LAVAL | It won’t have taken long. The Laval Rocket season has barely begun when there are already calls on social media for Joshua Roy to be recalled to Montreal as soon as reinforcements are needed.
The Beauceron is undoubtedly the Habs farm club’s attacker with the highest potential and most obvious talent. His feel for the game is very strong, there is no doubt about that.
However, Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle’s plea is: Roy can learn a lot from a stay in Laval.
“It is the organization that decides its fate. Personally, I think staying in the American League is always a good thing [LAH] and to learn, Houle argued Tuesday morning during a hallway discussion at Place Bell. In the first two games, Roy played 20 minutes or more. You can’t ask for more for a young player.”
For the Canadiens, the decision to recall Roy has far greater implications than just the team’s short-term success. Because yes, Roy is already more skilled than certain attackers in the CH formation. He could probably help. But would that be a development gain?
“Roy is getting experience in back-to-back games, three-games-in-four-nights, five-games-in-seven-nights…We have a lot of that in the AHL. This is how you become a real professional,” explained the Rocket pilot.
The beauty of the AHL lies in the multitude of obstacles it places night after night in the path of young talent looking for professional experience. The AHL is a chaotic circuit whose only promise is the lack of routine. Twists and turns are routine.
“We saw Roy with Mitchell Stephens and Joel Armia. In a week, there is a good chance that he will be playing with other players, emphasized the head coach of the school club, which has to constantly reshuffle its cards. There will be more injuries or recalls. It’s a lot of back and forth. Even if he has superior numbers, he has to change his position and move from left to right.
No, it’s not that easy to conclude that Roy could help the Canadiens. The organization juggles a number of factors.
“It is certain that the organization needs to think for a young person [à toutes ces considérations] before making a decision,” notes Houle.
However, if there is something that is not controversial, it is the performance of Roy, whose debut in the American League is very interesting. After two games he had already scored four points, including two goals.
“Am I surprised? No, said Houle. At the junior level he showed that he was good. I also got to watch him when he joined us in the 2022 playoffs. You could already see in training that he was stronger than a player his age who would have been in the same situation. He’s a little further along.”
Someone named Scott Wheeler, covering The Athletic’s NHL prospects, recently called Roy CH’s most promising offensive prospect, a question that’s open to debate given the presence of Owen Beck in the NHL pool.
Joshua Roy is the Montreal Canadiens’ best forward.
— Scott Wheeler (@scottwheeler) September 26, 2023
In any case, the Canadiens appear to have made a good fifth-round pick (150th overall) in 2021.
“His hockey IQ is very high,” enthuses Houle. With the skills he has, it certainly helps.”