Joshua Roy (born August 6, 2003) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who plays for the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect of the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL).
A highly touted prospect on entering the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, early struggles led to a decline in his reputation, and he was taken by the Canadiens in the fifth round (150th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He became a star in the QMJHL following a trade to the Sherbrooke Phoenix, winning the Jean Béliveau Trophy for the 2021–22 season.
Competing internationally as part of the Canadian national junior team, Roy won gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championships.
Playing career
QMJHL
After a highly successful 2018–19 minor hockey season with the Lévis Chevaliers of the Quebec Midget Triple-A Hockey League, in which he lead the league in scoring with 38 goals and 50 assists in 42 games, Roy was selected first overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's 2019 amateur draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs. Self-described as "not a physical guy really, more a skilled guy. Won't be making a lot of checks," Roy was compared to Jonathan Huberdeau by Sea Dogs management. Conversely, The Hockey News faulted Roy's performance, writing that "despite posting 11 points in 11 playoff games, Roy left a lot to be desired and wasn't as competitive shift-to-shift as you'd like to see." Making his debut in the 2019–20 season, Roy appeared in 60 games prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic curtailing the remainder of the competitive calendar. He had 16 goals and 28 assists.
At the beginning of the 2020–21 season, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau rated Roy as a B-grade prospect, making him a candidate for selection in the second or third rounds of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Roy played 15 games with the Sea Dogs, registering 9 goals and 8 assists, prior to a shutdown of the team because of pandemic outbreaks in New Brunswick that would ultimately last for almost four months. Roy struggled with the effects of the lockdown. He ultimately requested a trade, and in advance of the 2021 trade deadline he was dealt to the Sherbrooke Phoenix. He appeared in 16 games with the Phoenix in the remainder of the season, posting nine goals and 5 assists, second on the team in that frame. Despite the late change, NHL scouting assessments of Roy were negatively affected by his first two QMJHL seasons, and he was ultimately taken in the fifth round of the 2021 draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Canadiens scouting director Trevor Timmins said that the team felt "he's going to be a late bloomer."
In the 2021 off-season, the Phoenix and Canadiens development staff developed a program to address concerns about Roy's training and conditioning. He enjoyed a breakout 2021–22 season, posting 51 goals and 68 assists for a league-best 119 points in 66 games. He won the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the QMJHL's top scorer and was named to the First All-Star Team. The league also awarded him the Paul Dumont Trophy as personality of the year, citing his status as "an important ambassador for the QMJHL" and "his positive impact in media circles." As well, he was a finalist for both the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy, awarded to the most sportsmanlike player, and the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy, awarded to the QMJHL's most valuable player. In the 2022 QMJHL playoffs, the Phoenix reached the semi-finals, before being ousted by the Charlottetown Islanders.
In the midst of his successful QMJHL season, Roy signed a three-year entry level contract with the Canadiens on March 30, 2022. Following the QMJHL playoffs, he was eligible to be called up to play for the Canadiens' AHL affiliate Laval Rocket in the Calder Cup playoffs. He appeared in one game in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Returning to the Phoenix for the 2022–23 season, Roy soon received advice from Canadiens player development director Adam Nicholas that emphasized how to "build NHL habits to be a good NHL player." This included greater emphasis on physical play and entering "high danger" areas for generating offense. He appeared in only 55 regular season games for the Phoenix that season, as a result of participating in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, registering 46 goals and 53 assists and tied for seventh in league scoring. He received his second Dumont Trophy and second First All-Star Team designation, and was a finalist for the Brière Trophy for a second time. Roy and the Phoenix reached the playoff semi-finals for the second consecutive season, but were defeated by the Halifax Mooseheads.