Kings Article: “Aggressive” Is the Key Word for LA Kings D Matt Roy

[FrozenRoyalty]

You may not have noticed him because he’s not the flashy, offensive defenseman who rushes the puck up the ice or sees a lot of time on the power play. Indeed, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy is not going to turn any heads because of his phenomenal offensive skills from the blue line—he simply isn’t that kind of player.

Roy is primarily a stay-at-home, defensive defenseman. But he is turning heads, despite the lack of glitz or flash in his game, by exceeding expectations and maybe even showing greater potential than the Kings initially expected.

How has Roy accomplished this? How did he turn things around early in the season when Kings head coach Todd McLellan questioned whether or not Roy was an NHL-caliber player?

Read all about it at...

“Aggressive” Is the Key Word for LA Kings D Matt Roy

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[King'sPawn]

Roy has been the most improved player from the start of the season. Really happy for him. A distant second is Kempe.

 

[Master Yoda]

Watching him play the other day reminded me of Philippe Boucher. Hopefully he ends up having the same type of success but this time with the Kings.

 

[kings11]

I cant help but think Darius Kasparaitis the more I see Matt Roy play.... with more offensive upside
I admit, I was wrong about the kid!

 

[LAKings88]

King’s need a few ‘out of nowhere’ guys to speed up the rebuild.

 

[kings11]

King’s need a few ‘out of nowhere’ guys to speed up the rebuild.

We have a few... Iafallo, Walker, Roy, Lizotte
What we need is for young prospects to follow after Vilardi

 

[bland]

I disagree with the notion that Roy is a stay at homer. He is most definitely a two way blueliner. He has concentrated on not making mistakes in his zone as he is feeling his way into the league, but his puck work and shot are well above those who just focus on defensive assignments. He has 45-50 point potential, and the aggression discussed here isn't just based on physicality, but rather an assertion in all aspects of his game including offense.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Roy has been LA's best defenseman this season, and it's not really that close. Just steady, game in game out.

 

[King'sPawn]

I disagree with the notion that Roy is a stay at homer. He is most definitely a two way blueliner. He has concentrated on not making mistakes in his zone as he is feeling his way into the league, but his puck work and shot are well above those who just focus on defensive assignments. He has 45-50 point potential, and the aggression discussed here isn't just based on physicality, but rather an assertion in all aspects of his game including offense.

I agree for the most part. To me, there are three types of defensemen, each of which have their own categories and fill a spectrum:
Offensive
Puck Rushers: Focus on carrying the puck and leading the rush
Puck movers: Focus in breakouts and passing

Two Way
Transitional: Focus more in neutral zone play
Contributory: Focus less on transition, but make plays in the offensive and defensive zones

Defensive
Bruisers: Focus on physical and board play
Stay-at-home: Focus on protecting the back end/defending rushes

Of course, defenders can participate in bits here and there, but the issue is more where they excel and focus. Roy, to me, teeters between the Contributory and Bruiser category. I also don't think he's shown the style or aptitude to qualify as a stay-at-home. In part because I do think he contributes more offense than the typical stay-at-home defenseman, but also because I think he makes some glaring defensive misreads. Not that he's bad, but it's not his focal point.

 

[Lt Dan]

Roy has been LA's best defenseman this season, and it's not really that close. Just steady, game in game out.

I have to say that I was dead wrong about him. As wrong as Obi-Wan kenobi was about training Anakin Skywalker

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I disagree with the notion that Roy is a stay at homer. He is most definitely a two way blueliner. He has concentrated on not making mistakes in his zone as he is feeling his way into the league, but his puck work and shot are well above those who just focus on defensive assignments. He has 45-50 point potential, and the aggression discussed here isn't just based on physicality, but rather an assertion in all aspects of his game including offense.

45-50 points is a wee bit of a lofty projection for Roy. 20 defenseman cracked 45+ points last season. I think he can round out to be more of a Muzzin type who can play physically, get the puck out of his own and quickly start transitions, and provide 30+ points. Earlier this season it appeared Walker was being viewed as a potential top four, Voynov replacement the team has been searching for, but as the season has progressed, Walker has slowly regressed and Roy is moving up the ranks as an all-around defenseman.

 

[bland]

45-50 points is a wee bit of a lofty projection for Roy. 20 defenseman cracked 45+ points last season. I think he can round out to be more of a Muzzin type who can play physically, get the puck out of his own and quickly start transitions, and provide 30+ points. Earlier this season it appeared Walker was being viewed as a potential top four, Voynov replacement the team has been searching for, but as the season has progressed, Walker has slowly regressed and Roy is moving up the ranks as an all-around defenseman.

I think the traditional 20% offensive tax imposed on LA players since Terry Murray was hired is going to slowly but surely turn into a 10% bonus as the Kings continue to add quality creative players into the mix, especially up the middle where they have lacked true playmakers since Allison left. That trickle down effect will likely see a good jump in the amounts of secondary assists generated by the defensemen, and Roy does an excellent job recovering pucks and exiting cleanly with one pass.

