Joshua Roy & Logan Mailloux earn AHL Allstar nod

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton picked up some pieces from Marc Bergevin before them, and carried on in building a budding prospect pool.

Recently, two of the Canadiens' bright prospects earned the nod to the American Hockey League's annual Allstar game. The event will be held Feb 2-3 in Palm Desert, California, and Joshua Roy and Logan Mailloux will represent the Laval Rocket. Mailloux was an all-star during his rookie campaign (2023-2024), and Roy is attending his first.

While Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage overshadow Roy and Mailloux, don't let that fool you, because they are two legitimate NHL talents. I see a top-four defenceman as a goal for Mailloux in the future, and I think he has the tools to get there. I believe Roy will do plenty of damage on the penalty kill, but I like the idea of him with Owen Beck on the third line in the future.

The Canadiens want to load up their offence and ensure that they can hurt teams both at five-on-five and during the man advantage. But the importance of depth could be the difference between a potential Stanley Cup favourite or a first-round exit. And as far as a top-four right-shot defenseman goes, they are coveted league-wide.

The event will feature plenty of talents that will very likely have a long future in the NHL. This could be a great opportunity for Roy and Mailloux to enjoy themselves, and show off skills that they don't usually get to. I think what happens from here on out, could be closely watched by Habs management, in terms of decisions for next season.

As I touched on earlier, Mailloux is in his second AHL season, after a rookie season that saw him shot of a cannon. The Belle River, Ontario product played 72 games in his debut professional season, scoring 14-33-47. Mailloux was impressed with his mobility on the blueline, and his great shot translated from the Ontario Hockey League to the pros.

Through 27 games this season, Mailloux has scored five goals, eleven assists for 16 points.

Roy has spent much of his first two professional seasons split between the Habs and the Rocket. He played 23 games with the Habs during the 2023-2024 season, his rookie year, and he scored 4-5-9. Roy also had a brilliant debut season with the Rocket, where he played 41 games and scored 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists).

This season, Roy has turned it up a notch, posting 25 points through 29 games. A top-nine hopeful for the Habs, Roy is seven points shy of his rookie season total, in 12 fewer games. Roy will likely take his all-star nod confidence, and use it to establish a new career high in points, goals and assists.

Something that makes me curious

David Reinbacher is a guy whose name comes to mind when the all-star game conversation starts. I wonder if he was healthy to this point, whether or not he would have usurped one of his teammates for an invite to the all-star game festivities. Reinbacher seems to be a little bit more refined defensively than Mailloux, but his offensive game is a little bit unknown to this point.

I think that if he was playing with the Rocket, that he and Mailloux would bring the best out of one another. They likely would compete for the top right defence spot on the Rocket blueline. I think the internal competition would be a iron sharpens iron sort of scenario.