Canadiens to recall promising young forward
Sep 29, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Joshua Roy (97) skates during the warmup period before the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
The Montreal Canadiens will be recalling forward Joshua Roy from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. This move comes in response to Rafael Harvey-Pinard leaving Saturday’s game after awkwardly bending his leg in a collision with teammate Joel Armia. Harvey-Pinard previously missed seven weeks of the season with a lower-body injury, limiting him to just 23 games this year.
This is just the second recall of Roy’s career, with the first coming on January 12th. Roy was with the NHL club for 12 days before being reassigned to Laval. He played in his first six NHL games in that stretch, recording one goal, one assist, one penalty, and a -2. Roy has also managed 32 points across 40 AHL games, ranking second on Laval in scoring behind Brandon Gignac, who is also currently called up to the NHL lineup.
Harvey-Pinard’s injury adds to a list of absentees in Montreal, with the team also missing Christian Dvorak and Kirby Dach due to injury. Brendan Gallagher is also out of the lineup for three more games, serving the latter end of the first suspension of his career. That leaves Montreal with no extra forwards to fill in for Harvey-Pinard, meaning the 20-year-old Roy should slot immediately into the lineup.
Montreal drafted Roy in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He’s one of just two players to be selected after 2021’s third round to have already made his NHL debut; the other being Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, who has played in 12 games and scored two points this season. Arizona went without signing Martinsen Lilleberg, leaving him open to signing with Tampa this past summer.
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