When the New York Islanders lost Anders Lee earlier this season, they lost their biggest leader on and off the ice. Since then they’ve been working to fill that gap.
Islanders head coach Barry Trotz called on his team to collectively step up to the plate after Lee first went down, and he has gotten what he asked for from several of the team’s vets. One of those being Brock Nelson.
Nelson is part of a core group of islanders that have spent their entire careers with the organization and developed into mainstays with the team. So it shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise when the Islanders awarded the extra “A” to Nelson after their captain went down with a season-ending injury.
“It’s special for sure. We have a number of guys who have been around for a while,” Nelson said ahead of Saturday’s tilt with the Philadelphia Flyers. “You look at a guy like (Nick Leddy) who won a cup. It could easily be on him as well and guys that have been here a long time. … For the time being it’s pretty cool to have it.”
