The Trois-Rivières Lions, the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, announced Friday that they have acquired the rights to Quebec forward Nathaël Roy as part of a three-team trade also involving the Reading Royals and the Toledo Walleye.

As part of the transaction, the Lions sent the rights to defenceman Wyatt McLeod to the Reading Royals. In return, Reading sent forward Carter Schade to the Toledo Walleye, who subsequently granted the Lions the rights to Nathaël Roy.

At the same time, the Lions announced that forward Nathaël Roy has signed a contract with the Trois-Rivières organization for the 2026-27 season.

Having played his first professional season with the Walleye, the 6-foot-1 forward quickly established himself, appearing in 62 games. He recorded nine goals and 12 assists for a total of 21 points. Lions fans had the opportunity to see him at the Colisée Vidéotron last February, when the Michigan-based organization made its way to Quebec.

Before making the jump to the professional ranks, Roy spent four seasons with Université de Moncton in the U Sports system. In 109 university games, he recorded 93 points, including 46 goals. In 2021-22, the left-shot forward was named to the U Sports Second All-Star Team in the Atlantic University Sport conference. Roy was also a teammate of defenceman Jacob Dion at Université de Moncton. Dion recently signed a two-way contract with the Laval Rocket.

A product of the QMJHL, Roy played for the Sherbrooke Phoenix and Baie-Comeau Drakkar during his junior career. Over five seasons in the league, he appeared in 178 games, recording 84 points. During his time in the Eastern Townships, the forward was a teammate of Israël Mianscum, who signed a two-way contract with the Laval Rocket during the offseason.

As he looks ahead to the new season, the Lions' newest forward is excited to join the organization and take on this new challenge in Trois-Rivières. “I’m very happy to be joining the Lions for the upcoming season. I’m really excited to join such a great organization, be closer to my family, and meet the players and staff. I can’t wait to get the season started in October and begin this new adventure with the Lions.”

Nathaël Roy becomes the 20th player signed by the Trois-Rivières Lions for the 2026-27 season. He joins Anthony Beauregard, Mathias Laferrière, Landon Fuller, Édouard Charron, Jake Gravelle, Christopher Inniss, Mathieu Bizier, Isaac Dufort, Théo Gueurif, Sean Gulka, Kaleb Ergang, Félix Paré, Vincent Nardone, Samuel St-Hilaire, Thomas Lacombe, Thomas Darcy, Robert Orr and Xavier Bernard ahead of the upcoming campaign.

The Trois-Rivières Lions' 2026-27 season will begin on Friday, October 16, at the Colisée Vidéotron. Season and half-season memberships, as well as Flex Packages, are available at lions3r.com or through a sales representative by calling 819-519-1634, extension 200.