Montreal Canadiens Prospects Riley Kidney, Joshua Roy Score Beauty OT Goals (video)

Montreal Canadiens prospects are off to a tremendous start in the QMJHL.

Three of them, Riley Kidney, Joshua Roy and Xavier Simoneau are in the top ten in league scoring this season. All three of these young players were drafted in the 2021 NHL Draft.

While Simoneau is a 20 year old overaged forward and was a 6th round pick, he was expected to be among the league’s leading scorers after averaging more than a point per game in each of his last three QMJHL seasons.

Roy and Kidney are both 18 years old and have taken huge steps forward in there development this season. Kidney scored 13 goals and 38 points in 35 games last season, and already has matched that goal total this season and has 29 points in just 19 games. Roy has been even better, scoring 31 points in his first 17 games of the season after a 35 point in 35 game season a year ago.

Kidney and Roy were both doing their usual thing Friday night and by that I mean scoring game winning goals. Both Canadiens prospects secured victories for their teams when they beat goaltenders on breakaways in overtime.

Just like the NHL, the QMJHL plays 3 on 3 in the extra frame and this gave Roy plenty of room to blow by defenders and score. Roy’s teammate Maxime Blanchard blocks a shot in the defensive zone and Roy (#10) picks up the loose puck. He then speeds down the wing, leading a couple of helpless opponents in his dust and fires the puck past the netminder just 26 seconds into the overtime period.

Kidney didn’t even need 26 seconds to score his goal. His came together almost immediately after the opening faceoff. Kidney actually lost the draw, but his teammate pressured the MOncotn Wildcats defender and forced a turnover. He then threw a blind pass behind Kidney, but the Canadiens prospect was able to reach back, tap the puck through his legs and head in all along on the goaltender. He made no mistake, deking backhand before pulling it back to the forehand and snapping the puck over the goalie.

Kidney was a second round pick and Roy was somehow a fifth round pick and both are looking like they should have been taken much earlier. They are two of the league’s leading scorers and are in their 18 year old season which means they will almost surely play Junior again next year.

It won’t be long before they are knocking on the door for NHL jobs with the amount of talent they have displayed in the QMJHL this season.