There has been a lot of talk about Joshua Roy in the last two years. From an “easygoing” or “questionable work ethic” player to his draft year in 2021, he’s now one of the Montreal Canadiens’ biggest hopes. And that comes as no surprise to almost everyone who has worked with him at some point in their career.
• Also read: Joshua Roy the Quebecer who almost escaped the CH
The Canadians’ fifth-round pick in 2021, Roy was the most drafted player of any Junior Team Canada member at the recent World Cup, which ended with Dylan Guenther’s golden goal in the finals following a pass from Roy.
Nevertheless, he was one of their most important players and finished second in the team classification behind Connor Bedard. He was named one of the three players of the tournament for the national team along with Bedard and her line partner Logan Stankoven.
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The Canadian hopeful throws himself into Dylan Guenther’s arms after serving him a skillful pass that resulted in the winning goal against the Czech Republic in the grand final.
But there is some context to his draft rank, and some of it has already been documented. At 17, Roy had asked for a mid-season exchange with the Saint John Sea Dogs, not feeling that the coaching offered by the New Brunswick organization met his needs.
He eventually landed at Sherbrooke, but the damage was done and he slipped into the fifth lap, Canadian scout Serge Boisvert explained in these pages on Saturday.
In bad condition
Roy arrived at Sherbrooke in poor physical condition. His fitness, which had enabled him to lose between 20 and 25 pounds, has also been widely recounted since then. In an interview with Le Journal, Roy’s agent Olivier Fortier agreed to offer another perspective on Roy’s situation, who at the time might seem like a player with an uneven work ethic.
“In the pee-wee and bantam lines, Josh was puny,” says the Canadians’ former third-round pick. In his tiny AAA year, he had just passed puberty and his body was changing. He found himself gaining weight just in time to say it. He’s managed to get away with it this year because he doesn’t play the most active playstyle. He’s a more intellectual player. »
Photo courtesy of QMJHL
The Saint-Jean Sea Dogs selected Roy as the first overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL Draft.
By the following summer he had managed to lose weight.
“When he arrived at Saint-Jean in his freshman year, he didn’t really know how to deal with his new body. »
Lack of supervision
Then his first season in the QMJHL was cut short at the very end due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Roy had found himself at home, in confinement, with no real access to gyms and a pervasive ignorance of how to manage his weight gain.
He therefore presented himself in his 17-year season without being able to train as he would have liked. At the time, the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak and sanitation measures, quarantines and games in sheltered environments also made it difficult to keep to the training routine, especially for a youngster with Joshua’s personality: Roy. With the approval of his family and advisors, judging that Saint-Jean might not be the right place for him, he was eventually sold to Sherbrooke. The change then takes place immediately.
“Stéphane Julien didn’t let go of an inch. He’s been pushing it daily and in the last two months we’ve seen the Joshua we saw when he was young. »
discipline
For his bantam trainer Simon Larouche, with whom he still works over the summer, Roy’s weight gain was never due to laziness or a lack of interest in training.
“It was never a princess or a spoiled baby like some said. To see it from the inside, he would have been willing not to be drafted into the NHL to find himself in an environment that suited him,” he assures.
“I don’t think people realize afterwards how much effort he put in. Behind the World Juniors’ fame, there’s also a July morning when he’s constantly practicing his blast on skates, landing all white near the garbage can. And it’s not because I’m forcing it on him, it’s because he wants to do it,” continues Simon Larouche.
High engagement
The same story with his M18 AAA trainer, formerly Midget AAA, at Lévis Knights, Mathieu Turcotte.
“He was one of our hardest working players in training. His commitment was great because he wanted to get better and didn’t sit on his talent. He wasn’t lazy and what was said about him afterwards, he’s not the person I knew. »
His coach pleads for patience
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Stephane Julien. Phoenix head coach
Stéphane Julien has already said it: he believes that one day we will see Joshua Roy in the Montreal Canadiens uniform. But you have to be patient, he emphasizes.
The Sherbrooke Phœnix head coach has been able to watch his forward’s progress since taking charge in January 2021. But we are still a long way from a finished product, he emphasizes.
“Ever since World Juniors, people have been excited. It’s okay, but you have to stop. Historically, even with a good tournament, you still have to see the way [jusqu’à la LNH] can be long. »
Julien is currently spending his final months with Roy as it seems likely that young Beauceron will make the leap to the pros next season.
Still work to do
The head coach has been at the forefront of the winger’s fitness since arriving at Sherbrooke and believes the bulk of the work is still ahead.
“This summer has to be his best training summer. He will have to take his sessions at the gym very seriously. He also needs to work on his skate as he is not a born skater. He’s very solid on both feet but he needs to work on his speed because for 80+ NHL games it can hurt. Josh has a lot of things that you can’t teach him, whether it’s his hockey intelligence or his goalscoring skills. But he still has a tick to pick up. »
On the right way
However, from the man who acted as assistant to head coach Dennis Williams at the last World Juniors, there’s one thing he can assure you: the Canadian’s hope is on the right track.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Josh and his fitness but he’s not the only one being asked around the team. We’re not on his back every day. All players come to us asking for a plan and what they can do to improve, but there is a difference between asking and doing. Josh did. »
Built for big occasions
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Joshua Roy joined the Lévis Knights in the 2018-19 season, where the team lost just one of their 42 regular-season games.
Olivier Fortier and Simon Larouche sat down for a beer during the 2017-2018 season. “Joshua will one day score the decisive goal for Junior Team Canada,” they mused.
Did you really believe it then? History doesn’t tell. Five years later, Roy may not have scored the winning goal, but his overtime pass to Dylan Guenther secured ECJ gold. Give them half the points anyway! Especially that by this time – Roy was in his second Bantam AAA year – the Beauceron was already showing the attributes of a player who gets up at important moments.
“I will always remember that in his second bantam year we were at the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu tournament and had a lot of injuries. We still made it to the finals but we were down and I told Josh he probably has to be on the ice because we have to use him. We ended up beating the Lac Saint-Louis Lions 5-4 and Josh finished the game with three goals and two assists,” recalls Larouche, his then coach.
But it was the rest of the story that shaped the hockey man.
“The next day at school all the boys were still talking about it but he had come to me to say he was having trouble with the face offs and wanted to work on it. […] He’s always been a very humble guy. He knows the magnitude of the opportunities he gets, but his greatest strength is how he deals with the pressure of the moment. Whether it’s a game at World Juniors or Canadiens camp, he’s never stressed. When it’s over, he’ll be the same Josh again. He never changed. »
PRESSURE ?
His head coach the following year at Chevaliers de Lévis Midget AAA, Mathieu Turcotte, could then see what Joshua Roy could achieve under pressure. And not just on the ice.
“All year he was the pick for the QMJHL draft and with the streak that we had [ils n’ont perdu qu’un seul de leurs 42 matchs de la saison], the cameras were often there. How he dealt with that pressure is exceptional for his age. When he was drafted by Montreal in 2021, I said to myself, if there’s anyone who doesn’t mind the pressure from Montreal, it’s Josh. »