Jonathan Drouin didn’t want to leave Colorado, but is fitting in well with Islanders

Patrick Roy was very familiar with Jonathan Drouin the phenom from his days coaching against him in the QMJHL A dozen years later they ve been reunited in the NHL with the New York Islanders Roy is a different coach in his second go-round behind an NHL bench And Drouin is a different participant than he was as a teenager terrorizing opposing defenses alongside Nathan MacKinnon for the Halifax Mooseheads He s very mature right now Roy declared When he was in junior he was a phenomenal playmaker When he was playing with Nathan in Halifax they were reliably a threat and they were the leaders of their organization What I love about his match right now is that he is playing both sides He makes really good plays for Mathew Barzal but he also defends really well The -foot competition that he s playing shows me a lot of maturity in his tournament I m very impressed with him Drouin s evolution as a sportsman has not happened on a linear path but his two years with the Colorado Avalanche did wonders to rebuild his career and his value The Avs got him on a bargain one-year deal after an up-and-down tenure with the Montreal Canadiens He fit in well and earned another one-year deal Eventually it was time to ask for more and the Avalanche with Gabe Landeskog coming back and Brock Nelson needing a long-term deal could not provide it It sucked Obviously sometimes you ve got to do a decision for your family and for other reasons Drouin disclosed I enjoyed my time in Colorado I would have loved to stay here for the rest of my career but the business side of it doesn t allow it sometimes You ve got to move on and do different things Drouin s relationship with MacKinnon got him in the door with the Avs but he became an integral member of the club for two seasons on his own He had goals and points two seasons ago then goals and points in just games last year His advancement as a two-way athlete was a consistent talking point with Avs coach Jared Bednar That was something Roy echoed Drouin had points in his first games with the Islanders He s been a great addition for us Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri mentioned I think he s a guy you can put with anybody and he elevates that line He s done a great job so far and hopefully he continues to get better and more confident It s awesome to have a guy like that in your room and your lineup When last season ended it was pretty clear there wouldn t be room for Drouin in Denver unless he was willing to take a discount again Asking a contestant to do that multiple times in the prime of their career just isn t feasible Drouin revealed there were plenty of talks with the Avalanche but he also knew before the free-agent territory opened that a return wasn t going to happen So on July Drouin went back to the Eastern Conference signing a two-year million deal with the Islanders That meant parting tactics with MacKinnon It was tough Drouin mentioned Obviously he brought me here He was one of the main reasons I came here It s a very close group over there It sucked to leave Particular of those happen as part of the business I guess Landing with the Islanders has meant a scarce reunions Drouin and Anthony Duclair have been friends going back even before his Halifax days with MacKinnon He knew Roy well but he s also played for assistant coach Ray Bennett with the Avs Related Articles Avalanche center Brock Nelson on Islanders reunion at Ball Arena It will be weird Renck File Unselfish actions of Avs Nuggets are bread crumbs that lead to downtown parade No Valeri Nichushkin no complication for Gavin Brindley new-look Avalanche second line Martin Necas four points lead Avalanche past Sabres for fifth straight win Avalanche sign goaltender Scott Wedgewood to one-year contract extension And he s now in a position to be a veteran mentor for the other guy making his return Sunday night to Ball Arena When the Avs traded for Nelson one of the key parts of the deal going the other way was Calum Ritchie Colorado selected him in the first round of the NHL draft and he became the club s top prospect at one point He played seven games for the Avs at the start of last season before returning to juniors Ritchie started this season in the AHL but has played eight games for the Islanders without a point I m trying to help him as much as I can honestly Drouin declared I knew him from Colorado a couple of games before he got sent down last year He s been great with us He s a kid that wants to learn wants to get better That s invariably cool to see Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis