Sean Farrell: Pascal Vincent has made him worthwhile again

The Laval Rocket has had, and continues to have, an incredible season, which could very well end with a Calder Cup victory.
The team is very well built, with a good mix of veterans, experienced young players and rookies.
It’s a very fine team that Pascal Vincent has managed with a master’s hand.
He knew how to get the best out of virtually every player, giving them a role that suited them, which enabled everyone to make good progress this season and gain experience.
And so, indirectl

In 2024 and 2025, Canada’s journey ended in the quarter-finals.
The nation finished fifth in the last two years due to defeats by the Czech Republic. In 2026, Canada has already done better and will finish at least fourth. #Progress
Tomorrow, at 8:30 p.m., Dale Hunter’s team will face its nemesis, the Czechs. They will be looking to avoid a third consecutive elimination against the European country.Junior Team Canada walks on eggshells as semi-final approaches: https://t.co/R5KPbN0NQ

The Canadiens wanted to extend their streak of games with at least one point to eight during their seven-game road trip.
This afternoon, however, they came up against an in-form Jordan Binnington, who picked up his first shutout of the season, stopping all 25 of the Habs’ shots.
St. Louis won 2-0, ending the Habs’ streak of games with at least one point at seven.On to Dallas
OntoDallas#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/fIKRoR4hHd
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 3, 2026
When

Kona Takahashi returns to Japan
He hasn’t reached an agreement with an MLB club.Kona Takahashi will indeed return to Japan for 2026, as he’s expected to sign a new multi-year deal with Seibu, per source. The deal will include opt outs that will allow him to test MLB free agency as soon as next winter without being subjected to the posting system.
– Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 3, 2026The Cody Bellinger file
Can the Dodgers get him out of New York?“I think the West Co

The Habs’ trip comes to an end soon. All that remains is a stop in St. Louis (this afternoon) and Dallas, tomorrow.
Montreal is looking for a point in its eighth straight game.
Here are the line-ups. Mike Matheson was back, while Josh Anderson declared forfeit. Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier were back in St. Louis.Today’s lineup
Today’slineup#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/jPBE1INCP7
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 3, 2026#stlblues lineup vs. #habs:
Neighbours

In recent years, the Habs have drafted guys like Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, and David Reinbacher, who will be important players for years to come.
Alexander Zharosvky is also a guy I can’t wait to see, even if he was drafted in the second round.
But it’s not just the first two rounds that have smiled on the Canadiens. Recently, the club picked up two gems in the third round: Bryce Pickford and Jacob Fowler. Pickford has just been named WHL Player of the Month.Congra

The Blue Jays have signed hitter Kazuma Okamoto to a contract. According to reports, he will earn $15 million a year for four years, for a total of $60 million. He has also not been granted an opt-out.
This raises a number of questions.
1. Okamoto is good at third base and his best position is first base. The consensus is that he’ll only help out at first base if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is healthy.
I also see him playing in left field and as a pinch-hitter. But I expect to see him move aroun

Against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, Mike Matheson was violently hit on the head by Brad Marchand.
The defenseman missed the game against the Hurricanes and let’s just say his absence was felt, even in victory.
But this afternoon, in St. Louis, he’ll be back in action. He’ll take Adam Engstrom’s place.Trios warming up for the game against the Blues.
Josh Anderson is out today.
Caufield-Suzuki-Texier
Slafkovsky-Kapanen-Demidov
Bolduc-Danault-Gallagher
Blais-Veleno-Beck

Fans of the Montreal Canadiens are certainly disappointed that Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield have been passed over for the U.S. Olympic team.
On the other hand, Canadian fans can take heart from not seeing Hutson and Caufield with the U.S., since we know they could be a big help against the Canadiens.
However, Canadiens fans can take comfort in the fact that Nick Suzuki has been named to the Canadian team.
Many wonder what role he could play in such a well-stocked forward line. We can surely exp

In the run-up to this afternoon’s game against the St. Louis Blues (4:00 p.m.), many were wondering which goaltender would be in net for the clash.
With another game tomorrow afternoon against the Dallas Stars, we can expect to see two different goaltenders in this back-to-back with the ménage à trois.
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler will be tasked with stopping the Blues in St. Louis.Today’s starter: JF32
Today’s starter:

Big news from the Blue Jays.
The Toronto club has acquired the services of Japanese outfielder Kazuma Okamoto. His window to sign ended tomorrow, so time was running out for him.BREAKING: Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a free agent contract, sources tell ESPN.
– Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 3, 2026Details to come…
This content was created with the help of AI.
The post Blue Jays: Kazuma Okamoto arrives in town appeared first on Dos

The New York Mets’ offseason continues to raise questions in the Big Apple as they look to address their main shortcoming of adding pieces to the starting rotation puzzle.
That’s why Japan’s Tatsuya Imai would have been a perfect fit, given their needs on the mound and the short term of his contract with the Houston Astros.
But that wasn’t the opinion of Mets management. In fact, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Metropolitans ultimately opted not to embrace Imai

Ivan Demidov was fortunate in his only full year in the KHL last year.
Although he wasn’t used much by Roman Rotenberg with SKA St. Petersburg, he did get to rub shoulders with some very good Russian players, including former NHLer Evgeny Kuznetsov.
On a couple of occasions, they shared a line together and made sparks fly.
This season, another prospect from the Montreal Canadiens is performing very well in his rookie season in the KHL: Alexander Zharovsky.
As we all know, the player from U

The Canadiens are having a very good holiday/early-year trip at the moment, collecting five points out of a possible six.
These are big points for the Habs, against three big teams, while deploying three different goaltenders.
Jacob Fowler picked up a point in Tampa, Samuel Montembeault regained some confidence in Florida, and Jakub Dobes beat the Carolina Hurricanes, the best team in the Metropolitan Division.
However, no goaltender was sensational on this trip, while the Habs’ forwards s

