If he currently manages young Justin Carbonneau and Mateo Nobert with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, head coach Mathieu Turcotte obviously keeps an eye on his former protégés, including Montreal Canadian prospect Joshua Roy.
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“Our job as a coach, regardless of the level, is to develop our players for the next step,” he says, generally speaking. “I not only want them to be drafted [dans la LNH]but I want them to be able to perform.”
In Roy's case, Turcotte was his coach during the 2018-2019 season with the Lévis Knights, at the midget AAA level. The Beauceron then impressed with a harvest of 88 points, including 38 goals, in 42 regular season games.
Mathieu Turcotte, when he was at the helm of the Knights of Lévis, in September 2018.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc / JOURNAL DE QUEBEC / Archives
“We won 34 consecutive games that season,” Turcotte remembers with a smile. “Even today I am very proud of Joshua and what he does. I think I was one of the few who continued to believe in him.”
“His performances were extraordinary when he was younger and when he started in juniors, many people were disappointed,” added the coach, regarding the man who was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 draft by the Canadian. “Personally, I always believed that he was going to achieve the goal of playing in the National League.”
He's only 21…
After playing 23 games in Montreal last season, Roy has been limited to four games with the big club since the start of this campaign. At only 21 years old, the hockey player nevertheless continues his development in the American League with the Laval Rocket, where he collected 10 goals and a total of 19 points this season in 23 games.
“Obviously, he is not in the National League on a regular basis at the moment, but for me, there is no doubt that he has all the tools to get there one day,” predicted Turcotte.
