By Marlon Martens

Laroque, Ready To Turn Pro

Sep 7, 2023 | 9:44 PM

Royals Captain Gannon Laroque wants to prove he's ready to make the jump to Pro, as he heads to @SanJoseSharks NHL camp next week.@victoriaroyals #yyj pic.twitter.com/ecOgd8KjoF

— Marlon Martens (@RoyalsRadioWHL) September 8, 2023

After missing almost all of last season, Royals 20 year old Captain Gannon Laroque feels he’s ready to make the jump to Pro hockey with the San Jose Sharks organization.

“That’s my goal, and that was my goal all summer.”

Most signed prospects turn pro, however the situation is put into question because Laroque practically missed an entire season of development, recovering from injury, only playing 4 games in 2022-23.

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With just 90 games of Major Junior under his belt, and only the off-season to build himself back up, he does feel physically strong enough physically, and ready to take the next step.

“100 percent, that’s, that’s my goal and going to rely on how I do. I just have to make sure I’m having fun, not putting too much pressure on myself, and just playing my game – not going out of my way.”

Credit: Gord Rufh

Laroque lived in Kelowna in the summer, and trained with Pro’s like James Reimer, Justin Schultz among others.

“I was trying to pick their brains as much as possible. I want to prove to (SJ) that signing me was the right option, show them what I can do, and that only playing four games is just a minor bump in the road.”

He’s been given a clean bill of health and is ready to go, evident in the scrimmages during Royals Training Camp.

“It was good to meet the younger guys and be able to build some chemistry with them, and also just see all the guys back at camp. It was competitive. It was good to see everybody working hard.”

Laroque feels he’s attended to the areas he needed to work on, according to his exit interviews with the Sharks.

“One biggest thing for me was the simplicity of the game. Not over complicating things. When you make the jump to pro, there’s not as much time and space, so instead of finding the second option, you find the first.

“So it’s just little things like that, and making sure little things like ‘on net’ and just making simple plays is the first option.”

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If he does stick in the Pros, he feels he’s leaving a group ready to do something special this season.

“I think there’s some eagerness to get going, and the groups getting older now and the young guys coming in are obviously really talented too. There’s a really good group here.

“I think there’s something building, especially for this year and for the guys here next year – that is going to be really exciting. I think for the fans it should be fun.”.

Full Interview: