What Does the Future Hold for New York Islanders Defenseman Robin Salo? (+)

With Ryan Pulock returning to practice this past Thursday, there should be some hope that his return to the New York Islanders lineup will come sooner than later. What does Pulock’s eventual return to the lineup mean for 23-year old defenseman Robin Salo?

Salo has played in 17 games this season for New York and has shown a skillset that the Islanders backend desperately needs—and that’s speed. His skating ability has been a strength, as well as his ability to stop on a dime.

That last part led to his second career NHL assist on Casey Cizikas’ goal against the Philadelphia Flyers back on Jan 17.

He has filled in as the quarterback of the Islanders second power-play, which shows the faith Trotz already has in his young defenseman.

We have seen accuracy with his shots, as on 181 attempts on the season, only five have missed the net.

Salo’s first NHL goal was a missle from the high slot, which came just a day after that second career assist.

Salo has only averaged 1.3 shots per game so far, but it’s evident he knows what he is doing with the puck on his stick.

Unlike the situation that had evolved with forward Kyle Palmieri, as he seemed ready to come back, there was no spot for him in the lineup until Thursday. Ryan Pulock will be back in the lineup as soon as his health allows him to be.

Now where in the lineup, that answer is not entirely clear.

With the way Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield have played together, separating the two is not a given outcome. And with the way Zdeno Chara has helped Noah Dobson grow exponentially in year three, separating those two may not be in the Islanders’ best interest right now.

All eyes, or at least mine, are on the Islanders third defensive pairing of Robin Salo and Andy Greene.

That pairing has allowed 54 scoring chances in 13 games together (4.15 SC/GP), 20 of them being considered high-danger. Salo and Greene have been on the ice for four goals against and three goals for.

Either player could come out for Pulock.

Salo plays the left side while Greene could play either, with Pulock being a right-side defenseman.

With how cautious the Islanders have been throughout Pulock’s rehab, giving him lesser minutes to get readjusted to the speed of the NHL game is not a terrible idea.

Now head coach Barry Trotz did say that with the strenuous schedule coming up after the All-Star break, he would find time to rest 44-year old Chara and 39-year old Greene if they needed it. So there’s a good chance that we see movement on the backend, here and there, especially on their remaining 10 back-to-back situations, following the All-Star break.

We could end up seeing plenty of maneuvering on the backend, with Pulock’s play having a significant role in the decision-making.

Even if Robin Salo is the odd-man-out, at least to start, a trip to Bridgeport does not make much sense. Yes, he could go down there and play top minutes every night under Brent Thompson, but how would that help his development?

As I stated in a previous article about Salo’s growth, he will learn a lot more remaining up with the Islanders.