Canadiens notebook: WJC heroics show Joshua Roy can be a complete NHL player

BROSSARD, Que. — While the hockey world was watching Joshua Roy score tantalizing goals and make beautiful plays, including his gem of an assist on Dylan Guenther’s goal-medal goal in overtime of Canada’s thrilling win over Czechia on Thursday night, Jocelyn Thibault was watching a junior star mature into a future NHL player.

The former NHL goaltender, current head of Hockey Quebec and part-owner of Roy’s Quebec Major Junior team, the Sherbrooke Phoenix, was elated to see his player add 11 points in seven games to the eight he had in seven during the summer tournament. Roy wraps his world junior career by passing Jonathan Huberdeau to become the highest-scoring Quebec-born player in tournament history.

But the biggest delight for Thibault was watching Roy excel in all facets of the game on the global stage.

“The way he became a complete player, the way he checked and played 5-on-5 and penalty kill, really impressed me,” Thibault told Sportsnet on Friday. “He was able to play on both sides of the puck, and that makes me really proud of him.

"Since he’s been like six years old, we knew he could score goals and had a lot of talent. But now that he’s becoming that complete player, he’s proving he won’t be a liability at a higher level. He can play 5-on-5 in tight-checking games, he can kill penalties in high-pressure games, and that really makes me proud.”

It’s been easy to get caught up in Roy’s natural abilities since he emerged as the top pick in the QMJHL Draft in 2019.

Scouts didn’t, however, heading into the 2021 NHL Draft. Even if they saw the Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, Que., native producing at a near point-per-game pace through his first two seasons with the Saint John’s Seadogs, he was chosen in the fifth round, 150^th overall by the Canadiens because several teams were concerned about his physical condition and his commitment to playing an all-around game.

What Roy’s proven since then is that he has a burning desire to realize his potential and will do anything he can to get to the next level.

After the Canadiens drafted him, they wanted him to lose weight. Roy lost 20 lbs.

Since leading the Quebec League with 119 points in 66 games last season, the Canadiens asked him to focus on rounding out his game. Roy’s showing at the world junior tournament—as an elite penalty killer, and as the guy doing most of the dirty work on his line with generational player Connor Bedard and future star Logan Stankoven—displayed how much he took that to heart.

He could’ve coasted on his skill, which Thibault said would’ve been easy for him considering just how much of it he possesses.

“I’ve always liked Josh and always been a fan of his, even if he had some things to work on,” Thibault said. “His hockey sense is a 4.5 out of 5, if not a 5. His hockey sense is very, very high. His skill level is for sure at least a 4 out of 5, if not more. His hockey sense, his skill, his feel is all elite level, it’s world-class level.

“I wasn’t sure his speed would match the standards of that competition, at first, last summer, but I thought he did really well and that convinced me his speed is pretty good. He also doesn’t skate for no reason. I’m not saying he’s Mario Lemieux but, like Mario, he doesn’t skate for no reason. When he takes a stride, it’s for a purpose. I really liked his speed in this tournament. It’s not like a roadrunner, but it’s good enough and it’s going to improve with time. His speed really comforted me.”

But again, the biggest comfort for Thibault was seeing Roy play a much more complete game.

“It’s a credit to him,” he said, “he’s really worked on that.”

“It’s a commitment,” Thibault continued. “For smart players like him, it’s not that hard to understand it’s not that hard to play defensively, it just requires commitment. The credit goes to him. He decided he wanted to have a more complete game. And to be able to do it at that level, with the best players in the world at his age, is unreal.”

Thibault said pairing Roy with Bedard, who’s the best player in the world at his age, was one of the smartest decisions any coach of any team at the tournament had made.

“To find someone to play with Bedard, you need someone who has a very high hockey IQ,” he said. “You need to have skills, but you need to have hockey IQ to play with the best players. You need someone who understands what goes through Bedard’s head and the way he’s going to play the game. Just to find someone who could complete him by thinking on the same level was genius.”

It was largely beneficial to Roy, as well, and the belief is that the whole experience will only take him further in his development as he returns to Sherbrooke to complete a season that’s already seen him produce 43 points in 26 games.

Kaiden Guhle out at least two months with left knee injury

It didn’t look good when Guhle collided with Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and left a game the Canadiens ended up losing 7-2 on Dec. 29, and it looks even worse now.

He passed by media members outside the Canadiens dressing room after Thursday’s loss to the New York Rangers sporting a big brace over his left knee and it was announced on Friday morning he’ll be out a minimum of eight weeks.

A painful development, no doubt, for the 20-year-old, and an equally painful one for his teammates.

