About The Laval Rocket
One of the newest teams in the American Hockey League represents and pays tribute to one of the most venerable franchises in all of hockey and to one of the greatest players of all time. Named for Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, the Laval Rocket is the second Montreal-area team to have been named for the Canadiens legend, after the QMJHL's Montreal Rocket (now the Charlottetown Islanders).
The Laval Rocket may have first taken the ice in 2017, but their origin as the top minor league affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens goes back more than half a century and through five provinces and one U.S. state.
Founded as the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League in 1964, the franchise transferred to the AHL in 1969 upon a move to Montreal. From there, they moved to various places in Eastern Canada, from Halifax to Sherbrooke, Quebec to Fredericton, New Brunswick to Quebec City and Hamilton, and, most recently to Newfoundland and Labrador, as the St. John's IceCaps.
There also is a shared history with several Edmonton Oilers affiliates through the Quebec Citadelles' merger with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2002. The franchise has won five Calder Cups, including three as the Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1972, 1976, and 1977, one as the Sherbrooke Canadians in 1985, and one as the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2007.
The Laval Rocket's home ice is the Place Bell, which opened in 2017 and lies within 20 kilometers of their parent club's arena, the Bell Centre. There are three rinks in the $200 million complex, which also includes the home of Les Canadiennes de Montréal of the Canadian Women's Hockey League.
The Rocket play in the North Division of the American Hockey League's Eastern Conference, where they do battle against the Binghamton Devils, Cleveland Monsters, Syracuse Crunch, Toronto Marlies, Rochester Americans, Belleville Senators, and Utica Comets.