Roy Using First Islanders Training Camp To Build New Culture, Ingrain A New Identity
The New York Islanders have had an identity crisis for a few years. But the team, under head coach Patrick Roy, has a clear identity.
EAST MEADOW, NY — The New York Islanders have been dealing with an identity crisis over the last few years. But now, after going through a full training camp under head coach Patrick Roy, there’s not only a new identity but also a different culture.
“We want a team that competes night after night,” Roy said on Tuesday afternoon. “I want us to be up here [holding his hand at his head]. I don't want us to be under here [holding his hand below his chest], so I want us to play our game, not adapt to the other team.
“I want to make sure that it's our pace, it's our game, it's the way we're going to play. Every team that I was on that won the Stanley Cup, we started the year playing a certain way, and we made sure that we played it for 60 minutes. We weren’t adapting to the score of the game, we weren’t adapting to the pace of the game, and that's the thing that I would like us to do.”
As we know from past experiences, if the players don’t buy in, then nothing matters.
Luckily for Roy, the Islanders bought in the moment he hit the ice for a morning skate on Jan. 20 and, months later, continue to have the right mindset.
PHOTO: Kathryn Howell/New York Islanders
To ingrain Roy's desire for a competitive level, he’s put the players through the gauntlet during training camp.
From battle drills to daily bag skates, the players are leaving the rink, more often than not, still catching their breath.
The players know that the sacrifices they make now and the struggles they go through as a team will only make them better.
“We're trying to build a culture and new identity for this team,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau told me. “[That identity] is playing hard for a full 60 the way we want. We want to build that identity.
“ We’re not doing that by not putting in the work, so it's been an extremely hard camp, but I think everyone's happy to do it because we're pushing each other.”
Scott Mayfield, who is using this camp to learn Roy’s systems and tweaks after missing 41 games during the 2023-24 season, made it clear that while Roy wants them to increase their battle intensity, it’s also something they want, which, as mentioned, is key.
“We're creating that culture, that identity, that Patty wants and we want,” Mayfield said. “You see it in the practices, you see it the way we're working — we are a little more physical and doing a little bit more skating — and that’s the biggest difference from previous camps.”
I asked Mayfield what he believes their identity is going to be this season.
“I think we're hard-working. That's going to be the biggest thing,” Mayfield said. “We're going to have a mindset that we play our game, we play hard, we play physical. You see the practices. You see there's more battle drills, and frankly, I think that'll kind of be how it is all season. We're gonna practice hard and take it in the game. So I think that's the biggest thing.”
Noah Dobson piggybacked off Mayfield’s words, discussing how having that hard-working identity should lead to more consistency, which has been a major issue for this group.
“I think our identity is to have the mindset each night that the team knows what they're getting on a consistent basis, whether it's the culture, the work ethic that's going to be there every night,” Dobson said. “I think we can find that consistency, where our results are going to be better.
“We don’t want to be fighting for our playoff lives the last couple of games of the season. I think ever since day one of camp, we're trying to make sure that right out of the gate, we're ready to go. At the end of the day, it's a long season, it's a hard season. It's hard to get into the playoffs, but we want to set the foundation right from the start to make a push. As I said, we want to just come out of the gates really well, and on a consistent basis, you know what you're getting each night.”
Former Vancouver Canucks Captain Bo Horvat On The Cusp Of Officially Joining Islanders Leadership Group
EAST MEADOW, NY — With Cal Clutterbuck not returning, the New York Islanders had an alternate captain position that needed to be filled ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Given what we've seen in preseason, former Vancouver Canucks captain and second full-year Islanders forward Bo Horvat will be the recipient of the "A."
Read what Horvat had to say, along with quotes from teammates and head coach Patrick Roy over at The Hockey News.
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Roy so refreshing
Mental and physical toughness is the ticket for this team. We aren’t a high flying offense so you counter balance that with playing a hard game. This team is a little more talented, and slightly younger than Barry’s teams. There is no reason they can’t have the same success using Patty’s approach. Margin between winning and losing in the NHL is razor thin.