Carter Bear had a very productive draft-eligible year in the WHL before suffering a season-ending injury late in the year. Could that injury make him a candidate to fall to 16th and 17th where the Habs are selecting?
Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent helped lead his team to an impressive run that saw them make the Final Four in the AHL this season. Along the way, he may not have only helped the NHL chances of several prospects but also his own chances of getting back to the top level.
The Eastern Conference Final was going to be a challenge for Laval, going up against a much older group in Charlotte. But few saw things playing out the way they did with the Rocket losing handily in the first three games of the series before a heart-breaking late goal in the fourth game ended the series in a sweep.
After three tough losses to start the Eastern Conference Final, Laval was playing to keep their playoff hopes alive on Tuesday. They had their best game of the series by far but a late goal from Jesse Puljujarvi gave Charlotte a 3-2 win and the series sweep.
June 1st at 5 PM ET is a time of some significance in the NHL as it results in teams losing the rights to some of their unsigned prospects. This was the case for the Habs who have officially relinquished the rights to goaltender Joe Vrbetic.
Laval had a chance to even up the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night but a total collapse in the second period was too much to overcome as they fell 5-2.
After a couple of days off, Laval was back in action on Wednesday to open their series against Charlotte. After starting their last two series strong, they did no such thing in this one, falling 5-1.
With the North Division title now secured, Laval will now take aim at the Eastern Conference title as they take on Florida’s affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Here’s a look at the series ahead.
Laval needed to take two of three games at home against Rochester to move on to the Eastern Conference Final. One of those games was especially rough but they were sharp in the other two, allowing them to make the final four for the second time in the last four years.
In their first must-win game of the playoffs, Laval put forth their best game of the postseason. They scored early and often, defeating Rochester 5-0 to move onto the Eastern Conference Final.