Joshua Roy has now broken the ice. He played his first game in the Canadian uniform and in the NHL. While it’s an experience a player can’t forget, the moment becomes even bigger when you make your debut against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers.
• Read also: Montembeault’s brilliance is not enough
“It was very emotional for me, it was a really incredible moment,” Roy said after the meeting. It was a really good team on the other side and it was crazy how loud the crowd was.”
Recalled late Friday night from the Laval Rocket due to an injury to Josh Anderson, Roy played 13:03. He found himself on left wing with Sean Monahan and Joel Armia. He blocked three shots.
“I wanted to give him some reps and allow him to have a good feeling of the game, explained Martin St-Louis. I wanted to keep him away from 97 (McDavid) and 29 (Draisaitl). His trio gave good minutes. I’m happy with what I’ve seen from him. He played his first game on a Saturday night in Montreal against a good team.”
Author of 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 34 games with the Rocket, Roy did not steal his first call-up. The choice of 5e round in the 2021 draft was also happy with his rookie round during the warm-up period.
“I especially wanted not to miss my first shot,” he replied with a smile. I was really stressed, but I’m really happy.”
For the Oilers, defenseman Philip Kemp also participated in his first NHL game this evening.
Guhle in a land of knowledge
Kaiden Guhle passed the test in his first match this season on the right flank. He had quite an outing alongside Mike Matheson against McDavid’s line.
“I don’t think it was difficult to play on the right side,” Guhle replied. The main challenge is recovering the puck against the backboard in my territory. I have a defensive mentality and I wanted to play safe against the Oilers. I had fun playing with Mike.”
“I guess we wanted to bank on our speed against McDavid’s speed,” he continued. It was a good experience.”
In his final season in the Western Junior League in 2021-2022, Guhle played for the Edmonton Oil Kings. He often encountered McDavid.
“We often skated after the Oilers,” said the 21-year-old defenseman. I didn’t meet him very often, but he knew we had a good team. He stopped to greet us and ask about our season.”