Is Nicolas Roy Related To Patrick Roy?

Is Nicolas Roy related to Patrick Roy?

Introduction

Nicolas Roy is one of the rising stars of NHL hockey. 

In his 5^th season, Roy has already surpassed his career-high of 50 goals and six assists with two months to go before the Stanley Cup Playoffs start. 

As a result, expectations are high as fans wonder if he will help the Vegas Golden Knights go even further than their semifinal berth last season. 

Roy has been so impressive that many fans have begun to ask if he is related to hockey legend Patrick Roy. 

So, what makes these two athletes unique, and what ties them together? 

Is it just their shared Canadian citizenship, or does the bond between them go deeper?  Read on to find out!

Who is Nicolas Roy?

Nicolas Roy is an NHL hockey player who was born on February 5, 1997, in Amos, Quebec. 

His parents are Nick and Lisa Roy. 

He has a sister named Mélina, who plays hockey and has represented her home province at the 2012 National Women’s Under-18 Championship. 

Hockey is in his blood, and he has proven himself to be a fierce competitor on the ice.

Nicolas was the first overall pick in the 2013 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft. 

The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles selected him, but he refused to play for them and demanded that they trade his rights to a Quebec team. 

Nicolas and his father, Nick, said he wanted to enroll locally in college. 

The Screaming Eagles relented and traded Nicolas’ rights to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in return for picks in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 drafts.

Nicolas played well for two seasons and entered the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, ranked 45^th by the NHL Scouting Bureau. 

The Carolina Hurricanes selected him 96^th overall. 

He played the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons in Chicoutimi, finishing his education.

He became captain of the team and won the Guy Carbonneau Trophy for best defensive forward. 

He finished his amateur career by representing Canada at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, in which Team Canada earned a silver medal.

The Carolina Hurricanes sent Nicolas to their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, for most of the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons. There, Nicolas played an integral part in the Checkers’ offense, helping them win the Calder Cup championship. 

After that, however, the Hurricanes traded Nicolas to the Vegas Golden Knights, and he spent the 2019-2020 season moving back and forth between his new NHL team and their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.

Nicolas impressed the management at Chicago and Vegas so much that they offered him a two-year contract extension. He agreed, and since the beginning of the 2020-2021 season, he has been a regular starter on the Golden Knights. 

With his NHL career underway, and his reputation growing, many people wonder if he is related to NHL legend Patrick Roy. 

Who is Patrick Roy?

Patrick Roy is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. 

On October 5, 1965, he was born in Quebec City, Quebec. 

He and his brother Stéphane are the sons of Barbara and Michel Roy. 

Both boys grew to love hockey, and they played together in several pee-wee tournaments as children. 

Patrick excelled as a goalkeeper and joined the QMJHL Granby Bisons before moving to the NHL.

The Montreal Canadiens selected him 512st overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. 

This was a problem for Patrick, as he did not like the team from Montreal. He played the first half of the season back with the Granby Bisons but was called up in February. 

He played an impressive 20 minutes in the third period of his first game, and the Canadiens management reassigned him to the AHL’s Sherbrooke Canadiens. 

Although he started as a backup goalkeeper, he was so good that he quickly earned a starting position and let the Sherbrooke Canadiens to a Calder Cup championship. 

For the 1985-1986 season, he played regularly for Montreal. He took over the starting spot in January due to an injury suffered by Steve Penney, the preferred starter. This is where Patrick’s career exploded.

Roy led the Montreal Canadiens to an unlikely Stanley Cup victory. 

He won the Conn Smythe Trophy for MVP in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is the youngest player ever to win the trophy, and he earned a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team. 

The Stanley Cup miracle earned Roy the nickname “Saint Patrick,” and he produced similar heroics regularly. 

Most notably, Roy engaged in an epic goaltending duel against Ron Hextall of the Quebec Nordiques. 

After facing criticism of his performances against Montreal’s archrival, Roy went on a post-season 11-game tear, knocking out the Nordiques, then the Buffalo Sabres. 

He won the first three games against the New York Islanders, too. Finally, Patrick won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second time, leading the Canadiens to another Stanley Cup victory.

Amid growing tensions with the coaching staff, Roy was traded halfway through the 1995-1996 season to the Colorado Avalanche in time to help the franchise win its first Stanley Cup Trophy. 

In the 2000-2001 season, Roy won his fourth and final Stanley Cup Trophy, earning the MVP honor for the third time in his career, a record among NHL players.

Since retiring at the end of the 2002-2003 season, Patrick has found success as a coach, leading the Colorado Avalanche from 2013 to 2016 and the Quebec Remparts from 2005-2013 and again from 2018 to the present. 

He won the Jack Adams Award for NHL Coach of the Year in 2014. 

In addition, his legendary status as one of the greatest goalkeepers ever to play the game earned him an induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, his first year of eligibility. 

In January 2024, Patrick Roy became the head coach of The New York Islanders.

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Is Nicolas Roy Related To Patrick Roy?

As impressive as Nicolas Roy had been in recent seasons, he has not inherited his skills from Patrick Roy. They are both French-speaking Canadians who sometimes had trouble relating to the English speakers they played with. 

They both had success in the QMJHL and perhaps someday, Nicolas Roy will win the same number of Stanley Cup Championships as Patrick Roy.  However, Nicolas and Patrick Roy are not related by blood or marriage. 

Nicolas Roy’s fans can take solace in the fact that the young player’s talent is not just inherited – he has earned it all on his own through hard work and determination.

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