With all eyes on Shane Wright as the likely first overall pick in the upcoming draft, the Montreal Canadiens can also start dreaming about the future.
Kaiden Guhle is absolutely dominant in the WHL and has all the makings of a future top 2 defenceman in the NHL. Riley Kidney has exploded for 100 points this season in the QMJHL and continues to lead his team in the playoffs. Not to be ignored is Jan Mysak who’s developing into a versatile player as well.
Then of course there’s Joshua Roy. The Canadiens’ 5th round pick in the 2021 draft completely changed his training routine, nutrition as well as view on life as he has matured dramatically in the last year and this has all translated into incredible success on the ice.
In 66 games with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL, Roy has won the league’s scoring title with an incredible display of offensive prowess with 51 goals, 68 assists totalling 119 points.
They Joshua Roy Show didn’t end come playoff time. The Phoenix disposed of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in 4 games in the first round’s best of 5 series. In those four games Roy scored 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points.
Joshua Roy is as a prototypical sniper as they come. He will beat you clean in a dozen different ways and he loves to score. What makes him even more dangerous is he is developing a solid physical play and has proved to be a good puck protector as well.
Having Shane Wright as his centerman can potentially be a perfect fit for both players. Wright would be able to protect Roy’s defensive weaknesses and also be an excellent playmaking partner if the two click. Wright has a tendency to drive the play first and even tends to slow the game down as he controls momentum when he has the puck. His ability to drive the net and find openings for his wingers could raise the Bell Center roof at an alarming rate.
An easy comparison could the the one of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield who play the game in a very similar way to Wright and Roy respectively.
Joshua Roy and Shane Wright are 5 months apart in age. That seems like it could be a nice combo in the future to complement Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Roy has 55 goals and 76 assists in 70 games this year
— Bob Trask (@rwtrask) May 11, 2022
Joshua Roy would come into the Canadiens’ system at the perfect time as the team is trying to build a proper player development program. If both Roy and Wright, who is said to be a very humble and mature young man as well, come in with similar work ethics and drive, there’s no reason they won’t obtain a certain level of success in the NHL.
We’re dreaming early, but there’s too many potentially very good prospects in the Canadiens pipeline to not get excited.
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