Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis would have liked to see Joshua Roy be more impressive during camp, as the Quebec forward was part of the last group of players cut ahead of the season.

Roy, defensemen Logan Mailloux and Adam Engström and goaltender Jakub Dobes were assigned to the Laval Rocket on Monday morning. NHL teams had until 5 p.m. to complete their rosters for the start of the season.

The only surprise came from Roy. He started camp on the third line alongside Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson. He had a quiet camp even though he had two assists in five preseason games.

“We know he has a high ceiling and he’ll be the first to say he didn’t show us his ceiling during camp,” St-Louis said.

“We don’t think he deserved a starting job here,” he added later. “Josh knows I like him, but there are things he didn’t show in camp that he needs to work on and show us.”

“He has an NHL computer. He has to continue working on the rest,” concluded St-Louis about the native of St-Georges-de-Beauce.

Roy had four goals and five assists in 23 games with the Canadiens last winter.

As one man’s misfortune is another man’s gain, the Tricolore therefore preferred to keep with the big club Emil Heineman, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Barré-Boulet, who all started the camp behind Roy in the team hierarchy.

“I think I had more peace of mind knowing that whether I stayed here or went down, I could live in the same place and see my family,” said Barré-Boulet, who didn’t have the same luxury when he suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning and a move to the minors meant he ended up in Syracuse, halfway across the country.

“I’m happy, but this is just the beginning of the work,” he added, as he will begin the NHL season for the first time in his career at the age of 27.

St-Louis echoed this view of the situation in his remarks a little later.

“It’s set for today!” he reminded.

“It’s rare that things stay in place for a long time in the NHL, because of injuries, because of behavior on the ice. I wish we could have the same 20 players for 82 games. But it would be crazy to think that could happen. You have to make conscious decisions and follow your instincts. That’s what we’ve done the last few days.”

The Canadiens will begin their campaign on Wednesday, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.

“It’s special. I grew up watching the team [the Canadiens], my idols played for them,” said Barré-Boulet.

“My father is probably the biggest fan of the Canadiens. I’m looking forward to the game,” added the Montmagny native.

Meanwhile, defenseman Jayden Struble did not participate in the Canadiens’ practice Monday at the CN Sports Complex. He instead took advantage of a day of treatment.