Canadiens Analysis
Canadiens Prospect Joshua Roy In Familiar Situation
There are few prospects who have worked harder than Joshua Roy between the time they were picked in their respective junior leagues, to the time they made their professional hockey debuts.
In a sense, the mere fact that Roy made it to the NHL last year is a testament to his impressive evolution.
And while he’s almost certainly devastated to be the final forward cut from camp, his demotion to the AHL is not the first time Le Sniper Beauceron has faced adversity.
Roy has almost always been among the most talented players on any given sheet of ice, but his effort level left something to be desired from the moment he started playing in the QMJHL. It took an honest moment from Roy to take the next step in his hockey career, which meant focusing on becoming a well-rounded player rather than just a forward who doesn’t add to the Zamboni’s workload in the defensive zone.
It will once again take an honest moment from the 21-year-old if he’s to return to the NHL as quickly as possible.
Admittedly, I’ve lobbied for Roy’s inclusion in the Canadiens’ roster to start the season despite his relatively poor showing during a chaotic training camp. And I’ve never shied away from discussing his potential, his intelligence, or his excellent stats in the NHL last season.
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I’d go as far as saying Roy has the potential to become a true 200-foot player, a term that’s thrown around way too often in the NHL. I’m also well aware that he has a tendency to run red-hot, followed by stretches of underwhelming performances. Training camp happened to be held during one of those underwhelming stretches.
Beyond his relatively poor play at camp, we also have to recognize his style of play does not lend itself well to public scrutiny when he starts to squeeze his stick a little too tightly. A player who uses anticipation as his main weapon will rarely be described as a hard worker, a reality that Roy will have to come to terms with now that he’s playing professional hockey.
“He (Joshua Roy) has to continue to push (to earn a spot with the Habs). We know he has a very good ceiling but I think he would be the first person to tell you that he didn’t show us his ceiling enough from the start of training camp to now. But we know it’s there & he’s still a… pic.twitter.com/oqy03b7R2M
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 7, 2024
His underlying numbers may be great, but that doesn’t always come across on TV. For every Joshua Roy in the NHL, there are 10 players who are willing to work harder than everyone else on the ice.
They work harder because they have to. Roy, on the other hand, doesn’t have to chase the play, because he’s usually ahead of it.
I have no doubt he will end up playing in the NHL sooner than later, but if Roy wants to spend the least amount of time possible in the AHL, he may want to find that extra gear that has often eluded him. It’s the safest way to ensure he would not have to prove himself for the umpteenth time in his career.
In turn, this would allow Roy to focus on the ultimate goal, becoming a great player, not just a good player.
Based on his underwhelming training camp play, I wonder if he felt he would be playing on the 2nd line this year, but once the team acquired Laine, he may have gotten a little dejected and possibly didn’t train as hard as he could have because he thought it wouldn’t make a difference, he’d lost his spot in the top 6? Understanding that hockey players are humans with real emotions and that Roy is still very young, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he got into his own head a little bit when the team traded for Laine. I’m confident he’ll get back to where he needs to be quickly enough, especially since we seem to be looking to break our own injury record yet again this season, and a spot will open up on the big club for him. Having said that, full marks to Heinemen and especially Barre-Boulet, who definitely earned their spots. I thought Barre-Boulet was probably our best forward this preseason. It’s also a reality check for people who think we’re going to make the playoffs this year. Here’s a career minor leaguer being our best player when he could never stick with a club that we’re trying to emulate (Tampa). I love what HuGo have done so far in the rebuild, but we still have a long way to go before we’re ready to play with the big boys in our division.
Roy’s play was worse than underwhelming, some of the passes he made were embarrassingly poor and led directly to goals. It is his fault, so he had better improve his effort level.
It’s up to him how he handles the adversity and historically, he has responded well to it. I’m a big fan of this player. Development is a process of increments, and based on what I’ve seen from him, he’s going to be a good player.
It’s a big step to go from junior to AHL and finally to NHL. Flaws are magnified. Foot speed is not his gift, not the end of the world. He’s already amply demonstrated he can play effectively at this level. This team is in development mode, compete mode is coming. Roy, like the other top prospects, wil be a strong contributor taking us to the compete mode but he needs to develop consistency and the NHL is the best forum for that for him, but some AHL time will also benefit him as last year proved.
It’s puzzling why Roy, who is a very very young local, talented francophone player in a market craving that demographic would be subject to the strongest critism of any player on the roster. Strange…
Joshua Roy did not have a good camp despite other veterans also did have good camp either. The habs are trying to change the culture of the team and put him on the team when he didn’t earn it would send a bad message to the young players.
Roy reminds me of Armia to a degree but Roy has more potential. If he exceeds what Armia has done in his career as a former first round pick then the Habs have found free money. The fact Roy at 21 and not being a former top round pick is a testament to him and he should be incredibly proud of himself. Take a look at the 100 plus players drafted ahead of him in his draft class. He’s on an absolutely incredible trajectory and people shouldn’t forget that.
Nothing to worry about here…He’ll be back on the team within 3 weeks when an inevitable injury up front occurs…