well protected.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a group that has playoff potential. But I wouldn’t go as far as putting expectations higher than that. If all goes well, they could be a contender. But if there are some ups and downs, they’re more a back-end playoff team than a contender for a second straight regular season title. All things considered though, with a lot of prospects to follow, there will be plenty to keep tabs on with the Rocket this season.