Nicolas Roy earns Golden Knights’ trust

It took a lot of time — and trips back and forth from Chicago — for Nicolas Roy to establish himself as an NHL regular last season.

But now that he did, the big-bodied forward is skating a little taller in his second Golden Knights training camp. Last time, he was a soft-spoken youngster fresh off a trade from the Carolina Hurricanes. Now he’s a battle-tested sophomore who soaked up plenty of experience down the stretch with the Knights.

Roy appeared in 37 of the team’s final 42 games, including all 20 postseason ones, and was rewarded with a two-year, $1.5 million extension in the offseason.

“I feel more confident,” Roy said. “Last year, coming from a new team, I was kind of nervous to start the season. It’s really different, but I’m really excited.”

Roy, who will turn 24 on Feb. 5, was one of the Knights’ pleasant surprises last season.

He scored in his debut against the Anaheim Ducks and kept working despite being shuffled between the NHL and American Hockey League a staggering 31 times for salary cap reasons.

Ultimately, he earned his keep because “every time he was on the ice, good things were happening,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said in the summer. Roy showed he could adapt to playing different roles on different lines and earned a lot of trust.

He was effective playing a grinding game on the fourth line, proved he could spark the offense on the third line and flashed in a limited stint in the top six. He also was part of the Knights’ second penalty-killing unit by the postseason.

DeBoer sounds willing to give him more rope this season.

“He’s established himself as an NHL player,” DeBoer said. “He’s got our trust that we can put him on the ice in a bunch of different situations. Now it’s next step. He has the ability to add more layers to his game. We’re going to look for him to do that this year, and there’s no reason that he can’t.”

It appears as if Roy is being thrust into a more offensive role on the third line with center Cody Glass and left wing Alex Tuch. Roy slots in at right wing, and while it’s not his natural position, it’s one he says he’s happy with.

“I’ve always played center in my whole life, so of course I feel more comfortable there,” Roy said. “But I’m getting used to playing at wing, and I like it, too, so it doesn’t really matter.”

The three youngsters — Tuch is the oldest at 24 — have shown chemistry in camp. The 21-year-old Glass, the No. 6 pick in the 2017 draft, is trying to establish himself as a playmaking center in the NHL. Tuch is trying to show his postseason performance, when he looked like the player who scored 52 points in 2018-19, is sustainable.

If Roy can do the dirty work by forechecking hard and being responsible in his own end, the three should be set up for success. The line’s size — Glass is the shortest at 6 feet 2 — and speed should make it difficult for teams to play through them in the neutral zone.

Roy also knows his linemates’ games quite well. He played quite a bit with Tuch in the postseason and was matched up against Glass in the 2019 Calder Cup Final. He got the better of his future linemate — which led to the Knights trading for him — but now both are hoping to prop each other up as they try to take the next step in their careers.

“I’m really happy to be on his side now,” Roy said. “With (Tuch) as well, it’s been really good so far.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.