Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top MVP Candidates

Joshua Roy

Joshua Roy has shown immense growth since being selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was viewed as a one-dimensional player whose skating needed improvement, and his compete level left a lot to be desired. Thankfully for Roy and the Canadiens’ management, there was a large improvement in his game, and each year, he has shown tremendous growth. He narrowly missed out on back-to-back 100-point seasons (119 and 99) and was a dominant presence on both the power play and penalty kill in the QMJHL and with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

Defensively, he has shown an innate ability to strip pucks from opposing players and quickly push the play towards the offensive zone. His vision and hockey IQ are two essential traits that fuel Roy’s game. He executes incredible passes that few other players could replicate, and his patience in the offensive zone allows him to generate a ton of high-danger scoring chances. His shot is a huge threat regardless of whether he uses it or not. Roy’s smart positioning allows him to gain prime scoring chances regularly, and he can freeze defenders who guess wrong on his intentions before making a pass or ripping a shot on the net.

An underrated skill that separates great players from good players is their ability to corral hard passes, and he does so with a certain poise. His ability to be consistently effective was on display during the showcase, and he certainly got off to a great start, which should bode well for the 2024 season and beyond. I think that Roy will threaten to make the Canadiens out of camp, but the logjam will keep him in Laval, which will give the Rocket their potential MVP.