Montreal Canadiens Prospects Joshua Roy, Xavier Simoneau Stealing Show in Conference Final

Montreal Canadiens prospects have done quite well so far in the CHL Playoffs. The QMJHL, OHL and WHL are all in the later stages of their postseasons, but several Canadiens prospects are still competing.

Kaiden Guhle and the Edmonton Oil Kings have already booked their ticket to the WHL Finals. Arber Xhekaj and Jan Mysak have done the same in the OHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Oil Kings have lost just one game so far in three rounds and the Bulldogs have not lost a single game yet.

In the QMJHL, a couple of Habs prospects are taking over the conference final, as they have each been first star in a game so far in a series that is tied at 1 apiece.

The Charlottetown Islanders took Game 1 over the Sherbrooke Phoenix thanks to an incredible game from Xavier Simoneau. It wasn’t just Simoneau who was great, as the Islanders stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first period.

Just 42 seconds into the first period of Game 1, Simoneau set up a goal. He picked off a stretch pass just outside the Phoenix blue line and had the presence of mind to move horizontally across the blue line until his teammates got onside. Then, he jumped into the attacking zone and fired a perfect pass across to Zachary Roy who sniped to open the scoring.

Less than two minute later, Simoneau had his second assist of the game. He drove to the slot looking for a loose puck on a flip pass from the neutral zone. When he got to it, he made a quick pass to move the puck to open ice behind the net where his teammate grabbed it. A second later it was in the back of the net after a quick pass to the slot.

Just over halfway through the first period, Simoneau added his third point of the game. He drove to the net and got his stick on a feed from Brett Budgell, redirecting it behind the Phoenix goaltender. Simoneau would add another assist, his third of the night and fourth point, in the second period.

The Islanders would run away with a 7-2 win in Game 1 of the series, mostly thanks to Simoneau’s goal and three assists. Joshua Roy, like usual, couldn’t be kept off the scoresheet, as he set up Xavier Parent for a goal in the blowout loss for his squad.

Roy stepped up big time in Game 2. A loss would have put the Phoenix on the ropes in a Best-of-5 series, so he ensured that wouldn’t happen.

Just over five minutes into the second game of the series, the Phoenix had the lead thanks to a great shot from Roy. He got open in the slot, which is an unwise move if you are playing against him, and quickly snapped home a goal in the split second he had the puck on his stick.

Late in the first period, Roy cut to the slot again, but this time dished the puck off to David Spacek who would one-time it home. Clearly, everyone on the ice was expecting a shot from Roy but when he had everyone thinking shot, he delivered a perfect cross-ice pass instead.

The Islanders stormed back from their 3-0 deficit and tied the game, sending it to overtime when Simoneau scored with one minute remaining.

The comeback was admirable but the overtime was not long lived. A turnover in the neutral zone gave the Phoenix a 3-on-2 break and the Islanders must have been worried when they realized it was their top line heading into the attacking zone.

Julien Anctil dropped the puck to Roy in the slot and the game was over. Well, it wasn’t officially over until the puck crossed the line but that was a foregone conclusion as soon as Roy got the puck with open ice in the slot.

Game 3 of the series goes tonight with the scene shifting to Sherbrooke for the next two games.

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