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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 player than he was as a teenager terrorizing opposing defenses alongside Nathan MacKinnon for the Halifax Mooseheads.

“He’s very mature right now,” Roy said. “When he was in junior, he was a phenomenal playmaker. When he was playing with Nathan in Halifax, they were always a threat, and they were the leaders of their team.