Once the disappointment of not having started the season in Montreal was put behind him, Joshua Roy put on his work boots and began producing at a remarkable rate with the Laval Rocket.
Roy discussed his start to the campaign with the Canadiens’ AHL farm club during an interview with 5 to 7Monday.
The Laval team is no longer able, having signed seven consecutive victories, and Roy is one of the main architects of this happy streak.
The 21-year-old winger is giving himself ammunition to soon receive a call from the big club, with his production of 7 goals and 10 points in 9 games so far.
In Saturday’s victory against the Providence Bruins, Roy brought down a shower of hats on the ice at Place Bell by scoring a hat-trick.
Enough to ensure that his tally, which currently stands at 23 games in the NHL, does not stay there for long.
“I was hoping to have a good start to the season, to prove to people that it was just a bad camp for me. (…) Beyond the points, I concentrate above all on the way I obtain them,” he confided.
“It motivates me 100%. Last year I hit the NHL and I think I proved to myself that I can play in this league. I am aware that I did not have the best camp. As long as I am in Laval, I will do my best to bring about victories. It’s a very beautiful gang that we have with the Rocket,” he underlined.
About a month after his demotion with the CH, Roy still has difficulty explaining how he was able to go down in the hierarchy of the team’s attackers to the point of starting the year in the minor ranks.
“I don’t know what exactly went wrong,” he said frankly. There wasn’t much going for me. But it’s about taking a step back, and just taking my game to another level. Bringing it to a professional level is really my goal in Laval. So far I think I’m improving this a lot. »
“It was a different camp from years past. The previous camps, I was fighting to get a position. This year, it might have been more on me to lose one. But it was up to me to stay focused on the things I control. You can’t trust projected lineups in this kind of situation,” he said with some perspective.
In the meantime, Roy knows that the Habs are not having the most impressive start to the season, and that a recall to energize the attack is not out of the question for him.
“That’s the end goal, for sure. (…) But as long as I am in Laval, I take care of improving myself. Pascal (Vincent) Lappy [Martin Laperrière] and Dan [Daniel Jacob] are doing excellent work. There are also development coaches who are there day after day. The context is good for me to improve while waiting for the day when the call will come. »
In his first season at the helm of the CH farm club, Vincent quickly established a plan with the Beauceron striker when he learned the news that he was going to start the year with the Rocket.
“He was the first to come see me when I came back from camp in Montreal. He spoke to me, and told me that we were going to work hard together. He did this with several players in Laval, and he is respected by the guys. With his experience in the NHL, when he says something, you listen to him because he knows what he’s talking about. In addition, he advocates a very good playing system. It makes things easier for us,” concluded Roy.
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