That D to D breakout really stifled the numbers for Kings defensemen.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

45-50 points is a wee bit of a lofty projection for Roy. 20 defenseman cracked 45+ points last season. I think he can round out to be more of a Muzzin type who can play physically, get the puck out of his own and quickly start transitions, and provide 30+ points. Earlier this season it appeared Walker was being viewed as a potential top four, Voynov replacement the team has been searching for, but as the season has progressed, Walker has slowly regressed and Roy is moving up the ranks as an all-around defenseman.

It's true, but it's worth mentioning that Walker played a lot of minutes on the first and second pairing while Roy was playing second and third.

They're basically the same guy at this point with slightly different skillsets (credit to Roy's meteroic development figuring out the defensive side, getting anyone away from Joakim Ryan seems to have that effect on people) but there's a lot of Roy recency bias happening.

 

[TruKingFan]

He makes LaDue disposable but if no other RHD is coming up I dont mind PL hanging around but alas he's UFA after the season.

Very happy with Roy's progress.

 

[kings11]

I think the traditional 20% offensive tax imposed on LA players since Terry Murray was hired is going to slowly but surely turn into a 10% bonus as the Kings continue to add quality creative players into the mix, especially up the middle where they have lacked true playmakers since Allison left. That trickle down effect will likely see a good jump in the amounts of secondary assists generated by the defensemen, and Roy does an excellent job recovering pucks and exiting cleanly with one pass.

That D to D breakout really stifled the numbers for Kings defensemen.

Funny enough, we have one Austin Strand with size, mobility and a MF shot! Could be our next surprise.

 

[regulate]

Funny enough, we have one Austin Strand with size, mobility and a MF shot! Could be our next surprise.

He's a significant project defensively. Not saying it's a lost cause, but a lot of progress is needed on his reads, pinches, balance and skating. He has a great shot though!

 

[FrozenRoyalty]

I disagree with the notion that Roy is a stay at homer. He is most definitely a two way blueliner. He has concentrated on not making mistakes in his zone as he is feeling his way into the league, but his puck work and shot are well above those who just focus on defensive assignments. He has 45-50 point potential, and the aggression discussed here isn't just based on physicality, but rather an assertion in all aspects of his game including offense.

I did say, "mostly." In fact, you might want to read that paragraph again. I think we're saying the same thing.

Yes, he is a two-way defenseman, but he leans more towards being a stay-at-home guy. Even he told me that.

 

[TruKingFan]

I did say, "mostly." In fact, you might want to read that paragraph again. I think we're saying the same thing.

Yes, he is a two-way defenseman, but he leans more towards being a stay-at-home guy. Even he told me that.

He knows Roy more than Roy knows himself dontcha know??

 

[LAKings88]

nevermind

 

[DoktorJeep]

For a seventh round pick, Roy has been found gold. He’s probably at his current ceiling. I don’t see him as more than a good #4, great 5/6. If he gets 15 mins a game, is a plus player and puts up 20-25 points with 5 goals, he’s just fine.

 

[bland]

I did say, "mostly." In fact, you might want to read that paragraph again. I think we're saying the same thing.

Yes, he is a two-way defenseman, but he leans more towards being a stay-at-home guy. Even he told me that.

I am not saying you are wrong, I disagreed with that characterization. I assume we associate that term with the Forbort type defender who resisted opportunities to join rushes or step into the slot on the weak side to create passing lanes. You don't see many true stay at home types anymore, even MacDermid joins rushes when the opportunity presents itself.

Roy's game really doesn't vary much from Doughty's, which I assume is either by design or the product of seeing a world class two way defender every day. It makes perfect sense to concentrate on your own zone when breaking into the league, but we are seeing a confident young defender taking more assertive steps on almost a nightly basis right now.

 

[bland]

He knows Roy more than Roy knows himself dontcha know??

How's the view from the kiddy table? Good mac n' cheese?

 

[regulate]

For a seventh round pick, Roy has been found gold. He’s probably at his current ceiling. I don’t see him as more than a good #4, great 5/6. If he gets 15 mins a game, is a plus player and puts up 20-25 points with 5 goals, he’s just fine.

While Doughty is around, he'll be the 2nd pairing RD, but he deserves more credit than just a passing fancy here. He's +10 on a team that's a combined -156 when you add all the players plus/minus together, he plays 18 mins a night, plays on the PK. Roy leads the team in virtually every fancy stat, his plus/minus is number one, he's tied with Kopitar in team goals for per 60 minutes at even strength when he is on the ice, he has the best goals against per 60 minutes at even strength of any defensemen, he leads the team in blocked shots and leads all defensemen on the team in hits.

He's been nothing short of gold after a rough first week. Kid will eventually make really good money in this league if he keeps it up. All this for a league minimum salary this year and next! Next season (sometime after July 1st) you want to lock this guy up with term. He just turned 25. There is enough sample size here and in the AHL. He hasn't been scratched one game since he came up, and he was the #1 D man in ONT last season prior to his recall.