DETROIT — When the Islanders were in Las Vegas last week, coach Patrick Roy took a short drive down I-15 for a long-awaited meeting.
He’d wanted to meet Raiders coach Pete Carroll since the offseason, when he started listening to the “Finding Mastery” podcast, hosted by Dr. Michael Gervais, a well-known performance psychologist. Carroll has been a guest on the podcast a number of times, and worked closely with Gervais over the years, including having him on staff for nine seasons with the Seahawks. Carroll’s episodes with Gervais caught his ear.
Not only did Roy hire Gervais to work with him personally — Islanders director of communications Kimber Auerbach reached out to Gervais on Roy’s behalf, and they now meet twice a month over FaceTime — but he used that connection, along with Isles GM Mathieu Darche’s friendship with Raiders GM John Spytek, to help get a meeting with Carroll.
“That was the first time I had a chance to meet someone [who coaches another sport],” Roy told The Post before the Islanders faced the Red Wings Thursday. “And that’s what I said to him. I did ask a few questions: How he approached the games, what’s his game plan, what’s his philosophy? It’s about competing and stuff: What’s his vision? He was really open-minded.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
