Joshua Roy seems to have been passed over in the Montreal Canadiens' hierarchy, and he's got no one to blame but himself.
After being recalled by the Montreal Canadiens in the wake of Kirby Dach’s injury, 22-year-old winger Joshua Roy played two games with the big club, skating alongside Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. But on Saturday night, it wasn’t Roy skating alongside them; it was freshly called-up Florian Xhekaj. It’s a shame for the Quebecer, but he only has himself to blame, unfortunately.
Granted, Roy isn’t a grinder, and if he’s going to thrive, it will be in a more offensive role, but he’s not the first player to start at the bottom of the ladder. When Nick Suzuki first joined the Habs, he wasn’t given the keys to the Ferrari right away; he had to play valet for a bit. He earned the opportunities first to ride along, and then to drive, making his way up the lineup.
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If you compare Roy’s numbers to those of Jared Davidson, who was recalled first after the Alex Newhook injury, it’s apparent that one is performing better than the other. Against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Roy skated for 11:30, had one shot on goal, one attempt blocked, two missed shots, one hit and three giveaways. Furthermore, on one goal, he failed to intercept the pass intended for Adam Fantilli in front of the net, even though it hit his stick. Meanwhile, Davidson, who was skating on the fourth line, had to make do with 9:25 of ice time, took one shot, but landed four hits and had a single giveaway.
Against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, Roy skated for 9:55, had a single shot, one blocked attempt and one giveaway. He topped it off with a high-sticking penalty. As for Davidson, he skated in 9:33, had one shot, one attempt blocked, one missed shot, two hits and no giveaway.
Some will say the stat line doesn’t always tell the whole story, but in this case, the eye test tells the same story. Davidson is outperforming Roy everywhere on the ice, and he’s just working harder.
Meanwhile Florian Xhekaj made quite an impression in his debut and brought much more to the table than Roy does. That likely means the latter will soon end up back with the Laval Rocket.
Sooner rather than later, the Saint-Georges native may find himself out of opportunities with the Canadiens, and when that happens, he’ll need to take a good, hard look in the mirror. It’s one thing to train hard in the summer, but that doesn’t win hockey games; those are won on the ice and not in the gym.
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