LEWISTON – Jonathan Roy isn’t nearly as tall as his father.

He stood there in the frigid Lewiston air, his head still sopping wet from taking a shower, with a cell phone wedged between his gloved fingers and his half-covered right ear.

“Sorry,” Roy said, hushed, like he’d done something wrong. “I had to finish on the phone.”

There were no worries. It was cold, but not unbearable.

Roy is the antithesis of his father.

Soft-spoken and humble, he answered a few questions about a hockey game, crediting his teammates for his success more than his own play. And then, with a little hint of reluctance, Roy talked about who he is.

Not that you’d know Jonathan Roy if he passed you on the street, but for anyone versed in hockey, his father’s name is associated with greatness.

Jonathan is Patrick’s son. Patrick is Jonathan’s father.

However you put it, the 18-year-old Quebec Remparts’ goalie is the offspring of one of the greatest goaltenders of all time, and certainly the best of his generation.

But it doesn’t seem to faze him.

“I don’t try to be like him,” Jonathan said. “He’s way up there. I’m not going to aim for what he’s accomplished. That’s why I look up to players like (Lewiston goalie Jonathan) Bernier, goalies who are going up there now. It keeps the stress off my shoulders.”

Patrick won’t compare himself to his son, either.

“I’m just not going to play into that,” Patrick said. “I think he’s having enough pressure on himself as it is. I don’t think I’m going to compare myself to him. Jonathan is Jonathan. He’s been responding pretty well to this situation, and he’s handling it well. I’m happy the way he’s going.”

The younger Roy’s career didn’t exactly start with a flourish. he was drafted into the QMJHL by the Victoriaville Tigres in the third round in 2005 (43rd overall).

He never saw the ice for the Tigres in the regular season, and was relegated to Junior AAA as a 17-year-old last season.

“Victoriaville had another plan, and that was pretty much the bottom line for that,” Jonathan said. “I had one year in Junior AAA, and I had a difficult year. I talked about maybe quitting hockey, but I decided to bounce back from that, come back and try again.”

Patrick traded for his son in December of 2006.

“I felt that he deserved a chance,” Patrick said. “I know his temperament, his character, and I felt he could play in this league.”

He remained in Junior AAA last season, and went to the Remparts’ training camp this season with a renewed vigor.

“I told him, ‘If I’m not good enough, you put me down, I’ll respect that,'” Jonathan said of a conversation with his father. “I had a very good camp, though, compared to the one in Victoriaville.”

Good enough to earn a spot as the team’s full-time backup goalie behind Kevin Desfosses.

In a road game last weekend in Cape Breton, Jonathan relieved Desfosses after the starter gave up three goals on 11 shots in the first 21:43.

He stopped 32 of 34 the rest of the way and earned the Remparts a point for an overtime loss.

The performance earned him a start Friday against Lewiston. He stopped 27 of 28 shots in that game, and won for the second time this season.

“It’s easy to get high off that, but I’ve got to stay humble,” Jonathan said. “Beating the best goaltender in the league is pretty special, and you want to show it off to everybody, but I have to stay focused.”

“His confidence is coming, he’s getting better,” Patrick said. “He’s moving well. he’s always been fast, but he’s feeling more comfortable.”

Jonathan will never be Patrick. He’s OK with that.

More important to both of them?

Jonathan will always be Patrick’s son.