It was only a few short months ago that Joshua Roy was pegged by many to be patrolling the wing on the second line, or at least the third, for the Montreal Canadiens. Times have changed since then and Roy faces an uphill battle to land on job on the top nine for next season.
When the Canadiens drafted Ivan Demidov at fifth overall in the 2024 Entry Draft, Roy slid a notch down in the Habs’ depth chart. He slid a further notch when Kent Hughes traded for Patrick Laine and now the wingers for the top six next season are almost set in stone. Even if Demidov doesn’t win the job, Alex Newhook is already on the team and has a leg up on Roy.
The third line currently has Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson on the wings. Both are under contract for next season and unlikely to be moved. That would mean Roy would be in competition with either Demidov or Newhook as well as Gallagher and Anderson for a spot on the third line. You would have to think he would rank as the fourth best candidate at this point in time.
For the sake of argument, let’s assume one of Demidov or Newhook wins a position in the top nine. That would mean either Gallagher or Anderson would be earn the other spot with the other being bumped to the fourth line . Emil Heineman looks to have nailed down at least one of those spots with his robust play and if one of the two veterans takes the other spot, it leaves Roy holding the short straw.
Adding to the challenges facing Roy is the fact that he is not your prototypical bottom six player. He is a talented offensive player who limits his physical engagement compared to grinders like Gallagher, Anderson and Heineman. And he won’t benefit from power play opportunities with Laine, Caufield and Demidov likely to garner most of the ice time.
All of this has put Kent Hughes in a tough situation. Roy is a Francophone player who brings a strong resume that includes a successful career in the QMJHL and a gold medal at the World Junior Championships playing alongside Connor Bedard. He has also put up solid offensive numbers in Laval and had a brief, but successful stint with the Canadiens last year. Roy seems to be exactly what so many fans in Montreal long for.
But Hughes has accumulated an envious amount of talent who will be competing for jobs and those vying for a spot on the Canadiens will have to demonstrate that they have both the skill and the worth ethic to lace up their skates for the Habs next season.
It’s important to keep all of this in mind now because the performance of the individual players and the success of the team over the next two months will help determine how Hughes handles this logjam of talent at the trade deadline. And even if nothing is done at that time, there are certain to be roster adjustments made over the summer.
Will Joshua Roy be part of the Canadiens next season? It’s hard to say but the road ahead of him isn’t an easy one despite the successes he has had so far in his hockey career.
