Joshua Roy has been brilliant in Laval, but a call-up to play in the bottom six doesn't make sense

Joshua Roy was a little too nonchalant for the Montreal Canadiens taste coming out of training camp, which earned him a demotion to the American Hockey League's Laval Rocket.

Roy proved last year, during his debut professional season that he is capable of playing in the AHL, but that he can do so to an effective level. He played a strong 200-foot game and more often than not was one of the Rocket's best players. It seemed that Roy would get a call-up, which he did, then stick it out with the Canadiens and be a sure bet to play for the Habs this season.

For whatever reason, Roy didn't seem intrigued and invested during the Habs 2024-2025 training camp, and because of that he was sent down to Laval. Everybody knew that Roy was good enough to play in Laval, and was capable of being one of the offensive leaders. It was only a matter of time, before his name was back in the conversation of potential call-ups should the Habs need a forward.

The Habs aren't going to be able to ignore Roy's strong play for much longer, and at some point, he is going to play himself into a guaranteed call-up. There is a difference in the level of competition between the AHL and the National Hockey League, but Roy has done nothing but prove he is worthy of playing for the Canadiens. His 10 points in nine games are impressive, but the most impressive is his seven goals.

A major problem is that if he is called up, the potential that he doesn't play in the top six is pretty likely. This would be a detriment to Roy, who has been playing on the power play for the Rocket and playing on the Rocket top line. Roy needs to be playing big minutes, and in all situations if he is to develop to reach his full potential.

If Roy comes up, who goes down?

If the Habs decide to pull the trigger and promote Roy, who goes down to Laval is the impending question and rightfully so. Regardless of performances, Laval will need a body in the lineup to replace Roy. There is also the fact that healthy scratching a player isn't exactly a great way to spark that player or promote a feeling of positivity.

In my opinion, right now the best option is sending down an older player that isn't performing. At the end of the day, if the goal is to become a better team and be more competitive then having younger players in the lineup, who are driven to succeed makes the most sense. Of course, having veterans in the lineup is necessary to help young guys integrate, but underperforming players aren't going to help anything.

Somebody like Joel Armia or Christian Dvorak would make sense to send down; considering that both have been keeping a spot warm on the bench, but not doing much else. If a guy like Emil Heineman or Oliver Kapanen can have increased minutes that will only help the player in the long run. Back to Roy though, obviously he has proven that he can perform in the American Hockey League, so the next step is proving himself in the National Hockey League, from a consistency standpoint anyway.