Former Red Devils Kassim Gaudet, Mikaël Huchette and Vsevolod Kamarov are visiting Quebec for the first time since joining the Drummondville Voltigeurs and believe Patrick Roy's passion for hockey will make a difference for the New York Islanders.
Roy's three former charges met before their 8-5 victory at the expense of their former teammates and were all happy for their former boss, with whom they won the Memorial Cup last June.
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A Buffalo Sabers prospect, the only player from the trio of new Voltigeurs to be drafted into the NHL and who scored three points, including a goal, in his team's victory, Kamarov said he has excellent memories of the player, the member be hall of fame.
“He even learned a few words of Russian! It helped me feel more comfortable when I arrived with the team [en 2021-2022]», he confided, believing that the former 33 “must” continue to evolve in this universe, even if he took a few months off.
Hockey day and night
“He’s a passionate guy who loves hockey. He wants to pass on his passion. At the Memorial Cup, he thought about hockey day and night. “He was there the whole time,” Kassim Gaudet recalled, saying he was “convinced” the Islanders would have a “good coach.”
For his part, Huchette admitted to being surprised that Roy didn't start the season on a bench. “I’m not surprised at all that he’s coming back to this league. I thought he would be there from the beginning of the year. He's a guy who has a long career ahead of him. Every day He asks you for your best. I grew up with him a lot.”
- Listen to the interview with Nicole Bouchard, long-time follower of Patrick Roy, on the microphone by Alexandre Dubé via
QUB radio
:
Gagné warns the Islanders and their opponents
Roy's assistant behind the Remparts bench last season, Simon Gagné, has since succeeded him as general manager of the Red Devils. By honoring his passion, he sent a warning to the New York Islanders players, but also to their opponents.
“Guys, you better be ready! Pat is passionate about hockey, he is passionate about everything he does. I've seen what he's capable of and I'm confident he'll do great things, he predicts. After the short training session this morning we felt like there was a breath of fresh air listening to the players.
However, the Remparts' new big boss admitted he was surprised to see that it was the Islanders who allowed the man nicknamed “Casseau” to return to the Bettman circuit.
His other successor, the one behind the bench, Éric Veilleux, for his part recalled that thanks to Roy he had made the leap to head coach in the American Hockey League in 2016. “He was the one who called me when I had just been called up to Victoriaville and in the end I had never managed a match! We had the opportunity to talk a few times in the first half of the season. She is a person I like very much. Everyone talks about their passion and that’s why they’re here!”
- Listen to the sports section with Jean-François Baril via QUB :
Meet quickly…
- Julien Béland was the Remparts' best player with two goals and an assist.
- Both teams scored three power play goals.
- Vincent Fillion was chased out of the Red Devils' net in the second period after allowing 6 goals on 16 shots.
- Éric Veilleux praised his team's character during the defeat against the Voltigeurs. “It would have been easy to stop playing when we were 2-0 down, but that didn't happen. We haven't given up. “It was missing a little bit, but it’s a hockey game.”