It was a rare Western Canada road trip for Laval last week. Once again, they continue to scuffle in terms of their performance but they were able to bounce back in the win column, picking up five of a possible six points.
With some weaker opponents on the schedule last week, the Rocket had a great chance on home ice to get some separation in the division. Instead, they lost all three games and only managed three goals as they failed to take advantage of the soft schedule.
Laval had a tough back-to-back set on the road last week. They didn’t play particularly well in either game but Kaapo Kahkonen helped steal a win in Rochester to help them split the week.
The month of December was a strong one for the Habs along with several key prospects (and a couple of veteran minor leaguers). Here are our three stars for the month.
Laval wrapped up 2025 on a winning note but struggled as the calendar flipped to 2026, putting in a pair of disappointing efforts at home against Utica. However, they still managed to get a victory in one of those contests, making for a successful week in the standings.
After a tough week in Cleveland, the Rocket returned home with a tough matchup in Syracuse, a team tied with them for the division lead. While Laval started off slow, they managed to get victories in both games to move back atop the North Division.
The 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship is set to run from December 26th through January 5th. The Habs are well-represented at the event with five prospects taking part. We’ll keep track of their stats here.
While they added an NHL goalie in Samuel Montembeault, Laval was still down effectively their entire front line for their games in Cleveland. That lack of firepower was costly as the Rocket dropped both games.
The Habs have signed one of their prospects from the draft back in June, announcing on Wednesday that they’ve signed defenceman Bryce Pickford to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Montreal’s goaltending pipeline features one of the better prospects in the league in Jacob Fowler. Behind him, the team has quietly amassed a solid group of prospects with some quiet upside.