Rocket enthusiasts ride the highs and lows of roller coaster season

MONTREAL — The city's La Ronde amusement park doesn't open until mid-May, but the rollercoaster experience has been open all year for the Laval Rocket, who just missed the AHL playoffs for the first time in three years.

Like Goliath, a turbulent up-and-down 2023-24 season is in store for the Canadiens' AHL affiliate. Rockets head coach Jean-Francois Hull highlighted him at the Habs' 2023 development camp last July, predicting “it's going to be a tough early season” for the inexperienced roster. And it was. Laval's 1-6-1 start to the year has been humbling for a young but talented group.

However, the Rockets bench boss was more optimistic about the second half. That same day in July, Hole said: “I think they will learn a lot from the League after Christmas and be better for it.” And they were. The Montreal farm team has been on a rollercoaster ride, peaking on Jan. 24, the end of the Rockets' 10-game 8-1-1 streak coming off the holiday break.

From there, the ebb and flow of Laval's season continued, but with less extremes. The lows have never been so low, the highs have never been so high, and the joyride crashed until the team's final game of the season, when the Rockets were officially eliminated from Calder Cup playoff contention.

But this season was just about the playoffs; it was about balancing immediate success with long-term growth of the organization. Hole and his staff have been tasked with trying to win games with a young core, including future NHL players, and doing it “the right way.”