Post by dogcatcher on Oct 13, 2007 8:01:59 GMT -4
Love him or hate him Roy remains popular
ANDREW McGILLIGAN
SLAP SHOTS
Published Saturday October 13th, 2007
Appeared on page C12
Getting an interview with the Quebec Remparts head coach and general manager Patrick Roy is like trying to get an interview with the Pope.
St. Patrick, as he was dubbed during his playing days, is elusive even in the locker room area of Harbour Station.
Waiting for a papal audience with the patron saint of goaltending is long, but so is the list of people wanting some of his time.
It's obvious why people want to meet Roy. Just look at the resume that includes four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe trophies and three Vezina awards. He's the biggest star in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and he's not on skates. "I would say we get more requests coming in when we're in the Maritimes because we're only there a few times a year," said Remparts team services coordinator Nicole Bouchard. "Most of the time, we book media requests in advance and ask the video coach to remind him in case he forgets."
Two hours before game-time in the Harbour Station media/scout lounge, Roy enters along with own version of the Swiss Guard - a short stocky man named Martin Bergeron who's dressed in less colourful clothing than the Pope's protectors.
Roy does a quick television interview and is promptly escorted out of the room before more interviews can be had. The brief stop was equivalent to his holiness waving from his bedroom window in the Vatican.
Outside the room, he doesn't get far as a group of kids stop him and ask for autographs. Roy is accommodating, poses for pictures with the kids and signs everything handed to him.
This is another request often fielded by Bouchard in her Quebec City office.
"We get many e-mails with people saying they'll be in such and such a place for a game and can you arrange a meeting for me to get something signed," she said.
While she can't schedule meetings for fans, Bouchard tells people to try and meet the team bus when it arrives and make their autograph attempt at that time.
"That's the best we can do," she said. "He's very good about signing things for fans."
With all the requests, you almost forget he's still got to prepare his team for the game. Roy is unlike any other coach in terms of the demand on his time. Saint John Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu is busy as well, but he has no one scheduling interviews or escorting him place to place at home or on the road.
Even after the game, Roy is still inundated with requests. Despite prying away two players from Saint John in Angelo Esposito and Matt Smith and being vilified by many in this city, fans wait outside the rink for a chance to meet the Hall of Famer while media wait outside the coaches room for interviews. The coach stays in his room for quite a while after the game - so long that you'd expect white smoke to begin billowing out from under the door announcing the death of any more requests. After 20 minutes, the stocky Swiss-guard like protector appears and escorts reporters into the room.
The coach is cordial, polite and answers questions as quickly as he can. Conspicuously missing from the room is a large, white cone-shaped hat.
ANDREW McGILLIGAN
SLAP SHOTS
Published Saturday October 13th, 2007
Appeared on page C12
Getting an interview with the Quebec Remparts head coach and general manager Patrick Roy is like trying to get an interview with the Pope.
St. Patrick, as he was dubbed during his playing days, is elusive even in the locker room area of Harbour Station.
Waiting for a papal audience with the patron saint of goaltending is long, but so is the list of people wanting some of his time.
It's obvious why people want to meet Roy. Just look at the resume that includes four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe trophies and three Vezina awards. He's the biggest star in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and he's not on skates. "I would say we get more requests coming in when we're in the Maritimes because we're only there a few times a year," said Remparts team services coordinator Nicole Bouchard. "Most of the time, we book media requests in advance and ask the video coach to remind him in case he forgets."
Two hours before game-time in the Harbour Station media/scout lounge, Roy enters along with own version of the Swiss Guard - a short stocky man named Martin Bergeron who's dressed in less colourful clothing than the Pope's protectors.
Roy does a quick television interview and is promptly escorted out of the room before more interviews can be had. The brief stop was equivalent to his holiness waving from his bedroom window in the Vatican.
Outside the room, he doesn't get far as a group of kids stop him and ask for autographs. Roy is accommodating, poses for pictures with the kids and signs everything handed to him.
This is another request often fielded by Bouchard in her Quebec City office.
"We get many e-mails with people saying they'll be in such and such a place for a game and can you arrange a meeting for me to get something signed," she said.
While she can't schedule meetings for fans, Bouchard tells people to try and meet the team bus when it arrives and make their autograph attempt at that time.
"That's the best we can do," she said. "He's very good about signing things for fans."
With all the requests, you almost forget he's still got to prepare his team for the game. Roy is unlike any other coach in terms of the demand on his time. Saint John Sea Dogs head coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu is busy as well, but he has no one scheduling interviews or escorting him place to place at home or on the road.
Even after the game, Roy is still inundated with requests. Despite prying away two players from Saint John in Angelo Esposito and Matt Smith and being vilified by many in this city, fans wait outside the rink for a chance to meet the Hall of Famer while media wait outside the coaches room for interviews. The coach stays in his room for quite a while after the game - so long that you'd expect white smoke to begin billowing out from under the door announcing the death of any more requests. After 20 minutes, the stocky Swiss-guard like protector appears and escorts reporters into the room.
The coach is cordial, polite and answers questions as quickly as he can. Conspicuously missing from the room is a large, white cone-shaped hat.