Highlights: Canadiens Prospect Roy Dominant In QMJHL Playoffs

Montreal Canadiens prospect Joshua Roy had a healthy production rate in the regular season.

In fact, he ended up with the same points-per-game pace (1.8) this season as he did in 2021-22 when he lead the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in scoring.

But now that the playoffs have rolled around, Roy has found another gear, earning 21 points in just eight games for the Sherbrooke Phoenix, good for 2.62 points per game.

With 10 goals and 11 assists to his credit, Roy is second overall in QMJHL playoff scoring, just two points behind Zach Dean (Gatineau), who has played an additional game.

Seeing as Roy is expected to make his professional debut next season, we’re going to be keeping a close eye on his production, to gauge whether he’s ready to make the next big jump in his career.

Here’s a video breakdown of every point scored by the Canadiens prospect in the playoffs so far.

Roy is No.10 in the highlights posted below. The highlights are time-stamped for ease of viewing.

Round 1 vs. the Blainville Boisbriand Armada (4-0 Series win)

Game 1, 5-2 Sherbrooke Win. Roy Production: One Goal (Empty Net)

Roy’s first point came in the form of an empty-net goal, and though I’d usually skip this type of highlight, Roy’s anticipation is worth pointing out.

His first attempt hit the post, a somewhat questionable attempt given it could have resulted in an icing for the Phoenix, but Roy doubled up his effort, intercepting a clearance by the Armada, outplaying two defenders, and quickly finding the back of the net with his second attempt.

Game 2, 6-3 Sherbrooke Win. Roy Production: One Goal, One Assist (Two Points)

Roy scored his first goal (0:00) with a goaltender in place during the second game of the series, taking advantage of the chaos created near the Armada during a power play.

But it was his assist on the game-winning goal that impressed the most (0:31). Not only did he win his puck battle and almost set up Andrew Belchamber for an easy goal, but he also embarrassed two defenders shortly thereafter with some nifty puckhandling, which created enough time and space for his teammates to capitalize on his fancy stickwork.

It’s the type of play Roy pulls off regularly in the QMJHL, and is definitely worth watching again in slow motion (0:10) :

Game 3,6-2 Sherbrooke win. Roy Production: One Goal, Three Assists (Four Points)

Roy scored his third goal in a row by capitalizing on open space in a high-danger area (0:00), but truth be told, it was his assists that impressed the most.

His first assist (0:28) was created after a clean offensive-zone entry, a perfect, backhand saucer pass over two defending players, and led to Cole Huckins’ first goal of the playoffs.

His second assist (0:41) involved fantastic anticipation, which allowed Roy to intercept a clearing attempt and quickly find Ethan Gauthier with yet another perfect backhand pass.

His third assist (0:56) may have been the nicest of the three, and shockingly, was created via a gorgeous backhand pass.

Game 4, 5-0 Sherbrooke Win. Roy Production: Two Goals, One Assist (Three Points)

Roy’s first goal (0:00) showed his intelligence in high-danger scoring areas, as he picked out the small opening while forcing the goaltender to cheat off his left post.

His second goal (0:26) gives you a great idea of why he’s nicknamed Le Sniper Beauceron. Roy has an excellent shot and he is not afraid to use it.

Unfortunately, there was no video available of his third point of the night, a secondary assist on Hugo Primeau’s third goal of the playoffs.

Roy finished the four-game series against the Armada with five goals and five assists.

Round 2 vs. Drummondville Voltigeurs (4-0 Series win)

Game 1,  7-3 Sherbrooke Win. Roy Production: One Goal, One Assist (Two Points)

Roy was credited with an assist in the opening game of the second round, but unless I’m missing something, it was a mistake by the scorekeepers.

Roy does touch the puck immediately following the faceoff (0:00), but it goes from Roy to No.15 (Marc-Andre Gaudet), to No.19 (Justin Gill), to No.11 (Jakub Brabenec) and finally to No.23 (Jacob Melanson), the goal scorer.

They likely mistook No.11 for No.10 on the play.

He followed up his ghost assist with an empty-net goal (0:20) to seal the victory for Sherbrooke.

Game 2, 8-1 Sherbrooke Win. Roy Production: Three Goals, Three Assists (Six Points)

Roy earned his first hat trick of the playoffs with a dominant performance in Game 2 while adding three assists for good measure.

The Canadiens prospect started the night by once again denying a clearance (0:00), quickly sending the puck to Gaudet, who scored his first goal of the playoffs. There’s a clear pattern here. Not only can Roy anticipate the play from defenders, but he also has an affinity for turning clearances into scoring opportunities for his teammates.

His teammates returned the favour early in the third period, leading to Roy’s first goal of the game (0:21)

Roy’s second goal of the game (0:37) came during a 5-on-3 powerplay and was helped along thanks to a second effort by the Canadiens prospect, who took advantage of open ice in a high-danger scoring area. He followed up with a secondary assist on the power play (0:59).

Roy’s hat trick was complete shortly thereafter, thanks to a  great goal seconds after the puck was dropped during an offensive-zone faceoff (1:17).

His sixth point of the night (1:34) was another secondary assist. Thanks to Roy’s excellent playmaking and goal-scoring ability, the Phoenix have scored 12 powerplay goals in 22 opportunities, good for a 54.5 percent powerplay efficiency in the playoffs, far and away the best result of any team in the QMJHL.

Game 3, 4-1 Sherbrooke Win. Roy Production: 1 Goal (Empty-Net Goal)

Game 3 was rather shocking because the Canadiens prospect only scored one goal, which is quite low for his standards.

Though it’s worth noting he created several scoring chances, including a great shorthanded opportunity (0:00) late in the third period.

He also generated two high-danger scoring chances in the second period, following up his first shot with yet another quality scoring opportunity (0:23).

His empty-net goal (0:31) was also quite entertaining, as he outworked his opponents to seal the victory for his team.

Game 4, 5-2 Sherbrooke Win. Roy Production: Two Assists (Two Points)

The first assist showed off Roy’s ability to create time and space for his opponents (0:00), setting up Gauthier perfectly for his third goal of the playoffs.

He almost scored his 11th goal of the playoffs midway through the period (0:18) but was denied by goaltender Riely Mercer, who did a very good job keeping his team in games despite the lopsided series sweep by the Phoenix.

His final point of the series (0:23) came via yet another assist that showed off Roy’s penchant for drawing in defencemen and giving his teammates plenty of space to work with.

Roy finished the second-round series with five goals and six assists in four games.

All videos are via the QMJHL website.