The Montreal Canadiens announced on Monday morning that the club recalled winger Joshua Roy from the Laval Rocket, and they were sending Owen Beck down to the American Hockey League.
Joshua Roy has been one of the Rocket's top forwards since the Canadiens sent him down to the Rocket. The St-Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec native has played 46 games with the Rocket this season, scoring 15-20-35 in that span. Roy has zero points in four games with the Canadiens this season, and has the makings of a great top nine forward, with top-six upside.
Owen Beck on the otherhand has been a pillar with the Rocket, showing as a 20-year-old rookie, that he may have more than third line centre upside. Beck was never a prolific goal scorer in the Ontario Hockey League, mainly because he was hyper-focused on the defensive side of the puck. But that doesn't mean that he can't develop into a goalscorer, because he has a wicked release, that comes off his stick lightning quick.
I expect both to be a big part of what the Canadiens do next season, though Roy is going to have to prove he can be consistent. Emil Heineman has leapfrogged Roy in the depth chart, because Roy takes shifts off. Heineman, on the other hand, runs through a wall every shift, and does all the little things to win the coach's trust.
Developmentally, I feel like there is a group of players on the Laval roster, that will be in the mix for a roster spot with the Canadiens in October. Roy and Beck are right there, and Oliver Kapanen, Jared Davidson and Luke Tuch are interesting options as well. Keeping Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia for the remainder of the season is great, but I think they will depart the organization come July 1.
Pascal Vincent is conducting beautiful music with the Rocket in the American Hockey League, and his players are gaining tremendous confidence because of that fact. Florian Xhekaj, 20, and Jared Davidson, 22, are both late bloomers, but the pair have 15 and 19 goals respectively, bringing a gritty-style to the Rocket lineup. While another season with the Rocket would conceivably do both players well, an argument can be made that the players are older than most AHL rookies, therefore they are more physically mature.
I think that Davidson and Xhekaj are already better options for the Canadiens than Michael Pezzetta, who certainly has less upside and potential. Both are proving that they can score on professional goalies, and they have no issue handling the physical battles. I don't see a reason why you wouldn't want these guys in the lineup, and if age is an issue, put a veteran forward on their line.
Montreal will have a young lineup, regardless of what happens with Armia and Dvorak, because aside from Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Patrik Laine and Jake Evans, the forward core is dominated by guys 25 years old and younger. Adding to the other two, Kapanen is 21, Beck is 20, and there is also Ivan Demidov, who doesn't turn 20 until December 10.
What happens when Laine returns?
So, while Beck has been sent down to Laval, I think it is more of a case of giving him some time to get comfortable with his linemates before the AHL playoffs. Beck is an important piece to Vincent's centre core, effective at five-on-five, and an assassin on the penalty kill. His speed, and penchant for winning faceoffs are tremendous for the Rocket lineup.
Roy, on the other hand, will likely be sent back down when Patrik Laine recovers from the virus that has kept him out of the lineup. I think Roy could make a case to stick around, but he is a player who eases in slowly, so I don't expect any offensive outburst. Also to consider, if he has just one game, and then gets scratched Wednesday night, he doesn't have leash to gain any traction.
I think once Laine returns, he will be sent down, and then Pezzetta will draw into the lineup. Martin St. Louis will test a centre group of Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak and Jake Evans to finish the season. It's not glamorous, and Newhook is a big question mark, but just 19 games are remaining on the Habs' schedule.