Montreal Canadiens Elite QMJHL Prospects Invited To World Junior Summer Camp

The Montreal Canadiens had about as strong a group of free agents in the QMJHL as anyone could have hoped to ever see. Some people like to complain the Habs don’t have enough local flavour on the roster, but that could change very soon.

Xavier Simoneau, William Trudeau, Joshua Roy and Riley Kidney all had tremendous seasons in the QMJHL. While Kidney is from Enfield, Nova Scotia, the other three are from the province of Quebec, which should keep those local detractors happy in the coming years.

While Simoneau and Trudeau are likely taking the next step into the pro ranks next season, Kidney and Roy are destined for another Junior season. Both of them might need to miss a few weeks around the holidays from the QMJHL rosters though.

Kidney and Roy were among the 44 players named to Canada’s summer evaluation camp for the 2023 World Junior hockey championship. That tournament will take place in December of 2022 and January of 2023 in Halifax and Moncton. It was supposed to be in Russia but they lost the hosting privileges with everything going on in that country these days.

Kidney was a second round pick of the Habs in 2021 and had a terrific season for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan this year. He scored 30 goals and led the league in assists with 70 which gave him an even 100 points on the year. He is a great playmaker and strong two-way player who will make a strong case for a second line centre role behind Connor Bedard.

Roy is a winger who could find himself playing alongside a superstar like Bedard at the tournament. Roy led the QMJHL in scoring with 119 points, including 51 goals, in 66 games. He added 23 points in just 11 playoff games for the Sherbrooke Phoenix. It would be a shock if he doesn’t land a top six role on Canada’s 2023 World Junior team.

The evaluation camp will take place in Calgary from July 23-27.

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