Joshua Roy

Joshua Roy
Born (2003-08-06) August 6, 2003 (age 21)
Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Montreal Canadiens
Laval Rocket (AHL)
NHL draft 150th overall, 2021
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2022–present

Joshua Roy (born August 6, 2003) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL).

A highly touted prospect upon entering the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Saint John Sea Dogs, early struggles led to a decline in his reputation, and he was ultimately selected by the Canadiens in the fifth round (150th overall) in the 2021 NHL entry draft. Following a trade to the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Roy would see a substantial increase in his production, winning the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the league's top scorer for the 2021–22 season.

Internationally, Roy was part of the Canadian national junior team that won gold medals at both the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championships.

Playing career

[edit]

Junior

[edit]

After a highly successful 2018–19 minor hockey season with the Lévis Chevaliers of the Quebec Midget Triple-A Hockey League (QMAAA), in which he led the league in scoring with 38 goals and 50 assists in 42 games, Roy was selected first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) 2019 entry draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs.[1] Self-described as "not a physical guy really, more a skilled guy. Won't be making a lot of checks," Roy was compared to Jonathan Huberdeau by Sea Dogs management.[2] Conversely, The Hockey News faulted the former's performance, writing that "despite posting 11 points in 11 playoff games, Roy left a lot to be desired and wasn't as competitive shift-to-shift as you'd like to see."[3] Making his debut in the 2019–20 season, Roy appeared in 60 games before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic curtailing the remainder of the competitive calendar. He had 16 goals and 28 assists.[4]

At the beginning of the 2020–21 season, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau rated Roy as a B-grade prospect, making him a candidate for selection in the second or third rounds of the 2021 NHL entry draft.[5] He played 15 games with the Sea Dogs, registering 9 goals and 8 assists, prior to a shutdown of the team because of COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks in New Brunswick that would ultimately last for almost four months.[6][7] Roy struggled with the effects of the lockdown,[8] ultimately requesting a trade, and, in advance of the 2021 trade deadline, was dealt to the Sherbrooke Phoenix.[6][9] He appeared in 16 games with the Phoenix, posting nine goals and 5 assists, second on the team in that timeframe.[4] Despite the late change, NHL scouting assessments of Roy were negatively affected by his first two QMJHL seasons, and he was ultimately taken in the fifth round of the 2021 draft by the Montreal Canadiens.[8] Canadiens scouting director Trevor Timmins said that the team felt "he's going to be a late bloomer."[10]

In the 2021 offseason, the Phoenix and Canadiens development staff developed a program to address concerns about Roy's training and conditioning.[8] He enjoyed a breakout 2021–22 season, posting 51 goals and 68 assists for a league-best 119 points in 66 games. He won the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the QMJHL's top scorer and was named to the First All-Star Team.[11][12] The league also awarded him the Paul Dumont Trophy as the personality of the year, citing his status as "an important ambassador for the QMJHL" and "his positive impact in media circles."[13] As well, he was a finalist for both the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy, awarded to the most sportsmanlike player, and the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy, awarded to the QMJHL's most valuable player.[14][15] In the 2022 QMJHL playoffs, the Phoenix reached the semi-finals, before being ousted by the Charlottetown Islanders.[16]

During his successful QMJHL season, Roy signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens on March 30, 2022.[17] Following the QMJHL playoffs, he was eligible to be called up to play for the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Laval Rocket in the Calder Cup playoffs. He appeared in one game in the Eastern Conference Finals.[18]

Returning to the Phoenix for the 2022–23 season, Roy soon received advice from Canadiens player development director Adam Nicholas that emphasized how to "build NHL habits to be a good NHL player." This included greater emphasis on physical play and entering "high danger" areas for generating offense.[19] He appeared in only 55 regular season games for the Phoenix that season, as a result of participating in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, registering 46 goals and 53 assists and tied for seventh in league scoring.[20] He received his second Dumont Trophy and second First All-Star Team designation, and was a finalist for the Brière Trophy for a second time.[21][22][23] Roy and the Phoenix reached the playoff semi-finals for the second consecutive season, but were defeated by the Halifax Mooseheads.[24]

Professional

[edit]

