Prospect Update: Kevin Roy

By Thomas Harrington

After four years of NCAA hockey, Kevin Roy finally turned pro this past season and showed the fans of San Diego his high degree of skill.

Roy’s first professional season was a successful one. In his rookie season, he played in 67 games, scored 16 goals, and had 46 points. He finished third on the Gulls in both goals and points. The only two players to score more goals than him were a couple of veterans: Corey Tropp and Antoine Laganiere. His 46 points ranked him tied for ninth in rookie scoring in the AHL, while his 30 assists were tied for 10th. Even more impressive was Roy’s durability. He really struggled through injuries in his senior year at Northeastern University. By bouncing back and only missing one game, he showed that an injury plagued season wasn’t going to slow him down. His 67 games actually led the Gulls in terms of games played last season. By any measure, Roy’s rookie season was a successful one. However, even more impressive to me than his scoring was his offensive creativity. When he had the puck, whether or not he was scoring, you would notice him. He’s got a very high degree of offensive skill, and if he can translate it to the NHL, the Ducks could have a great young winger on their hands. He actually reminded me a bit of Rickard Rakell from a couple years ago. Even though he wasn’t scoring a ton, Rakell made some amazing plays with the puck and just looked ready to break out and start scoring in bunches. That’s how Roy looked in his first season in the AHL. However, he does need to work on his physical game and his consistency. In the playoffs, he played in all 10 of San Diego’s games and scored two goals and five points, good for fifth on the team in playoff scoring.

A year ago, I said that I hoped Roy would step into San Diego’s top six and hopefully fill the hole vacated by Nick Ritchie making his way to Anaheim. Roy actually scored the same number of goals as Ritchie did the year previous, although Roy did it in significantly more games. Still, Ritchie’s absence was notably felt at times this past season, and Roy did a very good job of filling in that gaping hole on the team’s left side. He wasn’t fully able to replace Ritchie, but he still had a great offensive season.

This coming season, my expectations for Roy are quite high, and like some other Anaheim prospects will be dependent on where he plays. I don’t think Roy is likely to be one of the first San Diego players called up to Anaheim early in the season, although it could happen. I do think that he’ll get called up at some point and get at least a game or two of NHL action, similar to what Kalle Kossila did last season. Assuming he’s in the AHL for most of the season, I’d like to see Roy become a 20 goal scorer. There’s no question that he has the talent, he just needs to find the consistency. I’d also like to see him clear 50 points and get close to 60. However, if Roy ends up spending a lot of time with Anaheim, then I have no point expectations for him. In that situation, I just want to see him learn and grow from his experience in the NHL.

Roy has the skillset to be a successful NHL player; there’s just the question of him being able to put together a complete game at the NHL level. Personally, I do think we’ll see him in the NHL this year, possibly for much longer than I expect. Depending on how a few other prospects develop and what jobs open up in Anaheim, I think he has a shot at being in the NHL on a full-time basis in one to two years. He’s a lot of fun to watch on the ice, and hopefully, he’ll get to show off for the Anaheim faithful in the near future.

Roy is signed for one more season and he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer. Right now, I’m fully expecting the Ducks to re-sign him in a year’s time. While he won’t have earned himself a long term or one-way deal just yet if he can continue to develop and impress, he could see a one-way contract coming his way in a few seasons.

My next prospect update will be on Kevin Boyle.

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September 10th, 2017

Filed under: Ducks News Tagged: Anaheim Ducks, Ducks, ducksnpucks, Kevin Roy, Prospect update