The Montreal Canadiens selected a local product, Joshua Roy, in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft.
The 18 year old native of Quebec plays in the QMJHL for the Sherbrooke Phoenix. They have high hopes this season, and a re expecting a lot out of the Habs prospect, even though he was a fifth round pick last season.
So far, they have been getting a lot of value out of the Habs prospect.
Entering this weekend’s slate of games, Roy had already produced eight points in five games. That is not a bad start to a season, but Roy was just warming up. In two games over the weekend, he piled up seven points, leading his team to a pair of victories over the Base-Comeau Drakkar and Chicoutimi Sagueneens.
Roy started off the weekend with a power play goal. He drove to the middle of the ice off the rush and received a pass from the boards. He quickly fired a wrist shot that beat the goaltender and gave him his fourth of the season. Watch #10 here:
Roy made a nifty little touch pass on a breakout that led to his first assist of the weekend. You see him quickly one-touch the puck to a speeding winger at the start of the video and then the puck is moved up ice to another teammate who scores.
Roy’s second goal of the night was also on the power play, in fact it was a 5-on-3 advantage. However, he did show some nice skill to get open. You can see he plays pitch and catch at the top of the zone before firing a pass down low. As soon as he does, he quickly moves to the middle of the ice where he becomes wide open and he gets his stick flat on the ice to provide a target for his teammate to pass to and also ensures he can get the one-timer off as quickly as possible.
When the puck comes back, he does get it off quickly and beats the goaltender for his second goal and third point of the night.
Roy’s second assist of the night was not very flashy. He got the puck in the offensive zone on the power play and moved it to the quarterback at the top of the zone. David Spacek and Xavier Parent then moved it back and forth, fired a shot that was stopped and bounced back out to the slot, moved it back and forth again before Spacek hammered a shot home from the point.
It had been about 15 seconds since Roy last touched the puck, but he was given a secondary assist.
The four point night was the best night of Roy’s weekend, but not by much. His Sherbrooke Phoenix played the Chicoutimi Sagueneens Saturday night and Roy put up three more points.
Roy broke a tie midway through the first period when he was left open in the slot on a power play again. He made no mistake when he got the puck, taking his time to find an opening and then firing a wrist shot into the net.
Roy’s first assist against the Sagueneens was also on the power play. He picked up a pass at the top of the circle and cut towards the net. He made a perfect, pinpoint pass to a teammate standing at the edge of the crease on the far side of the ice and all he needed to do was let the puck hit his stick and go in the net.
Roy’s second assist of the night also came on the power play. He fired a puck across the ice to Xavier Parent who moved it up top to David Spacek who one-timed it and scored to put the second game of the weekend out of reach.
Roy’s offence primarily came from the power play, but seven points in two games is incredible at any level. It also has him leading the QMJHL in goals, tied for the league lead in assists and he is leading the league in points as well. It has been a terrific start to the season for the Habs fifth round pick.
Six goals and 15 points in seven games has him scoring over two points per game early on and has the Sherbrooke Phoenix believing they can be a contender this season.