Jonathan Drouin says why it didn’t work for CH

Many experts are anticipating a strong return from Jonathan Drouin, who found his great ally in junior hockey Nathan MacKinnon with the Colorado Avalanche, and even if he doesn’t hold a grudge against the Canadian, some aspects of him won’t miss Montreal.

The forward recently gave an interview to ESPN, and before playing his first game of the season against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, he looked back on his final years with the Habs. After taking a break from hockey to take care of his mental health in 2021, he identified a very specific obstacle that hurt his life overall.

“The two months in the bubble [à Toronto durant l’été 2020] You really bored me. Without this bubble, could I have been right and avoided quitting? I can’t say it, but during the year of the coronavirus in Montreal, we had rules to follow in Canada. We couldn’t leave our house except to walk our dog. “I had to walk my dog ​​six times a day to get out of the house.”

It is also difficult to ignore the great attention paid to the hockey players from La Belle Province who wear the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge uniform. “Until you experience that…no one is ready for that,” said Drouin, who played for the Canadiens from 2017-2023.

Solidarity agent

On this subject, the 28-year-old skater can count on an agent – Alan Walsh – who shares his opinion. The representative told ESPN that members of Sainte-Flanelle have to deal with the almost daily presence of “15 cameras and more than 30 media workers” in front of them.

“You want to understand that you are lucky to experience special circumstances. However, when life goes wrong, it affects you every day,” says Walsh. “There is no escape from hockey outside the rink. In a situation like this, players tend to lock themselves in their cocoon.” You order meals and don’t go to the supermarket. You don’t walk down the street, you don’t cross the park to breathe fresh air. You seem to avoid people and crowds. It becomes a life of isolation and it is not always the healthiest lifestyle.