Love him or hate him Patrick Roy is just the type of Coach the NHL and hockey in general needs on the bench today.
You wont find many people more passionate about winning or about being a member of a team in the history of the game. A Hall of Fame goaltender turned Coach.
It’s not often that great players turn into great coaches. Roy is the exception to the rule.
In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, as Head Coach and General Manager Patrick Roy amassed a record of 349-159-0-37 That’s right, he won more than twice as many games as he lost. Not too bad for a player with no Head Coaching experience in one of the top Junior Hockey leagues in the world.
Enter Patrick Roy as the Head Coach of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. In his coaching debut he leads his team to a 6 to 1 thumping of the Anaheim Ducks.
More important that the victory though was his reaction to a dirty knee to knee hit on rookie Nathan McKinnon.
Patrick Roy certainly hasnt lost his competative fire, or his passion for sticking up for his team mates. He may not be on the ice any more, but he is exactly what the NHL and the Colorado Avalanche needed.
The players will continue to police themselves on the ice, and how can anyone be upset with a coach who wants to help police other coaches when dirty hits take place.
Years ago they called him “Saint Patrick”. Well Patrick isnt any “Saint” and all hockey fans should be glad he’s back.
David Wagner