After what was generally judged a successful time in the Canadiens' prospect camp, including leading the team in scoring at a rookie tournament in Buffalo,[25][26] Roy was assigned to the Laval Rocket training camp.[27] Making his regular season debut with the Rocket on October 13, 2023, Roy had a goal and an assist in a 7–3 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks.[28] He repeated this performance in the team's second game against the Canucks, attracting immediate positive commentary.[29] On October 20, he scored his first AHL hat-trick against the Rochester Americans, also managing two assists in the game.[30] Roy was named AHL Rookie of the Month for October 2023, having recorded five goals and seven assists in seven games.[31] He went on to record 12 goals and 18 assists in his first 34 AHL games, before being called up to make his NHL debut with the Canadiens on January 13, following an injury to Josh Anderson.[32] Roy scored his first NHL goal in his third NHL game on January 17, a 3–2 victory over the New Jersey Devils.[33] After six games, he returned to the AHL, having had a goal and an assist in that span.[34] He was recalled again on February 10 following an injury to Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.[35] He suffered an upper body injury in March and returned in mid-April, and was one of four players reassigned to Laval to end the season.[36]

On October 7, 2024, Roy was again reassigned to the Rocket to begin the 2024–25 season[37] after what had been considered an underwhelming preseason performance with the Canadiens.[38]

International play

[edit]
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Canada
Gold medal – first place 2023 Canada

Early in his junior career, Roy was part of Team Canada Red at the 2019 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, managing two goals and two assists in five games.[4]

Following his disappointing first two seasons in the QMJHL, Roy was not invited to the preliminary summer selection camps for the Canadian junior team in advance of the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. After showing his early improvements with the Phoenix, he was a late addition to the fall selection camps and one of the final players cut from the camp before the announcement of the roster.[8] Following suspension of the foregoing tournament as a result of the Omicron variant, Roy would be added to the team when the event was rescheduled for the summer of 2022.[39] He recorded three goals and five assists in seven games, winning a gold medal. Utilized primarily on a "shut down line", Roy said he "was very happy with how I played."[40]

Roy rejoined Team Canada for the 2023 iteration of the tournament, initially assigned to play with fellow QMJHL players Nathan Gaucher and Zach Dean on a line that proved very successful in exhibition play.[41] However, after the team opened the tournament with a loss to Czechia, the forward lines were reorganized, with Roy joining Logan Stankoven and Connor Bedard. The Bedard/Stankoven/Roy line became the backbone of the team through the rest of the tournament, and the three were named Team Canada's three best players following the semi-final victory over Team USA in which they scored four of Canada's six goals.[42][43] In the tournament final, Canada faced a rematch with Czechia, prevailing to win a second consecutive gold medal. Roy had the primary assist on Dylan Guenther's golden goal in overtime.[44]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2019–20 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 60 16 28 44 6 — — — — —
2020–21 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 15 9 8 17 2 — — — — —
2020–21 Sherbrooke Phoenix QMJHL 20 13 5 18 2 3 1 3 4 2
2021–22 Sherbrooke Phoenix QMJHL 66 51 68 119 22 11 8 15 23 0
2021–22 Laval Rocket AHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Sherbrooke Phoenix QMJHL 55 46 53 99 14 14 12 12 24 2
2023–24 Laval Rocket AHL 41 13 19 32 12 — — — — —
2023–24 Montreal Canadiens NHL 23 4 5 9 0 — — — — —
QMJHL totals 216 135 162 297 46 28 21 30 51 4
AHL totals 41 13 19 32 12 1 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 23 4 5 9 0 — — — — —

International

[edit]
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2019 Canada Red U17 5th 5 2 2 4 6
2022 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 3 5 8 2
2023 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 5 6 11 0
Junior totals 19 10 13 23 8

