Rocket still awaiting schedule as camp opens at Bell Centre

The American Hockey League released its schedule on Friday — one devoid of the Laval Rocket along with its three remaining Canadian counterparts.

But on the first official day of camp, Rocket head coach Joël Bouchard said he remains convinced his team will be playing in two weeks, when the league begins its 85th season.

“Obviously the Canadian division (schedule) isn't out, but that doesn't mean we're not playing on Feb. 5,” Bouchard said during a video conference call that followed a pair of practices at the Bell Centre — the Rocket's new home this season. “I know ... there are a lot of questions. But I'm very confident we'll start on Feb. 5.

“I've been in the AHL as a coach and was there as a player. Feb. 5 is in 10 years from now for us. This is the way it works. We can work on the power play one day and three guys will be gone the next day. Things change very quickly and you can't think too far ahead.”

The AHL has been realigned into five divisions this season based on geography to reduce travel while increasing rivalries.

Laval will compete in a Canadian division with Toronto, Manitoba and Belleville. But the two Ontario-based teams are awaiting approval from Ontario public

health officials, which might not come until after the province's lockdown, which is slated to end on Feb. 10, according to reports. The NHL'S Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are allowed to play, however.

Even at that, the AHL schedule will be unbalanced. While San Diego is slated to play 44 games, Bridgeport has only 24 games on tap. Three franchises — Charlotte, Milwaukee and Springfield — have decided not to play this season.

Entering his third season with the Rocket, Bouchard has numerous players who have been on the ice practicing with the Canadiens at their camp since early January. Those workouts have continued during Montreal's season-opening six-game road trip and Bouchard has two weeks to get an unusually large group working as a team for whatever awaits.

There are 32 players at the Rocket

camp, all at various stages in their careers. Some, like captain Xavier Ouellet or Alex Belzile, have played in the NHL. Others, like Cam Hillis or Team Canada's Kaiden Guhle, are coming straight from junior hockey.

Bouchard has no choice but to divide the players while conducting two practices daily, although his mandate remains unchanged — preparing players for the NHL should the call come.

“That number of players is unrealistic for a hockey club and practices will suffer,” he said. “You can't practice with (that number). It's too much. It kills the vibe, the pace, and you can't get the workload. And the ice will become bad really quick.

“I have to make sure everybody gets what they need out of where they are in their careers. A guy like Ouellet ... was in the NHL last year. Someone like Guhle who is just coming out of the world junior ... they're not at the same place, but I have to make sure I'm working with both of them and find solutions for both to be challenged.”

Ouellet and Belzile were with the Canadiens during last summer's playoffs in Toronto. Ouellet still might have been part of the mix, but Montreal added Joel Edmundson and Alexander Romanov, making him a victim of the numbers game. And Belzile, at 29, simply has been passed on the ladder by other, younger players.

“I'm not a worse player than I was last year,” Belzile said. “I think the opposite. Every year, I find a way to get better, to improve my game.

“If I get another opportunity, I'll be ready to help the Montreal Canadiens. I feel, with the games I played in the bubble, I deserve to play in the NHL.”