They’ve been as impressed as any of us watching him play each game, with his most recent partner, Joel Edmundson, suggesting he should’ve been a sure-fire candidate for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

“In my opinion, absolutely,” Edmundson said. “I feel like, for that, they mostly look at stats and points and everything. But, for myself, I look at him defensively and the way he can chip in offensively, and in my mind, he’s had a great rookie season so far. Hopefully these eight weeks fly by for him, and we can get him back in the lineup sooner than later.”

Guhle’s absence has already been felt through three-and-a-half games and only partially mitigated by the return to play of David Savard.

It’s going to be that much more noticeable if the Canadiens can’t soon pull out of their current tailspin, which has seen them lose 10 of their last 11 games.

Still, there will be more opportunity for fellow rookies Jordan Harris, Arber Xhekaj, Johnathan Kovacevic and Justin Barron to help fill the void, especially with Mike Matheson still sidelined by a lower-body injury for what’s expected to be another two weeks.

It’ll be at least that long before Brendan Gallagher plays again after recently re-injuring the lower-body ailment that kept him out between Nov. 29 and Dec. 29.

Same goes for Sean Monahan, who is skating regularly and rehabbing a broken foot.

Meanwhile, if Guhle’s absence has already been felt, and will continue to be, Monahan’s has undeniably played a huge role in how the Canadiens have fared since Dec. 5.

Whatever concerns fans might have had about his trade value dipping due to injury should be mitigated by how much his value to the Canadiens has been reinforced through his absence.

“I knew how valuable he was when he was in the lineup,” said coach Martin St. Louis on the subject after Friday’s practice, “and I think moments like this confirms what I thought.”

In addition to putting up 17 points through his first 25 games as a Canadien, Monahan brought stability and balance to Montreal’s centre position. He’s a big part of whatever limited success the team has had on the power play thus far and a safety valve for top centre Nick Suzuki, who could use someone else to shoulder a bit of the load while he attempts to redeem his scoring touch.

Scouts from other teams regularly viewing Montreal games have noticed what the Canadiens look like with and without Monahan. Their opinions have only been reinforced in his absence.

Edmundson’s trade value remains intact

Speaking with an executive from an Eastern Conference team not in need of a player like Edmundson, I asked if scouts could keep his performance this season in context.

I did because his statistics—and even what we see from him—not necessarily being on par he established through his first two seasons with the Canadiens can easily be balanced from my vantage point but perhaps not as easily from someone else’s.

I don’t have to watch just some of the games; I have to watch all of them. It’s more obvious to me that some of what we’re seeing from Edmundson has to do with a) being paired with three different left-handed rookies who are all playing the right side when skating next to him and b) having to play above his head against the top line for almost every shift.

But that might not be as obvious to someone who watches him for a sequence of games here or there.

“Everyone knows who he is and what he’s about, though,” the executive said. “Teams know he’s not currently in the chair they’d place him in if he was on their team. They know he’s a solid player. Many teams will want him, and he’s got that nastiness to him that teams love for the playoffs.”

Can Edmundson play better? Absolutely.

But even St. Louis took exception to the suggestion he might not be playing as well as he did last year.

“You can’t convince me Joel Edmundson’s not having a good year,” the coach said. “He’s a big reason my young defencemen are comfortable on the ice and comfortable coming to the rink every day and are comfortable in the room. That’s thanks to guys like Joel Edmundson. It’s easy to look at the stats and question his impact, but you can’t convince me he hasn’t been good.”

Meanwhile, part of Edmundson’s ability to be better will be based on his ability to tune out speculation over his future as we approach the Mar. 3 trade deadline.

It’s something he’s already dealing with.

That it’s a new thing for Edmundson could make it that much more challenging.

“It’s hard to avoid anything like that in this market,” the 6-foot-5, 29-year-old said. “You turn on the TV or you go on social media and see something. But honestly, it’s something I’ve never really been through before. In St. Louis, I had a feeling I was getting traded, and it happened, so there was no surprise there. Then I signed here in Montreal, and this is kind of the first time this has happened to me.

"For myself, I’m trying to stay off social media as much as I can. I don’t want to see all that stuff, I don’t really care. I just worry about this team right now. Whatever happens, happens, it’s a business. But I’ve told the team I want to stay here, and I love playing here. That’s my main focus…”

Teams will continue to watch with interest, especially with him being under contract for one more season for a digestible $3.5-million.

Another executive suggested that extra year might back a team or two off, given how tight every team is financially at the moment and the very real possibility the cap is not going up by more than a million this summer.

He said, Edmundson’s back issues over the past couple of years are a factor in that, adding, “If an injury turns him into a $3.5-million third-pairing guy next season, that could be a concern.”

“But there will still be enough with interest in Edmundson that they’ll give up to get him,” he continued. “Look at the history; teams always want players like that for playoff runs, and having cost-certainty for an extra year is generally a good thing.”