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Series preview: Wranglers face the Laval Rocket for the first time in team history
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Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Jan 24, 2026, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 23, 2026, 20:10 EST
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The Calgary Wranglers host the Laval Rocket for the first time in franchise history this weekend. The last time the Rocket came to Calgary, the team they faced was the Stockton Heat during a modified COVID season that kept all the Canadian AHL teams playing against each other in a bubble. Stockton made the choice to temporarily relocate that year to make it easier for NHL call-up scenarios. Laval had the better of their three meetings, going 3-0 against the Flames affiliate. With teams frequently playing the same opponents in the AHL and sticking close to their divisions, a cross-divisional match-up like this is an exciting one to witness. 

Last game’s lines

Calgary 
Rory Kerins – Sam Morton – Martin Frk
William Stromgren – Martin Pospisil (inactive) – Aydar Suniev
Carter King – Clark Bishop – Carter Wilkie
Lucas Ciona – David Silye – Alex Gallant
Artem Grushnikov – Daniil Miromanov
Nick Cicek – Zayne Parekh
Turner Ottenbreit – Jeremie Poirier
Arsenii Sergeev
Laval 
Sean Farrell – Laurent Dauphin – Alex Belzile
Joshua Roy – Owen Beck – Jared Davidson 
Lucas Condotta – Florian Xhekaj – Filip Mesar
Luke Tuch – Will Dineen – Tyler Thorpe
Adam Engstrom – David Reinbacher
William Trudeau – Josiah Didier 
Marc Del Gaizo – Nate Clurman 
Kappo Kahkonen
Jacob Fowler

Leaders

Calgary 
Rory Kerins – 37GP, 13G, 20A
Martin Frk – 40GP, 14G, 17A
Dryden Hunt – 26GP, 11G, 20A
Laval 
Laurent Dauphin – 36GP, 12G, 31A
Alex Belzile – 37GP, 19G, 16A
Sean Farrell – 40GP, 10G, 23A

Notes and expectations

So who are the Rocket and how are they doing? The Rocket are the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens and lead the North Division. They’re also sixth overall in the league going into the weekend. They hover around other Pacific Division teams in the standings the Wranglers know all too well, including the Colorado Eagles, Ontario Reign, Bakersfield Condors and Coachella Valley Firebirds. On paper, Calgary has their work cut out for them.
On the player side of the rocket, Laurent Dauphin is second in overall scoring and assists with 43 points in 36 games. Dauphin has played 94 games in the NHL but is on a one-way AHL contract and has not been called upon by the Canadiens this season at all. He’s going to be their top line center and surely the Wranglers have taken this past week to prepare for what he brings. Also on his line is Alex Belzile, who is in the league’s top 10 in goals.
The Wranglers lost one of their big guns, but it was expected. Martin Pospisil got a two game conditioning stint for the Bakersfield Condors series last weekend but has since returned to the Flames and is back playing in the NHL. Zayne Parekh remains on the roster and is only eligible to remain in the AHL until the end of the month at maximum. 
In roster additions, Dryden Hunt returned to the Wranglers this week after a one game look with the Flames on Jan. 15. He’ll be a good piece to have back and will likely reunite the line of William Stromgren, himself and Rory Kerins to be an aggressive top line that was clicking in December. Ivan Prosvetov also seems to be ready to return to game action, as Calgary re-assigned Connor Murphy to the ECHL last week and the last injury update on Prosvetov was a day-to-day status. 
The Wranglers and Rocket kick off this series on Saturday for a noon game, then wrap it up on Monday at 7:00 p.m. MT. Tickets are still available for both games with Saturday projected to be a larger crowd. If you can’t catch these games in person, they will be streamed for a fee on Flo Hockey and FlamesNation contributors Ryan Pike and I will have game updates on X (formerly Twitter).

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