Bobby Nystrom loved playing for Al Arbour and sees some similarities between the legendary head coach and Patrick Roy, the current head coach of the New York Islanders.
Bobby Nystrom loved playing for Al Arbour and sees some similarities between the legendary head coach and Patrick Roy, the current head coach of the New York Islanders.
MELVILLE, NY -- It's hard to find someone who loves the sport of hockey more than New York Islanders legend Bobby Nystrom.
While chatting with the 71-year-old at All Sportz in Melville ahead of the Islanders' street hockey program, Nystrom was twirling a stick and seemed energies to get out there and grow the game.
After discussing the program and how much it means to Nystrom to work with kids, The Hockey News was curious to know his thoughts on the Islanders' hiring of Patrick Roy as the next head coach.
Nystrom faced the Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender just one time in his career, coming in his final NHL season (1985-86) as the Islanders battled the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 12, 1985.
Roy stopped 30 of 32 -- two were Nystrom's shots -- and the Canadiens came away victorious 3-2.
"I think he's one of the guys that doesn't take any gruff," Nystrom said on Roy. "And if you aren't going, he'll tell ya."
"I think Roy is going to kick their ass."
Nystrom had the privilege to play for Al Arbour, one of the greatest coaches in NHL history.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=askHBHKTDDU[/embed]
Arbour, who was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, was a quiet guy at times. Other times, he showed that passion and fire.
While Nystrom doesn't know a whole lot about Roy, he does compare some of his antics to that of Arbour.
"I've heard that he's a psychologist, and Al [Arbour] was also," Nystrom said. "Sometimes, we'd been in a bad rut. You would think the coach would come in and bury you.
"But Al would come in and say,'Boys, we're gonna be alright,' and that's what I think Roy's mindset is. I think he's a psychologist. I really do."
It's high praise for Roy to be compared to Arbour, in any sense, as Nystrom said that Arbour was the most amazing guy he's ever met.
"Al would see something on his way into the rink. And he would turn, and he would turn it into a motivational speech," Nystrom said. "We saw a man climbing a pole in the middle of winter, and he says,' Boys. You are here. You play a great game. You could be that guy sitting up there."
So far, through Roy's first seven games behind the Blue & Orange bench, the Islanders have gone 3-3-1.
But as Nystrom said about Arbour, Roy is a motivational speaker.
Everything he yells at Islanders practice or the words he chooses to say to the media has been about motivating his players.
Since Roy arrived, the Islanders have been playing like a family again.
That's in large part due to the family-brother mentality that Roy has imposed on the group from his first skate with his new squad on Jan. 21.
On Wednesday, Roy put the Islanders through an intense practice, with a few players explaining how important it was to go through that together after two losses:
Arbour was hired by the Islanders ahead of the 1973-74 season, their second season in the NHL.
In his first year behind the bench, Arbour cut the Islanders' goals against by 100 despite them finishing with a 19-41-18 record.
After that season, Arbour got the team to play winning hockey, never having a losing season before his first retirement following the 1985-1986 season.
It took Arbour six years before the Islanders hoisted their first Stanley Cup. But during those six years, he built a foundation. A family. The strongest of bonds, and it led to four straight Stanley Cups.
Roy and the Islanders are at the beginning stages of their relationship. But the goal is to win and win now while also building the foundation for long-term success.
"We're building a blueprint that is going to allow us to become champions," Islander superstar Mathew Barzal said.