The Montreal Canadiens announced the new name for their future Laval AHL affiliate today:
Find out now your new Laval AHL team's name!
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 8, 2016
HERE -> https://t.co/z5RiR33j0T pic.twitter.com/hQ8QtlLvQF
In case you did not watch the video, the name of the team will be Le Rocket de Laval. In the final vote, Rocket was the clear winner of the contest having garnered 51% of the vote. It was almost evenly split between Les Patriotes & Les Rapides with 24% and 25% of the vote respectively. The contest was exclusively open to residents to Quebec which I thought to be somewhat unfair as it isolated the Canadiens many worldwide fans. It seemed hypocritical of the team to ask fans to show their colours around the world but they were not able to participate in the contest.
As for the name, it is hard to go wrong with the Rocket. Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard was arguably the greatest Canadiens player ever. His name evokes passion and his #9 sweater inspired one of Canada’s most beloved books, The Hockey Sweater. I think I can speak for many fans who never had the privilege to watch Richard play, but we all knew who the Rocket was growing up and his contributions to the game of hockey. Learning about the Richard Riot was practically a part of our history lessons. Fans who voted for Le Rocket obviously wanted the Canadiens AHL affiliate to have a strong tie to the parent team. Nothing ties the team more than a direct link to its greatest goal scorer. It will be interesting to see the logo and jersey design now that the name has been decided. Perhaps fans will once again get to be involved in the creative process. When I think about the Rocket two things come to mind, the #9 and his piercing eyes. How that could be incorporated into a logo is not very clear. A year ago, I thought that the St. John’s Ice Caps did a fantastic job incorporating the Canadiens colours into their jersey. I would imagine that the iconic Bleu-Blanc-Rouge will be the dominant colours again.
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Former NHL goaltender Sean Burke was hired as a professional scout today by the Canadiens.
The @CanadiensMTL announce the hiring of Sean Burke as a pro scout. Never a bad thing to add smart hockey people.
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) September 8, 2016
The following a great article about Burke, written by Josh Cooper of Yahoo Sports:
The Montreal Canadiens have added Sean Burke as a pro scout. Wrote this about him last year ... https://t.co/7wfZdrZW0y
— Josh Cooper (@JoshuaCooper) September 8, 2016
Burke is a very well respected and is considered to have a superior hockey mind. His wealth of experience on and off the ice should greatly benefit the Canadiens. General manager Marc Bergevin continues to surround himself with smart hockey people and it says something that people want to work with him as well. Best of luck to Burke in his new role!
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Finally, it is a joy to be watching hockey as Team North America is playing Team Europe as I type. It is not a surprise that North America is outplaying Europe. They have the advantage of all playing a similar fast and skilled game whereas Team Europe is comprised by a smorgasbord of players with contrasting styles. That they have jumped out to a 4-0 lead in their first preliminary game is of no surprise. It will interesting to see them play against the likes of Finland and Russia though, once the tournament actually starts.
Following the game on Twitter, a common theme from Canadiens and those that follow the team is the continued bewilderment that Alex Galchenyuk did not make the North America roster.
Would love to know the sad politics that went into a 30 goal scorer not on the NA under 23 team. Non fact based judgment angers me.
— BrianWilde (@BWildeCTV) September 8, 2016
Here is the roster that dressed tonight:
#WorldCup2016 U24
— Guillaume Lefrançois (@glefrancoisLP) September 9, 2016
Drouin-McDavid-Scheifele
Gaudreau-Eichel-Saad
Matthews-RNH-MacKinnon
Miller-Couturier-Trocheck
Larkin retranché
Galchenyuk was never making this roster as a centreman. He ended the 2015-2016 season on fire and proved that he could handle being a #1 centre but that role on North America was obviously filled by Connor McDavid. Jack Eichel is a very good two way #2 centreman. If Galchenyuk were to be on the team, it would have been to play left wing, not as a 3rd or 4th line centre. It is my firm belief that Jonathan Drouin played his way onto the team with his strong 2016 playoffs. I personally prefer Galchenyuk to Drouin. Auston Matthews was not a lock to make the team but his high level of play at the World Championships in May cemented his place on the team. Vincent Trocheck was a last minute injury replacement for Sean Monahan and he was brought in for his two way play, especially his penalty kill skills. Perhaps had Galchenyuk been healthy he would have been able to play for the United States in May and further proven himself to North America’s management. It is hard to believe that a 30 goal scorer was unwanted by the team. It seems as though they had specific roles to fill and the ability to play strong in both ends of the ice outweighed the versatility of a centre who can play wing. And did I mention he can score 30 goals in the NHL?
On Friday be sure to catch Team Canada (Price & Weber) take on Team USA (Pacioretty), 7pm on Sportsnet, TVA and ESPNU.
Cheers & follow along! Follow @Jenbcutler