NEWARK, N.J. -- Jonathan Marchessault wasn't intending to deliver a message to the New York Islanders when he was talking about their new coach Patrick Roy on Monday.
But that's what it was, and the players should listen. It'll benefit them while they get adjusted to Roy, the Hockey Hall of Fame goalie who replaced Lane Lambert on Saturday and won his Islanders debut Sunday, 3-2 in overtime at home against the Dallas Stars.
Roy's second game will be against Marchessault and the Golden Knights at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSGSN).
"He puts in the work for you, but you've got to put in the work for him," Marchessault said from Prudential Center hours before the Golden Knights played the New Jersey Devils on Monday. "I think he's a really honest coach. He'll be really truthful with what he thinks, and I think that's a good quality."
Marchessault has firsthand knowledge. He played for Roy with Quebec in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League from 2007-11, from the time he was 17 through 21. He remains close with Roy, his kids and family. They golf together in the summer.
He said in recent seasons he would return to practice with Roy and the Remparts during the NHL All-Star break. Roy returned to Quebec in 2018, two years after he stepped down after his third season as coach of the Colorado Avalanche.
"He doesn't care necessarily about goals and assists," Marchessault said. "He cares about just how hard do you work. I remember when he was in Colorado, one of his most consistent players was Cody McLeod because he knew what he'd get from him every night. That's so Patrick to say that, just think of the tough guy but you also think he works hard, he does all the little things out there, he's tough to play against and Patrick loves guys like that."
Marchessault said he thinks Roy will have success with the Islanders because he has grown from his experience with the Avalanche (2013-16) and the past five seasons coaching the Remparts. He guided them to the QMJHL and Memorial Cup championship last season before stepping down to pursue NHL opportunities.
"He took his time and came back in a situation that he can win," Marchessault said. "He's in a good structure and he's also with a GM [Lou Lamoriello] that wants to win right now. I'm sure they'll have good hockey talks. When you have two good heads of hockey like that, I think it can build success."
Marchessault said the Islanders will have to adjust to Roy because of the intensity, energy and emotion he brings to the rink every day, particularly during games.
All of that was on display Sunday, when Roy was as animated as ever behind the bench and, according to Islanders players, in the dressing room between periods, particularly with a passionate speech about resiliency when they were down 2-1 going into the third period.
"You've got to let some go sometimes because he's intense," Marchessault said. "One thing that he does is he keeps you humble. I remember one game in junior, we won 3-2 against a pretty good team and I had two goals and one assist, and we came back the next day for video and he started ripping on me saying I was the worst player on the ice, stuff like that. I was like, I don't know, I thought I had a great game, slept great, I don't know what you're talking about. It's stuff like that. He always keeps you honest."
Marchessault also recalled the time when he and his teammates were eating breakfast from Tim Hortons in the Remparts dressing room.
"I was eating a muffin, and he comes in and starts ripping on me, 'Yeah, keep eating muffins. You can't even [expletive] skate out there. You're slow as a turtle,'" Marchessault said. "I was like everybody else is eating muffins, why do you pick on me? It was mostly me most of the time, but like I said, you've got to let some of it go."
That passion, misguided as it might have been at the time, helped to instill the passion Marchessault plays with today. Without it, he likely wouldn't have helped Vegas win the Stanley Cup and earn the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as most valuable player of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Without it, Marchessault might not be in the NHL at all. He went undrafted and played five seasons in the American Hockey League after four in the QMJHL before finally becoming an NHL regular with the Florida Panthers in 2016-17, when he was 26.
"I thought I liked the game until I met him," Marchessault said. "He loves the game. That's something that I definitely developed with him along the years. One thing he helped me with was the mental toughness of the game. He was always on me, and he was tough. In the moment, I wanted to probably fight him most of the time but now we laugh about it, and we talk about it. We play golf together sometimes. He definitely helped me through the mental phase of the game. Nobody gets between my ears."
Marchessault thinks Roy's messaging with players will be different with the Islanders than it was with him years ago in Quebec, but his intensity won't be.
"Every year the past six, seven years I go back and practice with him and he was so freaking soft with his players," Marchessault said, laughing. "I was like, 'What's going on here, why were you not like that with us.' He would say, 'Well, you've got to adjust.'
"I think he learned that everybody is different, and all hockey players respond different to a lot of things. You've got to know that. You've got to know when you can rip on a guy, and you've got to know when a guy cannot be ripped on. That's something everybody learns, and I think he'll be great."