Even with star status in the Majors, who can do without the advice of an icon of Albert Pujols’ stature? No one, not even Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who received a visit and advice from the former glory while practising his swing as part of the break marking the activities of the most recent All-Star Game.
It’s not every day that someone so respected in the baseball world comes into your environment, taking the time to ask about you and offering a few tips along the way. Pujols shone for

Canada is having a fine tournament so far at the World Junior Championship, and we hope it continues.
Indeed, Team Canada Junior is putting in some fine performances, which is encouraging for the rest of the tournament, i.e. the semi-finals and potentially the final.
The next match, tomorrow at 8:30 p.m., will be extremely important, as Canada faces its nemesis of the last two WJCs, the Czech Republic, in the semifinals.
In short, we’re all happy to see Canada perform, but as fans of the M

The best team in the AHL’s Northern Section was in action last night at Place Bell, as the Laval Rocket took on the Utica Comets, the worst team in the division.
It wasn’t an easy game for the Rocket, but in the end, Pascal Vincent’s team came out on top, 5-4 in overtime.
The victory required a fine comeback, as well as some outstanding individual performances.
Québécois forward Alex Belzile scored four points, including two goals and two assists, for a total of 3

With the signing of Tatsuya Imai to the Houston Astros, there are fewer pitchers still immersed in the autonomy process, and Chris Bassitt is one of them.
The man who has worn the uniform of the Toronto Blue Jays for the past three seasons could continue his career in Georgia, with the Atlanta Braves. At least, that’s the logical destination for Rowan Kavner of FOX Sports in his analysis of pitchers still available.Now that Tatsuya Imai is off the board after his reported three-year deal w

While all eyes were on Team Canada Junior, who easily won their quarter-final match against Slovakia, there was plenty of action in the NHL.
There were four games on the National Hockey League schedule yesterday, including a Winter Classic.
Here’s what caught the eye across the league.
1. Winter Classic points record for Zibanejad
Last night, the Florida Panthers faced the New York Rangers in a Winter Classic, a game played on an outdoor rink.
The game took place in Miami, which raised a l

Canada faced Slovakia in the quarterfinals of the World Junior Championship. Last year, ÉCJ lost at this stage of the competition to the Czech Republic.
Only one change was made to the Canadian line-up. Jack Ivankovic kept goal and took Carter George’s place.
Here is the Canadian line-up:Ready for the quarterfinal.Ready for the quarterfinal duel.#WorldJuniors | #MondialJunior pic.twitter.com/QSVIq26IQP
– Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) January 3, 2026
Here’s Slovakia&rsquo

The World Junior Championship has just offered another stark reminder: in a knockout match, nothing is ever guaranteed.
The United States were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Finland, losing 4-3 in overtime, in a result that surprised as much by the scenario as by the context. Since the start of the tournament, the Americans had been among the teams tipped to fight for gold. But their run as two-time defending champions came to an end much sooner than expected.
On paper, the USA had the adva

Ivan Demidov continues to produce, and as the season progresses, it becomes harder to ignore what the numbers are really saying.
With his playing time having increased over the last few games, the rookie has 35 points. And that’s in just 40 games. A solid pace, but especially revealing when compared to recent Calder Trophy winners at the same stage of their rookie season.
After 40 games, Demidov has more points than Connor Bedard, Matty Berniers, Lane Hutson, Moritz Seider, and a certain K

Elly De La Cruz didn’t have as sparkling a 2025 season as he did in 2024. But that doesn’t mean the Cincinnati Reds player is a flash in the pan.
Quite the contrary, in fact.
His manager, Terry Francona, recently spoke to MLB Network about him. And to hear the skipper talk, it’s clear that the young man has the tools he needs to become one of the best in his profession.
In fact, the veteran even said that if he were more consistent, he has what it takes to become the best ballp

Unfortunately for David Reinbacher, multiple injuries have clearly delayed his development.
It’s extremely difficult to reach your full potential when you’re always one step behind due to injury.
He missed a dozen games at the start of the season with the Laval Rocket, but still managed 12 points in 23 AHL games.
We know that his Laval head coach, Pascal Vincent, isn’t afraid to praise him for what he brings to the table when he’s healthy.
Vincent first began singing his

Despite all the injuries to the Montreal Canadiens, the club is doing quite well. In fact, very well.
Multiple injuries are nothing new for the Habs, who are often among the teams with the most injuries, season after season.
Despite all this, Martin St-Louis’ team is doing very well, ranking 7th in the NHL.
But the team’s success is nothing new. Since a very specific date, everything has been going swimmingly (or almost) for the Habs.
Indeed, December 18, 2024 represents the date of

Joey Loperfido wants Kyle Tucker
He tries to convince him to choose Toronto on Instagram.Now Joey Loperfido has joined the #BlueJays’ recruiting team to lure Kyle Tucker to sign with the team. pic.twitter.com/1r3w4uacxH
– Trevor Fujioka (@cheftfuj) January 1, 2026Framber Valdez and the Mets
Is it possible?According to @Feinsand, the Mets can’t be counted out on Kyle Tucker given their need and willingness to spend, and they’ve also been linked to Cody Bellinger as they ex

Before the start of the World Junior Championship, Aatos Koivu mentioned that he wanted to play a big role for Finland.
Saku’s son wanted to be used in every way by his coach to show that he had the talent to play with the big boys. But…
But it’s really not going according to plan for the Canadiens’ prospect so far. Really, really not.
In his club’s last game, Koivu spent a grand total of 1:09 on the ice. And it wasn’t because he was sick: it was because he w