Canadiens' Joshua Roy has unforgettable, valuable experience in NHL debut

MONTREAL—In a word, Joshua Roy’s performance in his first NHL game was just ordinary.

But the circumstances under which he found himself in on this night were anything but ordinary.

This was Saturday night at the Bell Centre, wearing the uniform of the team he grew up cheering for, with 30 friends and family members in his corner and in the stands to watch it all go down against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, and that was completely extraordinary.

Never mind that Roy finished without notching a shot on net, and with three blocks being the only thing that stood out on his sheet after this 2-1 overtime loss granted McDavid his wish on his 27^th birthday—a 10^th consecutive win for the Oilers. These were his first steps in the NHL and he’ll forever remember every one of them.

“I said to him before the game, when he got to the rink, ‘When the puck drops, it’s just another game,’” said fellow Quebecer Mike Matheson. “But I can’t imagine what he must’ve been feeling. My first game was in Florida. And I think it was like a Tuesday game, or something like that. So I can’t imagine what it would’ve felt like at home, on Saturday night, against the Oilers.”

There was no downplaying how momentous this would be for Roy.

Earlier in the day, McDavid talked about the privilege of playing at the Bell Centre on Hockey Night in Canada, calling this building one of his favourite places in the league, noting the Covid season (without fans) robbed him of the full experience he was so looking forward to once again enjoying.

Teammate Brett Kulak, who was a member of the Canadiens back in 2020 and played three other seasons in Montreal, called the Saturday night memories here his most cherished ones, adding, “Coming from out west, you only get to do it once a year now, but I got the goosebumps on my skin every time I jumped on the ice on a Saturday in this building.”

That was 20 minutes after Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said: “If it was my last day on this planet and you told me, ‘What would you like to do?’ I’d want to be in that building on a Saturday night.”

That’s where Roy found himself on Jan. 13, living a dream in technicolour, experiencing it in surround sound.

When he was asked after the game about the biggest difference between the AHL and NHL, he said, “The crowd.”

“We have great fans in Laval,” the Saint-Georges-de-Bea, Que. native said, “But this is on another level.”

For Roy to be exposed to it as a 20-year-old player, just months into his first professional season, was so valuable for his development.

Even more so knowing he earned it.

You could argue it could’ve even come sooner for Roy after his torrid start with the Rocket. He had led the league in scoring through the first month of the season, appeared like a worthy candidate to be called up to a Canadiens team that lost Kirby Dach five periods into theirs and, after a couple of patchy stints in November, took another strong step in December as more bodies were falling out of Montreal’s lineup.

But the Canadiens let Roy percolate a bit to start January, and they finally gave him this opportunity to replace an injured Josh Anderson after he posted seven points in his last six games.

The 150^th pick overall in the 2021 Draft would’ve been happy to have just taken one shift in this game, but he got 17—15 of which came from the third line with Sean Monahan and Joel Armia while the other two were spent on the Canadiens’ second power-play unit.

Considering St. Louis was hoping his team would bounce back after two of its most disappointing performances of the season—and hoping it would do it against an Oilers team that had also won seven consecutive road games—the coach could’ve had a far different approach with Roy.

But, as he said, “I wanted him to get some reps, I wanted him to feel the game.”

That’s what Roy did, and he’ll be better for it. Probably much more so even the next time he suits up.

St. Louis was careful not to expose Roy too much, saying “I was definitely keeping him away from (Leon Draisaitl) and (McDavid).”

But Roy held his own for the 1:18 he spent on the ice against McDavid and the 2:54 he was opposite Draisaitl at five-on-five, just like he did for all 13:03 he played in the game.

So did the Canadiens, who took a 1-0 lead on Cole Caufield’s power-play goal in the first period and played committed defensive hockey until the end. They held McDavid in check and did the same with Draisaitl, until Draisaitl scored a disputable third-period goal and McDavid assisted on Evan Bouchard’s power-play winner in overtime after the Canadiens had successfully killed four penalties prior.

It was a step in the right direction for the Canadiens, considering where they were stepping from.

It was a critical step for Roy.

“I was pleased with what I saw for a first game, on a Saturday night in Montreal, against this Edmonton team,” said St. Louis. “So, that’s good stuff.”

It was pretty special stuff for the kid, who even found himself on the ice with 2:36 to play in regulation.

“I had trouble sleeping last night,” Roy said. “I’ll never forget this night.”