Joshua Roy and Riley Kidney strike gold - with a roster spot on the Canadian's 2022 WJHC's roster
The final roster for Canada's U20 World Junior Hockey Championships in , was released on , and a couple of Montreal Canadiens prospects cracked the final roster.
In the 2021 NHL Draft the Canadiens selected left-wing Joshua Roy with pick number 150 out of the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Phoenix organization, under head coach Stephane Julien. Roy had a subpar rookie season in 2020-21, posting 13 goals, five assists for 18 points in 20 games - fast forward to the 2021-22 season, Roy exploded offensively - showing off some impressive elements to his game, including an NHL-caliber shot and release. Along with high IQ, making the most difficult plays look easy and skating, that could use some improvement, however, he is still years-of-age and has plenty of room to grow and add muscle, his 2021-22 season output included; 51 goals, 68 assists for 119 points in 66 QMJHL regular season games.
Centre Riley Kidney was selected 63rd overall in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Kidney was drafted out of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan organization in the QMJHL, under head coach Jason Clarke. The 2021-22 season was year-old Kidney's fourth season in the QMJHL, he has played all of his 158 games with the Acadie Bathurst Titan, recording 48 goals, 123 assists for 171 points. Kidney plays a high-skill game, he likes to use his quick hands to dangle around defenders, and brilliant hockey mind to exploit defenders, his transition game is strong, as he gets open in space for odd-man rushes going the other way, he is a thinker and solves problems with seemingly little issue - handling bouncing packs with ease, before setting a play in motion.
The young duo from the Quebec league - will look to win gold at the 2022 WJHC's in Edmonton, Alberta. Tune-in to the tournament on TSN from August 9th through the 20th. Roy and Kidney sit firmly on the Canadiens top-10 prospect list, and are on the cusp of being ready for professional hockey; either in Laval with the Rocket or Montreal with the Canadiens.
