Patrick Roy breaks his usual routine, offering mental support to Ilya Sorokin following Thursday's morning skate.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- One of the first things New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy told us when he took the job was that he wasn't going to be the goalie coach. That job was and still remains Piero Greco's.
What he could offer is support on the mental side of things, and that's what we saw on Thursday morning after the starters left the ice. Ilya Sorokin, the team's No. 1 netminder, has struggled to begin the season, leading to David Rittich getting the nod against the Edmonton Oilers.
Ilya Sorokin’s Start Isn’t Pretty — But It’s Not The Whole Story
<a href="http://thn.com/isles">New York Islanders</a> goaltender <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-ilya-sorokin-s-summer-training-tape">Ilya Sorokin</a> will be the first to tell you he isn't playing his best brand of hockey.
For the first time, that we've seen, Roy stayed on with Sorokin and the extras.
“When I met with him before the season, I said I wanted him to feel my trust," Roy said. "I thought today was the moment. I want him to know that I trust him, I’ll be there for him, and I’ll support him. We’re using the word compassion. That’s an example. You want to be there for your players. Ilya deserves that. Ilya is one of the best goalies in the league, and he needs to have fun being on the ice, and he needs to feel good about himself.”
Why was Thursday the right time for Roy to stay on and offer these words of encouragement?
“Well, shame on me. I should have done it before," Roy said. "But I always felt, hey, let the goalies do their thing. I think I have things I could share with him. I’m not gonna help him on the technique side of the game, but I think I can help him on the mental side of the game because my career was not just a Cinderella story. I had good games, but I also had some bad ones. So I feel like sometimes being able to share that with your goalies is something that hopefully could go a long way.”
Sorokin, when he's struggled, has always showcased an ability to shake things off and focus on the next game, not the one that just happened. But it's clear that the early-season struggles are impacting Sorokin's ability to move forward to the best of his abilities.
Roy said that when he sees an elite goaltender struggling to play at that level, it's usually not about their physical game. It's more mental.
“I think it’s confidence. Most of it is confidence," I didn't do any technique with him, but it’s more confidence. Denis Savard always said to me, 'You’re big like a bus in front of your net. Sometimes, just wording like this goes a long way. It brings confidence. That’s all I care about. And Ilya knows that he’s not alone, we’re there with him, we support him, we trust him, and we know how good he is.”
Sorokin, who is in the second season of an eight-year deal worth $8.25 million annually, will be back between the pipes on Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators.