HALIFAX | The Remparts players were proud of their performance and couldn’t help but think of Patrick Roy as they lifted the Gilles-Courteau trophy.
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It’s no secret that this is likely Roy’s last year behind the Remparts bench. And the players were well aware of that.
“All season we talked about it. It was a motivation for us,” forward James Malatesta said. “We knew for a lot of us it was the last season here, and potentially for Pat as well. It was an additional motivation for us. All the years I spent with Remparts, he always gave his 110%. »
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A little further on, Zachary Bolduc agreed with his teammate.
“It’s Patrick, but also Jacques [Tanguay]. They are two passionate guys and they wanted this win so badly. Pat said it before, but he doesn’t need to be here. I am so happy for him. »
“During my surgery, they were always there helping me,” added Mikaël Huchette, who missed more than four months of regular-season action due to surgery on both wrists. It is special to be able to give back to them. If this was Patrick’s last fight to win the trophy, he must be the happiest man on earth. He did everything in life. »
“It’s so deserved”
For Roy and Tanguay, the adventure began 26 years ago when they revived Remparts.
They lived together ups and downs in the organization, but also in the last season.
“It is so deserved [pour Patrick], Tanguay said. We talk about it five times a day since the beginning of the year, minimum! We also did that over a few glasses of wine. It was a season full of emotions, but we believed in it until the end. »
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That conquest was the culmination of a grand plan set in motion in 2018 when Tanguay convinced Roy to return to lead the Remparts after a stint in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche.
“It started with the selection of [Nicolas] Savoy five years ago. It was the cornerstone of this team. I remember when Patrick and Nicole tried to convince him to come. It wasn’t easy, they had taken his parents with them. Then, the following year, it was Gauchers, Malatesta and company. It was built stone by stone. »
Every stone placed served a purpose: to try to win top prizes two years in a row, in 2022 and 2023. After missing their shot last year, they finally put the finishing touches on this year.
“It’s a big achievement the last four years. Our goal was to build on this year. We should have won last year, but we didn’t. This championship is very significant. But the hardest thing is still to win, and that’s what we start next week,” he adds when talking about the Memorial Cup.
A proud “big sister”
Patrick Roy has often emphasized the importance of Director of Player Services and Media Relations, Nicole Bouchard, over the years. After often calling her a “real d.-g. team,” he called her his “big sister” after Sunday’s win.
Furthermore, the latter had left his seat to go down to the dressing room when the score was tied at 3-3 in the third. She therefore missed the crazy finish to the game that led to Pier-Olivier Roy’s winning goal with 58.5 seconds left.
“Patrick works so hard,” she said. The players obviously deserve a lot of credit, but Patrick and everyone around the team work so hard. Seeing Patrick win is special. He wanted this one and he kept saying it. »
