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The 4th overall pick in the 2013 QMJHL Draft. Jeremy Roy was an alternate captain with Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament last summer. He put up three assists in five games and brought home a gold medal. When he returned to Sherbrooke he was named an alternate for the club as well. This season, Roy has shown dynamic offence from the blueline for the Phoenix, with 43 points in 46 games. He added five points in six playoff games. With Sherbrooke out in the QMJHL playoffs, Roy will join Team Canada for the IIHF Under-18 World Championships, looking to add to his medal haul.
Jeremy Roy
Defense — shoots Right
Born May 14 1997 — Richelieu, PQ
Height 6.00 — Weight 188 [183 cm/85 kg]
Jeremy Roy is a good, but not great skater. He has a bit of a choppy stride and is slow in his first few steps and in his acceleration, but when going full out his decent speed moving both forwards and backwards. Roy has the strong edge work, pivots and agility though to cover all areas in the defensive zone, and walk the line to create chances in the offensive zone. He takes good angles and maintains good gap control, and is very difficult to get around on the rush. Roy also has the balance necessary to battle along the boards and in front of the net, though he could add a little bit more lower body strength as he matures. He already has some decent strength on his skates and tough to knock off the puck, but will need more for the pro game.
Jeremy Roy is an extremely smart player, who almost always makes the right pass out of his own end, or on the point at the powerplay. Roy is developing a hard one-timer, and understands that by keeping it low and on net, he creates second chance opportunities for the Sherbrooke forwards. He is poised with the puck on his stick whether it be at the point, in his own end skating it out of danger, or leading the rush. He uses his good stickhandling ability to generate offense off the rush, and is a threat to go end to end any time he touches the puck. Roy also has a very accurate wrist shot, which he can utilize off the rush, or from the point when he doesn’t have time to let go of the big wind-up. He has a good release that can fool goaltenders.
Defensively, Roy’s hockey sense and positioning are extremely good, and he battles hard in the corners and in his own end. He may only be 17, but he plays all situations and against top competition for the Phoenix this year and is a real difference maker for his club. As mentionned, he is willing to battle in the corners or in front of the net. The best part of Roy’s defensive game is how quickly he can take the puck and transition to offence though. This will aid his team in puck possession and ensure they don’t spend much time in their own end of the rink when he is on the ice. While he doesn’t get himself out of position to throw big hits, he can be physical, and has even fought on a few occassions.
Roy has all the tools necessary to be a top pair defenceman and powerplay quarterback in the NHL. He will need some development time to reach that potential though. If he doesn’t quite reach his ceiling, there is a good chance he can still play on the second pair and be part of the powerplay. His style is similar to Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Arizona Coyotes, though this is a stylistic comparison and not one based on talent.
Below are some videos of Jeremy Roy in action.
Come back tomorrow to see the #17 prospect on my draft board.
Main Photo: GATINEAU, CANADA – MARCH 14: Jeremy Roy #97 of the Sherbrooke Phoenix skates with the puck against the Gatineau Olympiques during the QMJHL game on March 14, 2014 at Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Laplante/FreestylePhoto/Getty Images)
