Hosting the New York Islanders was like having distant family members in town playing pond hockey in the hills during the holidays. There were familiar faces in town that at one point resided in Colorado as members of the Avalanche.
Patrick Roy, who is now the head coach for the NY Islanders, brought two Stanley Cups (1996, 2001) to Colorado, and for eternity will stand as one of the most legendary goalies in the history of the NHL. Roy also served a few seasons as the head coach for the Colorado Avalanche several years ago. Upon the anticipated face-off, Roy received an overwhelming standing ovation from the Av’s crowd, as expected.
Jonathan Drouin, former Avalanche player that was traded to NY over the summer. Drouin has an extensive history with Colorado superstar Nathan MacKinnon going back to the Halifax Moose days where they were phenomenal linemates. At one point, NY Islanders head coach Patrick Roy had the pleasure of coaching against Jonanthan Drouin in the QMHL and spoke highly of Drouin, praising him and his recent performance after the game.
“He’s very mature right now. When he was in junior, he was a phenomenal playmaker. When he was playing with Nathan in Halifax, they were always a threat, and they were the leaders of their team. What I love about his game right now is that he is playing both sides. He makes really good plays for Mathew Barzal, but he also defends really well. The 200-foot game that he’s playing shows me a lot of maturity in his game.”
– Patrick Roy regarding Jonathan Drouin
Drouin spent two memorable seasons in Colorado and embraced every moment of the time spent in Colorado. He mentioned in an interview how much he thoroughly enjoyed playing in Colorado and wasn’t thrilled about having to leave the Av’s organization.
“It sucked. Sometimes you got to make decisions for your family or other reasons. I enjoyed my time in Colorado. I would’ve loved to stay here for the rest of my career, but the business side doesn’t allow it sometimes.”
– Jonathan Drouin
In this business, certain situations just don’t work out, but either way, both teams received what they needed and have been successful so far this season.
Brock Nelson, a former NY Islander, couldn’t be happier now that he is one of the center pieces for the Colorado Avalanche. Nelson logged (1 goal, 1 assist, 1+/-) and slept well last night defeating his former team (4-1). On the season, Brock has 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) and will look to continue his point streak against the NY Rangers on Friday.
With that win the Colorado Avalanche (13-1-5) are rolling on a six-game winning streak and still have not lost a game at home extending their point streak to 10.
Dante Robinson | Senior NHL Analyst for The NSR Network
