While the Canadiens grab the headlines, their farm team has quietly been one of the best stories of the young season. The Laval Rocket come home tonight sitting first in the AHL’s North Division, and they’ll play three games in four days at Place Bell: Lehigh Valley tonight, then a weekend back-to-back against Cleveland. Here’s a quick primer. Note: standings and stats are as of Oct. 29, before the Rocket’s two-game trip to Calgary, so check the latest results before puck drop.
The Laval Rocket homestand
- Wednesday, Nov. 4: vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 6: vs. Cleveland Monsters, 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: vs. Cleveland Monsters, 3 p.m.
All three games are at Place Bell; the full season schedule is on the Rocket’s calendar. Saturday’s matinee overlaps with the Alouettes’ Eastern Final kickoff, so plan your screens accordingly.
A first-place start
According to the AHL standings, Laval was 7-2-0-0 after nine games with 14 points, three clear of the Toronto Marlies atop the North. The underlying numbers are even better: the Rocket had scored 35 goals and allowed just 16, the stingiest defence in the division by a wide margin.
The North Division race (as of Oct. 29)
- Laval Rocket: 7-2-0-0, 14 points in 9 games
- Toronto Marlies: 5-3-1-0, 11 points in 9 games
- Belleville Senators: 4-4-2-0, 10 points in 10 games
- Cleveland Monsters: 5-3-0-0, 10 points in 8 games
It’s early, and Cleveland and Utica have games in hand, but a 19-goal differential after nine games is a strong sign that the Rocket’s start is more than luck. Between this homestand and the trip to Calgary that preceded it, the club plays five games in 10 days, a good test of its depth.
Rocket to watch
- Luke Mittelstadt: the team’s scoring leader with 15 points, including 11 assists, as of the club’s latest stats on its website.
- Sasha Pastujov: the leading goal scorer with six.
- Kevin Mandolese: a .957 save percentage, the backbone of that tiny goals-against total.
The roster has also been shuffled by the big club’s needs. With captain Nick Suzuki injured, Montreal briefly loaned Owen Beck and David Reinbacher to Laval in late October before recalling Beck, and the Rocket added depth by giving forward Pierrick Dubé a professional tryout contract on Oct. 22. Dubé started the 2025-26 season in the KHL before finishing it with the Bridgeport Islanders.
The opponents
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
The Philadelphia Flyers’ affiliate was 4-3-1 as of Oct. 29, fourth in the Atlantic Division, with 25 goals for and 28 against. That goals-against number gives Laval’s offence something to work with.
Cleveland Monsters
A division rival, Cleveland was 5-3-0 with 10 points, fourth in the North, and had scored 29 goals while allowing 30. Two games in two days against the same opponent tends to bring out some edge, especially with points in the standings on the line.
Why it’s worth the trip
An AHL ticket usually costs a fraction of an NHL seat, and Place Bell was built with hockey in mind, so sightlines are close to the ice. Families will appreciate the earlier start on Saturday, which wraps up in time for dinner, and students can look into the club’s student pass, listed alongside season, half-season and group packages on the Rocket website.
AHL hockey is fast, affordable and a great way to see future Canadiens up close. Place Bell is a short walk from Montmorency metro, at the end of the orange line, and the Rocket play most of their home games on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, which makes it easy to plan around. This season is also a milestone: the club is marking a decade in Laval.
And if you prefer a downtown rink, circle Sunday, Nov. 22: the Rocket face the Calgary Wranglers at the Bell Centre at 3 p.m., according to the Bell Centre calendar.
The rest of the week in Montreal hockey
The Canadiens host the Utah Mammoth on Thursday before visiting Toronto on Saturday night. For a refresher on how the big club got here, check out our Heritage Classic recap and our Dallas preview, find a spot from our bars to watch the Canadiens, and follow it all in our sports section. Allez le Rocket!
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Photo: Mtlfiredude / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources: AHL standings, Laval Rocket (schedule), Laval Rocket, Laval Rocket (Dubé), evenko