Awards and honours

[edit]
Award Year Ref
QMAAA
Most Valuable Player 2019 [45]
Top Prospect Award 2019 [46]
QMJHL
Jean Béliveau Trophy 2022 [11]
Paul Dumont Trophy 2022, 2023 [13][21]
First All-Star Team 2022, 2023 [12][22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Sea Dogs select forward Joshua Roy first overall in QMJHL Draft". Sportsnet. June 8, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Sea Dogs select forward Joshua Roy first overall in QMJHL Draft". Lethbridge News Now. September 18, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Ellis, Steven (June 7, 2019). "Robidas, Roy and the best of the rest: The top 10 prospects to watch at the QMJHL Draft". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Fisher, Ben (March 20, 2021). "Joshua Roy – 2021 NHL Draft Prospect Profile". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  5. ^ Perry, Brad (October 28, 2020). "Three Sea Dogs Among NHL Central Scouting's 'Players To Watch'". Country 94.1. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Boriero, Michael (January 26, 2021). "Phoenix exchange three first round picks for 17-year-old Joshua Roy". The Record. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Burnett, Ben (March 5, 2021). "Sea Dogs 'Elated' To Get Back On The Ice". Country 94.1. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d Wheeler, Scott (December 13, 2021). "How Canadiens draft pick Joshua Roy rebuilt himself into the top prospect he was always meant to be". The Athletic. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Boriero, Michael (February 1, 2021). "Joshua Roy takes on a new challenge with Phoenix". The Record. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  10. ^ Cowan, Stu (July 6, 2023). "Taking a chance on Joshua Roy could pay off for Canadiens". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Brien, David (May 3, 2022). "Winners of some QMJHL regular season trophies announced". QMJHL. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  12. ^ a b Brien, David (June 17, 2022). "QMJHL concludes 2022 Golden Puck Awards by unveiling First All-Star Team". QMJHL. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  13. ^ a b Brien, David (May 29, 2022). "Sherbrooke's Joshua Roy wins 2022 Paul-Dumont Trophy". QMJHL. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  14. ^ Brien, David (June 2, 2022). "QMJHL unveils nominees for 2022 Frank-J.-Selke Trophy". QMJHL. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  15. ^ Brien, David (June 15, 2022). "The 2021-22 Michel-Brière Trophy finalists unveiled". QMJHL. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  16. ^ "Charlottetown off to QMJHL final with 4-3 win over Sherbrooke". Welland Tribune. May 30, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  17. ^ "Quebec forward Joshua Roy signs 3-year contract with Montreal Canadiens". CTV News. March 30, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  18. ^ McKenzie, Julian (June 9, 2022). "Canadiens prospect Joshua Roy makes his pro hockey debut with the Laval Rocket". The Athletic. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  19. ^ Engels, Eric (February 20, 2023). "How the Montreal Canadiens have taken steps to modernize the franchise under Jeff Gorton". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  20. ^ Brien, David (March 27, 2023). "QMJHL Player of the Week / Joshua Roy (March 27, 2023)". QMJHL. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  21. ^ a b Brien, David (May 10, 2023). "Joshua Roy takes home the Paul-Dumont Trophy". QMJHL. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  22. ^ a b "QMJHL Trophies & All-Star Teams, 1969–2023". QMJHL. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  23. ^ Brien, David (May 11, 2023). "Jordan Dumais of the Halifax Mooseheads is the QMJHL's Most Valuable Player". QMJHL. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via CHL.ca.
  24. ^ "QMJHL Playoffs: Mooseheads edge Phoenix, advance to finals". Sportsnet. May 7, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  25. ^ Wilson, Trege (September 21, 2023). "3 Canadiens That Stood Out at Rookie Showcase 2023". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  26. ^ Galanopoulos, Chris (September 18, 2023). "Canadiens Prospects Update: Jayden Struble, Logan Mailloux, Joshua Roy". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  27. ^ Galanopoulos, Chris (October 1, 2023). "Laval Rocket Training Camp Begins Monday With 35 Players". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  28. ^ Galanopoulos, Chris (October 13, 2023). "Armia Scores Two In Rocket Opener". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  29. ^ Ellis, Steven (October 16, 2023). "NHL Prospect Roundup: Joshua Roy, Nick Robertson among early AHL standouts". Daily Faceoff. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  30. ^ Galanopoulos, Chris (October 20, 2023). "Prospects Steal the Show in First Laval Win". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  31. ^ "Gaudette, Roy, Sogaard named award winners for October". American Hockey League. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  32. ^ Cowan, Stu (January 13, 2024). "Canadiens call up Joshua Roy from Laval with Josh Anderson injured". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  33. ^ "Roy scores first goal, Caufield gets winner as Canadiens beat Devils". Sportsnet. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  34. ^ "Canadiens loan forward Joshua Roy to AHL Laval". Sportsnet. January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  35. ^ "Canadiens recall F Roy from AHL". TSN. February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  36. ^ "Canadiens reassign four players to Laval". Montreal Canadiens. April 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  37. ^ "Canadiens send seven players to Laval Rocket". Montreal Canadiens. October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  38. ^ Engels, Eric (October 7, 2024). "Canadiens Notebook: On Roy, Armia, starting roster and St. Louis' confidence". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  39. ^ Hickey, Pat (August 1, 2023). "Canadiens prospects Roy, Kidney added to Canada's world juniors team". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  40. ^ Boriero, Michael (August 23, 2022). "Phoenix star returns to Sherbrooke clad in gold". The Record. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  41. ^ Masters, Mark (December 24, 2022). "Fifth-rounder Roy emerges as Canada's 'jack of all trades'". TSN. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  42. ^ "Stankoven finding chemistry with Bedard, Roy". Kamloops This Week. December 30, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  43. ^ Kierszenblat, Adam (January 5, 2023). "5 Takeaways From Canada's 6-2 Semi-Final Win Over Team USA". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  44. ^ Engels, Eric (January 6, 2023). "Canadiens notebook: WJC heroics show Joshua Roy can be a complete NHL player". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  45. ^ "Awards - QM18AAA Most Valuable Player". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  46. ^ "Awards - QM18AAA Top Prospect Award". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
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