In this translated talk, the New York Islanders’ Alexander Romanov talked about working with a video coach, his ties with general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello, his move from Montreal to New York, and his head coach Patrick Roy.
You can find the original talk in the Russian language on the YouTube channel Skolzky Lyod here!
“In the NHL, many people work with a video coach. We all know and understand something about hockey, but there are some nuances, certain moments in the game that are important only to you. For example, you might not be a technical player, you can’t skate circles around the whole five-man unit – you need to make the first pass or receive the puck at the blue line. You’re not Cale Makar – you’re not going to outmaneuver everyone with fancy moves. You need to develop an understanding of what you should do based on your particular skills. And the video coach helps you see from the outside how this can be done: how you’re doing it, how to do it correctly, and how not to do it. That’s what working with a video coach is all about.”
The defenseman then goes on to explain how it works. “He sends me a clip with his voice in the background. He explains certain things to me, sends good and bad moments – both mine and those of other players. Plus, I also watch my own games to understand where I can improve and what mistakes I shouldn’t repeat, for example. Overall, in the NHL, I think about 70 percent of players work with a video coach.”
About Lou Lamoriello
It looks like Romanov truly appreciates his current GM, Lou Lamoriello. “He’s simply a legendary person. And I don’t find him peculiar, to be honest. I don’t know why everyone says that Lou Lamoriello is somehow peculiar or very strict.”
And that is despite Romanov having to cut his hair as required by Lamoriello. “Funny enough, I actually like my current hairstyle more than the one I had with the long hair. It was… it was awful. I look at old photos of myself, and I just don’t like it. But here’s what really happened: I think my agent, Dan Milstein, warned me right away that I’d need to cut my hair. That was in the very first second after the trade. But honestly, I don’t understand how this could be a problem for anyone. It wasn’t a problem for me – I just got a haircut.”
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It wasn’t hard for him to adapt. “He didn’t need to explain anything to me. If the general manager, my boss, tells me to do something, I’ll do it. If he told me to jump off a roof – obviously, that would be ridiculous. But if he says I need to shave and cut my hair – it’s no problem for me at all. I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal for some people, but I couldn’t care less.”
Moreover, Lamoriello is notorious for having strict requirements. “You have to wear a tie,” Romanov goes on. “Even after games. You can’t leave the locker room without a tie. Semyon Varlamov once told me he got scolded for having his tie over his shoulder after a game. Semyon was on his way to the bus, and Lou approached him, saying, ‘Come here, I have something to tell you.’ And he made a remark about the tie: that he should always be properly dressed, that he’s an example not only on the ice but off the ice as well.”
About Playing in Montreal
Romanov started his NHL career in Montreal, before being moved to the Islanders in a three-team trade. “They probably won’t be following, but I want to thank the Montreal Canadiens fans for the fact that I never once felt like I didn’t belong,” Romanov said, adding that he never faced any hate. “Not once, ever. Probably because I was still a rookie – that played a role. There was never any hate directed towards me. Here’s how it was. Sometimes I would read the comments – and they were always positive. If someone was unhappy, it was for a valid reason. There was no baseless hate like, ‘He’s an idiot because he’s an idiot.’ But for specific reasons – yes.”
“For example, if I messed up in a game, people would call me out. Like, ‘He messed up, so he’s an idiot.’ And in those cases, I knew I was an idiot. I never deny it. If I make a mistake, and a goal gets scored because of me, I don’t go: ‘Oh no! That’s [Ilya] Sorokin’s fault for not doing enough.’ I’m always self-critical about my game.”
Romanov is still in love with Montreal’s fans. “In Montreal, the fans are Montreal. Because aside from the Canadiens, there’s nothing else. Absolutely nothing. I don’t even know where they go in the evening, other than to games. Sure, there are good restaurants. I really like Montreal as a city, but they don’t have many other forms of entertainment. All concerts happen at the Bell Centre, where the hockey is. They don’t have any other major sports. I mean, there’s no other team that draws a crowd like that. They call the city ‘the Mecca of hockey.’ Somehow, they’ve carried that spirit from the past into the present. And no matter what the game is like, the arena is always packed.”
