Canadiens Prospect Joshua Roy Making A Case For A Promotion

Don’t look now, but Montreal Canadiens prospect Joshua Roy is on fire.

With his hat-trick performance on Saturday night, Roy’s season totals are now up to seven goals and three assists in just nine games. This means his pro-rated, 70-game pace is an incredible 56 goals, and 24 assists.

As it stands, Roy is tied for second in league scoring, though he’s played fewer games than most players in the top 50. Simply put, he’s providing the type of offence you’d expect from a player who has already proven he can make a positive impact in both the AHL and the NHL.

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The 21-year-old forward is certainly part of the reason the Laval Rocket are off to the best start in franchise history. Roy’s hat trick against the Providence Bruins secured a franchise-record seventh win in a row, pushing the team to an 8-0-1 record, good for first overall in the North Division.

De Mailloux, à Roy, sur l’avantage numérique 🚨
Logan➡️ Josh ➡️ 🚨#GoRocket https://t.co/rNXdG4hZlo pic.twitter.com/vE43g8J1y3

— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) November 2, 2024

We also have to share the praise with players such as Logan Mailloux, Alex Barre-Boulet, Owen Beck, Jared Davidson, and Jakub Dobes, among others. And there’s no denying head coach Pascal Vincent has quickly instilled a level of structure unseen in the organization since the days of Jacques Demers. He walks the line between communicator and instructor perfectly, and that’s quite the boon in the AHL, as he has to deal with discontent veterans, prospects focused on the NHL, and rookies attempting to start their professional careers on the right foot.

ON TOPIC: Pascal Vincent Quickly Finds Rhythm With Laval Rocket

Of course, the conversation is sure to turn to Roy’s eventual call-up to the NHL, and while I believe he certainly deserves to be playing with the Canadiens, and that the overreaction to an irrelevant preseason caused much more harm than good for the entire lineup, the Rocket have a good thing going in the AHL.

Priority should always be given to the NHL team, but seeing as the Canadiens quickly cast Roy aside despite his solid rookie season, it would be unfair to expect him t0 be a saviour for the team. And unless head coach Martin St-Louis can find Roy a job in the top six, he’s best off playing as much as possible in the AHL.

Granted, it should be easy to find  a lot of minutes in a struggling lineup, that much is true, but there seems to be a clear disconnect between Roy’s actual value, and the perception of his value by Canadiens management.

Unlike many players currently wearing a red, white, and blue jersey, Roy has the ability to make a positive impact every night, and that’s something a rebuilding team can’t afford to keep ignoring.