TROIS-RIVIÈRES – The Trois-Rivières Lions (affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) are welcoming three new players from the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League, while two players are leaving the team. Laval is sending forwards Riley Kidney and Joe Dunlap, along with defenseman Darick Louis-Jean, to the Lions.
Riley Kidney, a 2021 second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, played 56 games with Laval last season, recording 16 points (4 goals and 12 assists). This will be his first stint in the ECHL, as he spent his first two professional seasons within the Rocket organization. Before joining the AHL, the Nova Scotia native played 218 games in the QMJHL, amassing a total of 281 points, including two seasons of more than 100 points (100 points in 66 games in 2021-22 with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and 110 points in 60 games in 2022-23 with the Titan and the Gatineau Olympiques).
Darick Louis-Jean, a familiar face to Lions fans, spent the last three seasons with the team’s North Division rivals, the Norfolk Admirals (Winnipeg Jets affiliate). This marks a return to Trois-Rivières for the physical defenseman, who appeared in 11 games with the Lions during the 2021-22 season.
As for Joe Dunlap, he played one game with Laval last season. Before joining the Montreal Canadiens organization, he spent five seasons in the NCAA with Ohio State University, where he had his best campaign last year, collecting 22 points in 39 games with the Buckeyes.
With the addition of two forwards and one defenseman, the Lions’ management had to part ways with rookies Julien Paillé and Philippe Caron. Paillé had signed his first professional contract this summer, while Caron was among the players invited to the Lions’ training camp.
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