He was recognized on the streets much more often in Montreal. “On Long Island, you’re not really needed – not in the sense that hockey fans don’t need you, but you’re just not that interesting to the local sports fans. Because besides the Islanders, they have the [all New York teams] Rangers, the Jets, the Giants, the Yankees, the Knicks, and the Nets. It’s crazy.”
Romanov’s Family Ties
Romanov’s father Stanislav is a well-known figure in Russia. He’s the son-in-law of legendary coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, and he lined up for Team Russia at the 1995 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship in Sweden. In that tournament, Stanislav netted the game-winning goal for the Russians against Team Canada in the round-robin.
“My father has been my head coach my whole life,” Romanov says. “Now, to a lesser extent, because there’s a strict system in place and specialists that I need to listen to first. But in the past, he was my main coach: for all the camps, we trained together in the summer, in the gym, and always on the ice.”
“Of course, I grew up with a lot of support. No point in hiding it. I didn’t have to put in massive effort to make it. I had everything. But to be honest, a lot of guys – even the ones training now – have a lot, too. They just lack character in some areas, or they don’t have enough patience. Sometimes it’s, ‘Oh, forget about that 6:30 a.m. practice! Why bother going? What’s it going to give me? I’ll just get more tired,’” the defenseman explains.
One of Romanov’s biggest weapons is his skating. “My dad and I worked on skating constantly from a very young age. I’m grateful to him because not only does he know a lot about hockey, but he also approached my training very sensibly. The first thing a kid needs, in general, is skating. Without it, you won’t get anywhere. You could be clueless, you could be a stiff player, but if you can skate, if you can move, if you’ve got the edges – that’s it, you’ll play.”
Romanov is also known for some bone-crushing hits. But he doesn’t have it in his mind too much, apparently. “You’d have to be a pretty simple-minded player to have a role model for body checking. What kind of role model is that anyway?” he says. “The problem is, I might not even like doing body checks. I don’t need them at all. I want to play hockey, score goals – just like everyone else on the ice.”
But sometimes, there’s a moment where you don’t want to give in to someone: ‘Why is he skating into the middle to try and get around me? Has he lost his mind? This is my zone – my house, damn it. He’s come in with dirty feet, leaving a mess. What does he think he’s doing? If he tries to cut through the center – that’s it, goodbye.’ Well, relatively speaking. If you think about it this way, why should any player – whether it’s [Connor] McDavid or not – be skating freely around my zone? If I have a chance, I’ll hit him. End of story.”
About Patrick Roy
Other than for Lamoriello, Romanov had kind words for Patrick Roy, too. “He’s a winner, someone who has won everything in hockey: four Stanley Cups, countless Vezina Trophies – he’s collected every trophy possible,” Romanov says about his head coach. “And with that same deep understanding of hockey, he moved into coaching. He’s truly a relentless person. None of us like losing, but he really hates it. And he’s a very smart specialist. Some might say, ‘Oh, he’s just a goalie…’ But in this case, his understanding of the game is at such a high level that it doesn’t matter. He’s incredible. A legend! And a top-notch specialist who has a deep understanding of the game.”
“You can’t just call him a motivator. Our meetings last about 30 minutes – and it’s all tactics, everything has to be precise. Under him, the team follows strict game discipline – not in terms of ‘penalties or no penalties,’ but in the sense that everyone must be in their position. If one player receives the puck, the far winger has to sprint into the gap; if he doesn’t, he knows that’s it, he’s done, he’ll be benched. Beyond tough motivation, we have a rigid game system that must be followed – and Roy is really demanding about that.”
Romanov’s Approach to Getting Ready for Games
“There was a time when I was super hyped for games and would warm up almost three times before the game. I was just on fire. But now I’ve reevaluated my preparation, and instead of all that chaos before the game, I gather my thoughts and focus more on what I need to do on the ice, who I’m up against, and how I should play better. Like I said, my first season is a good example: I was just running around mindlessly, chasing players. Now my game is more intelligent. I play more by position, making sure my emotions don’t get the better of me. Sometimes it’s better to simply pass the puck.”
Romanov’s career has been going up, and this season he will be in his contract year. The defenseman will have to work hard, and things can only improve for him and the Islanders. And it does look like that working hard is not a problem for him.
