Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Young Avalanche Players Learning From Patrick Roy

09/22/2014 at 10:19am EDT

from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

“Yeah, it was different (than he’d expected),” rookie of the year Nathan MacKinnon acknowledged.

“I didn’t realize how smart he’d be. I know he was passionate, very competitive, but he understands the game so well. Everything he does there’s a reason behind it,” MacKinnon told ESPN.com.

“He doesn’t just bark at guys. He’s always thinking. It’s only my second season but I’m sure he’s one of the most progressive coaches in the league,” MacKinnon said.

Young Avs captain Gabe Landeskog admitted he, too, wasn’t sure what to expect from the legendary goaltender turned coach.

“I think it surprised me, you always get the questions is he yelling at you, is he all fired up every game and all this stuff. I think to a lot of people (with the team) he’s surprisingly calm. He’s very smart in the way he interacts with his players whether it’s between periods or after games or before games he’s very calm and he’s able to look at the big picture. He’s emotional yes, but he’s smart about it,” Landeskog said in an interview.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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