- Publish date:
SI, April 7, 2008 Update
DURING a brawl in a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff game in March, Quebec Remparts goaltender Jonathan Roy skated the length of the ice—apparently at the urging of his coach and father, former Canadiens star Patrick Roy—and pummeled opposing goalie Bobby Nadeau, who refused to fight back. Roy, 19, capped his performance by flipping off the crowd with both hands. In the aftermath of the appalling display, an instant YouTube phenomenon, both Roys were suspended and newspaper columns decried on-ice violence.
The fallout has continued—and the stakes have been raised. Quebec's minister for sport, Michelle Courchesne, called for stiffer sanctions for fighting in the minors and asked Quebec Major Junior Hockey League commissioner Gilles Courteau to submit antifighting proposals. And on July 31 Jonathan Roy was charged with one count of assault; he faces six months in prison and a $2,000 fine. The younger Roy—who apologized for the obscene gestures but not the fight—has not commented. Nadeau, 20, the top goalie in the QMJHL last year, told French-language television network TVA, "I've gone on to other things. I'm getting ready for next season, and if I have to testify, I'll go testify."
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FRANCIS VACHON/THE CANADIAN PRESS PHOTO (UPDATE)
MAJOR PENALTY Roy could be in prison for six months if guilty.
