Joshua Roy the Quebecer that the CH almost escaped

The selection of Joshua Roy by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round in 2021 looks like a real flight in broad daylight. However, the team had the same fears as almost everyone about the Beauceron and it was ultimately the insistence of Serge Boisvert and Donald Audette, at the draft table, that made the difference.

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The two recruiters, in charge of the Quebec territory on behalf of the Habs, had seen and heard the same things as everyone during the 2020-2021 season, about Roy. After a respectable start to the season, during which he had collected 17 points in 15 games with the Saint-Jean Sea Dogs, the first overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL draft created a small bombshell in the world of junior hockey when he had returned home for the holiday break, mentioning that he had no intention of reporting to the Sea Dogs and was asking for a trade.

The reasons for this request have trickled down and many of them still remain unknown.

However, we later learned that Roy did not feel that the coaching offered by the New Brunswick team met his needs and he had subsequently been a transformed player after a trade which had made him pass at the Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Despite two good last months in Estrie, doubts remained.

“We felt that his involvement was not always 100%. Besides, he had asked to be traded and when you do that, something is wrong. On the other hand, we could see that he was not well supervised in Saint-Jean and it was replaced with Stéphane Julien, in Sherbrooke, ”recalled Boisvert during a telephone interview with The newspaper.

NOTHING TO LOSE

In the repechage that year, the Canadian placed Roy on its final list, but he was among the hopes for the final third. In the first round, the team starts with the controversial selection of Logan Mailloux then, the next day, it chooses Riley Kidney and Oliver Kapanen in the second round. She continues with defenders Dmitri Kostenko in the third round, then William Trudeau in the fourth round.

“When we passed the fourth round and we took William Trudeau, Donald and I went to talk to Trevor [Timmins] and Martin Lapointe. We told them we couldn’t pass up a talent like Joshua Roy in the fifth round. We had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. »

Despite everything, in 142nd place in the fifth round, the Habs announce the selection of another Russian defender, Daniil Sobolev.

But the wish of the two Quebec recruiters is then granted, eight choices later: with the 150th selection in total, Roy becomes the property of the Montreal Canadiens.

“I was sure that he would have left at this rank. I thought other teams would bet on him, ”admits the Quebec recruiter.

TRANSFORMATION

Without taking into account the context of the time, the Canadian today passes for a genius with the selection of Roy.

The season following his draft, Roy finished first in scoring in the QMJHL with 119 points, including 51 goals in 66 games before being selected to represent Junior Team Canada for the resumption of the World Cup last August, in Edmonton.

His eight points in seven games helped Canada win gold, then did it again just a few weeks ago, playing a key role in ECJ’s second straight gold medal win in Halifax, scoring in particular the decisive pass on the winning goal of Dylan Guenther, in extra time, against the Czech Republic in the grand final.

PHOENIX CREDIT

For Boisvert, a large part of the credit goes to Stéphane Julien and the Sherbrooke Phoenix.

“What convinced us to take him in the fifth round was that we knew he was traded in a good environment and that he was in good hands. He demonstrated this well afterwards, losing between 20 and 25 lbs and becoming more serious in his desire to become a hockey player. Looking back, to see what he’s giving us right now, he’s playing like a first or second round pick, there’s no denying that. »

While the organization of the Canadian has often been criticized in recent years for not drawing enough from Quebec talent, Boisvert recognizes that seeing Roy’s progress makes him a little velvet. But he does not claim victory for all that.

“It’s flattering, but the day we’re going to get a real good slap on the back, Donald and I, is the day he’s going to play in the NHL and we’re not there yet. He is still far from there and everything will depend on him. »

A TOTAL EXPLOSION

Statistics since his draft in 2021

Season 2021-2022
66 matches

• 51 goals
• 68 assists
• 119 dots

Series 2021-2022
11 games

• 8 goals
• 15 passes
• 23 dots

World Juniors 2022
7 games

• 3 goals
• 5 passes
• 8 dots

Season 2022-2023
27 games

• 19 goals
• 28 assists
• 47 dots

World Juniors 2023
7 games

• 5 goals
• 6 passes
• 11 dots

Total
118 games

• 86 goals
• 122 assists
• 208 dots

CH’S CHOICES IN 2021

Logan Mailloux
1st round (31st)

Riley Kidney
2nd round (62nd)

Oliver Kapanen
2nd round (63rd)

Dmitry Kostenko
3rd round (87th)

William Trudeau
4th round (113th)

Daniil Sobolev
5th round (142nd)

Joshua Roy
5th round (150th)

Xavier Simoneau
6th round (191st)

Joe Vrbetic
7th round (214th)

“He played an NHL style”

Director of player development Rob Ramage thrilled with winger’s play at World Juniors

Rob Ramage already knew that Joshua Roy had above average offensive skills. What he saw of him at the last World Junior Hockey Championship, however, confirmed one thing: the Beauceron forward is serious about his plan to develop a professional style of play.

And the sequence he has in mind made an impression: in the semi-finals, against the United States, Roy alone spent many seconds in American territory while the latter tried by all means to extract the puck and pursue their power play. The Quebecer had returned to the bench to the applause of the crowd.

“To see this effort on the sequence, as well as the reaction of the crowd and his teammates to his return to the bench, I had the impression of reliving the years of Guy Carbonneau! laughs the director of player development for the Habs on the phone.

Let’s be clear: he does not compare Roy to Carbonneau. However, those few tens of seconds were a good sample of the fifth-round pick’s progress since being drafted in 2021.

“He played in all situations. He killed penalties in exceptional fashion. To see a player like him, recognized for his offensive talent, add this dimension to his game, it can only help him for the future. In this tournament, he played NHL style. »

THE SUZUKI EXAMPLE

The important thing for Roy, now, will be to transpose this style of play with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, in the second half of the season, notes Ramage. A challenge for players of his caliber who do not necessarily need to have their foot on the accelerator constantly to be successful, he adds.

“For a player like Josh, who has above average sense of the game and skill, the game can get easy in the juniors. These high-level players are so used that they can sometimes rest while playing. It will not happen once in the professionals where you have to make attendances of 35 or 40 seconds maximum before returning to the bench. You’ll never spend two full minutes on the ice and sometimes some junior players find it difficult to adapt as they progress. However, I do not believe that will be the case. »

Ramage also has a concrete example of what he is advancing, and this example now bears the “C” with the big club.

“We saw him with Nick Suzuki in his last junior year. Sometimes it felt like it was too easy for him. However, when he was traded to Guelph, he literally took the team on his shoulders. »

” HE IS HUNGRY “

Beyond his skills, his progression, his increased work in the gym, one thing sets Joshua Roy apart in the eyes of Ramage.

And not the least.

” He is hungry. He’s a Quebecer, drafted and signed by the Montreal Canadiens and he wants to wear this jersey one day. It is a pleasure to work with him and when we speak to him, he listens. He is a very cerebral youngster on the ice and I must admit, I envy him for that. He is very intelligent. »