Jared Bednar’s favorite way of describing a big player could be “long, strong.”

It’s an appropriate description for new Avalanche forward Nicolas Roy.

Roy, who on Thursday was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs for first- and fifth-round draft picks, immediately stepped into the Avalanche lineup in Dallas on Friday. He had played for a Canadian team just 24 hours prior.

It was almost the same scenario for Nazem Kadri, who arrived from Calgary and played for Colorado just a few days later. In some instances, it’s taken several days for players coming from Canada to get cleared by immigration, but that wasn’t the case for Kadri or Roy.

Chris MacFarland had a good week. But the Avalanche’s MVP of the trade deadline was Erin DeGraff, the director of team services and immigration, for expediting the process to make sure those two were able to play right away.

The gigantic Roy looks every bit his listed height of 6-foot-4. He towered over reporters in the locker room while discussing the trade prior to his first game in an Avalanche sweater. It was a trade he knew could happen.

“We knew the team (Toronto) was probably going to be sellers, so I knew it was probably a possibility,” Roy said. “When I had knowledge it was going to be Colorado, obviously (I) was really excited. I heard some great words from around the league, everybody that’s been a part of the team. Great organization, great city, great team.”

Fans of the Avalanche should be familiar with Roy’s game. He battled several players in the Colorado locker room during six seasons with Vegas. He helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023 as their third-line center.

Listed at 200 pounds, the Quebec native was a pain to play against while in Vegas. He’s difficult to get around in the defensive zone and, when he has the puck on his stick, it’s difficult to get it off him. That ability to protect the puck was on display in the third period of Sunday’s game against the Wild.

With the Avalanche trailing in the third, Roy made a nice play along the boards to get around one defender before hitting Joel Kiviranta with a pass. Instead of staying stationary, he went straight to the net, tipping home a Brett Kulak shot to tie the game up. Those are the type of plays the Avalanche are hoping to see down the stretch and into the postseason.

“I like (the addition),” Bednar said. “Nic Roy is a big, strong right-handed shot center, really strong defensively. He’s had some good offensive years, too, in Vegas and played some different roles, center and wing, penalty-kill guy. You see a lot of teams in our division, our conference, adding size and strength here at the deadline, so to get a big 6-foot-4 long, strong center that can help out down low and play against those guys is a very good add.”

It’s difficult to call this a down offensive year for Roy. His assist totals are on par with his tenure in Vegas. It’s the goals that have dropped. It doesn’t help he’s shooting less than he has at any point in his career and, when he does shoot, the puck hasn’t been going in at the same rate it was in Vegas.

The Avalanche think he can get back to being the 15-goal scorer he was in Vegas, and given what they gave up to acquire him, they better hope so. Sunday was a good start.

“We’re confident that he can chip in a little bit more on the offensive side,” Bednar said.

While Roy is a natural center, there’s a good chance he plays some wing for the Avalanche if they get healthy. Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson and Kadri are as good a 1-2-3 punch down the middle as you’ll find in the league, and, with Jack Drury having excelled in the fourth-line center role before, Roy playing wing on a line with Kadri has the makings of a nasty third line.

For someone who was a little short on centers just a week ago, Bednar now has some options.

“It gives us flexibility. Someone’s having a bad night, it’s our coaching staff’s job to recognize that,” Bednar said after Sunday’s win over the Wild. “It’s another reason why I like (Sunday’s) game. I got (Roy) playing center. I got him playing on the wing. I got him taking some penalty-kill draws.

“We’ll get him more involved on that. … If we want to go ‘MacK,’ ‘Nelly,’ Naz down the middle, they can play with good wingers that can help create offense and score and still check the other team’s top lines.”

One winger who could almost act like a free deadline addition is Logan O’Connor. O’Connor, who hasn’t played a game this season, went on the road trip with the Avalanche and has started to join the team at practice.

“Hopefully he’s going to get back in the lineup here soon. He’s making great strides,” Bednar said.