As a player, Patrick Roy was known for his hot temperament and winning mentality, and he’s bringing that onto the bench as well.
He’s a fiery competitor, and when he held his first-ever practice with the New York Islanders on Sunday, he didn’t hold back one bit.
He made an immediate impression by holding an intense morning skate. According to NHL.com, Roy first gathered the team at center ice and then started doing starting and stopping drills.
Roy was very involved with what the players did during the drills, and he didn’t fear raising his voice when players didn’t do what he wanted them to do.
Just as he was as a player, Roy has earned a reputation as a passionate coach, and he showed why in his first practice.
When the Islanders played the Dallas Stars on Sunday night, videos of Roy’s first practice started making the rounds on social media, and they quickly went viral because of how Roy acted.
Roy was loud and vocal, screaming at the players and even slamming his stick on the ice several times to get his points through to the players.
Fans absolutely loved to get the insight of how Roy was during his first practice, and everyone seems to agree that it’s great to have him back in the NHL.
For Roy, who obviously didn’t have much time between taking over as head coach and coaching his first game with the Islanders, it was important to still get his message through what he wanted to see.
”I really want it to be a partnership, so they need to be involved with me in what I believe is the thing to do. And if they don’t understand and if I’m not clear enough, or if they don’t really understand the details, I want them to speak up and tell me and then I find a different way to explain. But today I thought it went really well,” Roy said.
And it worked out pretty well in their first game together, as the Islanders won 3-2 over the Stars in overtime.
