Roy Wasting No Time Setting Tone At Islanders Training Camp: 'We Want To Raise The Bar'

Patrick Roy's goal is to get his team playing the right way from day one.

EAST MEADOW, NY — New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy wasted no time setting the tone for training camp. 

Whether it was having the players sprint to the bench or to him for a drill breakdown, the Hockey Hall of Famer demanded excellence.

All three groups opened up with basic line rotations and shooting drills before moving on to 1-on-1 and 2-on-1 battles along the boards. 

"The first days of camp are always hard, but I think you can see the identity that he wants and we want to have," Jean-Gabriel Pageau told The Hockey News. "All the details, we focused on that today. 

"It's not about skating, but it's about all the details, stopping at the net, reloading, having a good work ethic."

After those drills came the bag skates to conclude the on-ice session, three rounds of it that had the guys gasping for air. 

“Yeah, it pushes you mentally and physically, of course, but mentally, it's about pushing through adversity, even when you're tired," Pageau said. "Just keep pushing. And I think it's just good for you.”

Kyle MacLean tried to speak but needed a second to catch his breath. 

"Yeah, it's tough. I think that second lap is all mental," MacLean said. "I mean, everybody's tired at that point. You just gotta tell yourself, you still have some in the tank and just push through it.”

The Islanders' identity has always been "hard-working," but over the last few years ahead of Roy's arrival, that wasn't always true like it was under former head coach and current Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz.

But Roy has brought back that identity in a new way, and after having a summer to really dissect the group, he's doing what he can to reestablish that from Jump Street, a 2.0 version of the pace and effort that we saw under Trotz. 

"Yeah, he definitely is trying to instill that in us right away," MacLean said. "He did it right when he came in last year, and we're just trying to build off that, but we definitely have a pretty clear understanding of how he wants us to play and how we need to play, too, just as a group.”

Mike Reilly, who proved to be a perfect fit in Roy's system, which is why he's back on a one-year deal, loved what Roy did today.

“I think he just wants pace and just a mindset of always being on your toes," Reilly said. "I feel like when I came in before Patty, you could sit back a little bit more in the defensive zone. I think Patty's a little bit more forward. I think that's where a little bit of that comes from, like skating to the bench and whatnot. I think it's more about being on your toes a bit, trying to kill the play, and get on a guy quick.

"He doesn't want us to be as passive. So whether or not you're gonna work fast he or not, I think that's going to benefit you a little bit. That's what he's trying to instill in us for sure.”

Roy was more than happy with what he saw out of his guys today.

"They knew they were going to work, and they did, and that's exactly what I was looking for," Roy said after day one. "We want to raise the bar, there's no doubt about it, and there's no better way to do it right now, day one, to set the tone for the training camp.

"We want to use training camp to set the tone for the start of our season. We had a great push at the end of last year, but right now, what we look forward to is having a good start and a great year. So that's what we're looking for.”