Back in 2019, the St. John’s Sea Dogs drafted Joshua Roy with the first overall pick of the QMJHL and he projected to be a very high pick in the NHL as well, but the transition from Midget AAA wasn’t easy for the winger.
In his first season in the Q, he was limited to 44 points in 60 games. In 2020-21, a year shortened by the Covid pandemic, he collected 35 points in 35 games played with the Sea Dogs and the Sherbrooke Phoenix. His numbers being far less impressive than in the lower circuit, some started to call him lazy and lacking work ethic.
The Montreal Canadiens decided to draft him in any case, it wasn’t much of a gamble as he was still available in the fifth round and they only used the 150th overall pick to draft him. From then on, he rolled up his sleeves and put on his working boots, playing his most successful year in the Q grabbing 119 points in 65 games in the 2021-22 campaign and 99 points in 55 games in his last junior season.
Last Season
Last year was his first professional campaign and he spent just 41 games with the Laval Rocket, putting up 32 points, which allowed him to be called up once the Canadiens injury woes multiplied.
All in all he played 23 games in the NHL gathering 9 points in the process, but he suffered an upper-body injury on March 19 which cut his season short. Having recovered from his injury, he was sent down to the Rocket once the Habs season ended on April 17.
The Rocket failed to make the playoffs and that’s how Roy’s first professional season ended.
Training Camp
This year, it seems as if Roy felt he had already arrived to the NHL. To be fair coach Martin St-Louis put him on one of his NHL lines alongside Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson right away on day 1 of camp, perhaps it contributed to him feeling that way, but it’s a dangerous feeling to have.
As Brendan Gallagher said speaking to the media earlier in camp, NHLers are always battling for their spot. From the moment they manage to steal someone’s chair, to the moment they play on the team’s top line to a few years later when father time has slowed them down and youngsters are eyeing their chair.
While Roy gave the impression of someone who believed his name was written on that third line chair, Patrik Laine got injured and suddenly, there’s an empty chair on the second line. Bench boss Martin St-Louis didn’t rule out any name to potentially replace Laine for the two to three months his absence should last, mentioning the position could be filled by either a veteran or a youngster and suggesting Joel Armia, Josh Anderson, Oliver Kapanen and Roy as potential options.
Since then, Armia has showed it’s a chair he can fill according to the coach but the same cannot be said about Roy. His effort at camp has been underwhelming to say the least. In the team’s last pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators, his had a difficult outing, finishing the match with a minus-two rating, taking a single shot, committing a very juicy turnover that led to a goal for the Sens and making questionnable passes to his teammates.
Meanwhile, Kapanen has been showing how complete of a player he is on both sides of the puck with both offensive instinct and a knack for defensive play. If the Finn doesn’t make the team, he cannot be sent down to Laval but will instead be sent back to Timra IK in the SHL.
What to Expect
Given Roy’s performance so far, to me, Kapanen is the better candidate not only because of the above mentioned reasons, but also because he is a center and can give Dach and Newhook a hand at the face-off circle.
This morning, the Canadiens sent Jakub Dobes, Adam Engstrom, Logan Mailloux and Roy himself to the Rocket. In other words, Roy stumbled and fell while Kapanen and Emil Heineman shone in camp, earning a spot on the roster. They may not dress for all the games, but they are staying with the Canadiens while he isn’t…
In short, I expect Roy to give his head a shake and show the same level of effort that has allowed him to dominate in his last two seasons in the QMJHL, he must now have realized his chair was an ejectable one.
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