Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis would have liked to see Joshua Roy be more impressive during camp, as the Quebec forward was part of the last group of players cut ahead of the season.
Roy, defenders Logan Mailloux and Adam Engström and goaltender Jakub Dobes were transferred to the Laval Rocket on Monday morning. NHL teams had until 5 p.m. to complete their rosters for the start of the season.
The only surprise comes from Roy. The latter started camp on the third line alongside Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson. He had a quiet camp even though he had two assists in five preparatory games.
“We know he has a high ceiling and he’ll be the first to say he didn’t show us his ceiling during camp,” St-Louis said.
“We don’t think he deserved a job here to begin with,” he added later. Josh knows I love him, but there are things he hasn’t shown during camp that he needs to refine and show us. »
“He has an NHL computer. He must continue to work on the rest,” concluded St-Louis regarding the native of St-Georges-de-Beauce.
Roy had four goals and five assists in 23 games with the Canadian last winter.
As the misfortune of some makes the happiness of others, the Habs therefore preferred to keep with the big club Emil Heineman, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Barré-Boulet, who all started the camp behind Roy in the team hierarchy.
“I think I had more peace of mind knowing that if I stayed here or went down, I could live in the same place and see my family,” said Barré-Boulet, who did not have the same luxury when he wore the colors of the Tampa Bay Lightning and a dismissal to the minors meant that he found himself in Syracuse, on the other side of the country.
“I’m happy, but it’s only the beginning of the work,” he added, as he will begin the season in the NHL for the first time in his career at the age of 27.
St-Louis echoed this vision of the situation in his remarks a little later.
“It’s up for today!” » he recalled.
“It’s rare that things stay in place for a long time in the NHL, because of injuries, behavior on the ice. I wish we could count on the same 20 players for all 82 games. But it would be crazy to think that could happen. You need to make thoughtful decisions and follow your instincts. This is what we have done over the last few days. »
The Canadian will begin their campaign on Wednesday, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.
“It’s special. I grew up watching the team [le Canadien]my idols played for them,” said Barré-Boulet.
“My father is probably the Canadiens’ biggest fan. I can’t wait for the match,” added the Montmagny native.
Furthermore, defender Jayden Struble did not participate in the Canadian’s training on Monday at the CN Sports Complex. Instead, he enjoyed a day of treatment.