Day one of New York Islanders training camp was spent off the ice, going through physicals and making the media rounds. The team’s first day of on-ice work won’t begin until Monday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.
The biggest story of the day was the absence of Mathew Barzal. His teammates remained confident that Barzal would be there soon though.
Aside from that, there is plenty of things going on around the Islanders as camp opened. They have a goaltending situation that has the eyes of the entire fan base on it, the return of several players from serious injuries and roster spots to fill.
The Islanders also have to contend with the loss of two players on the blue line.
On the positive end, the Islanders appeared hungrier than ever after their first trip to the conference finals since 1993. To put that in perspective, there was a group of Islanders fans at Republic Airport in September that hadn’t even been born yet the last time that occurred.
A changing blue line
When the Islanders traded Devon Toews and Johnny Boychuk closed the book on his NHL career, it shifted the team’s defense. Noah Dobson will obviously be in a new role come the start of the new season, but it also impacted some of the Islanders’ other defenders.
Nick Leddy for instance, will likely, receive added responsibilities with Boychuk and Toews gone. He’ll even have a new D partner as well.
“It will be different right off the bat,” Leddy said during a Zoom call Sunday. “Our team, we’ve had injuries throughout the season and I think we’ve all played with just about everyone. It’s nothing that we all haven’t dealt with before, especially me. I think the biggest thing is just communicating and taking it out, whether you’re on the ice during a shift or between periods.”
One thing that NYI Hockey Now asked several defensemen during the calls was whether or not Toews’ and Boychuk’s departure changes anything about their game. Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield both indicated it didn’t
However, Mayfield said that it opened the door for more opportunities in different areas.
“I always know what I need to do. What I need to focus on to contribute to the team and help them win,” Mayfield said. “At the same time, especially with Johnny out, whether it’s (penalty kill time) or a physical presence back there. A little more stay at home physical shutdown defenseman. That’s a hole that I think I can help out fill a little bit more.
“I don’t think it changes what I need to do necessarily, but I think there is more opportunity that I can take advantage of now.”
Sorokin, Sorokin, Sorokin
Did we mention in the days leading up to camp how much attention will be on the Islanders’ goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin? If not, then there is going to be a lot of it.
Sorokin arrived to New York early and has been working with some of the guys already, including fellow Russian netminder Semyon Varlamov. The 32-year-old has been in Sorokin’s shoes when it comes to having to adjust from the larger rinks used overseas to the smaller North American rinks, as well as the difference in style of play.
“I think the biggest difference between these two leagues, the KHL and the NHL, there’s definitely more traffic in front of the net for NHL goalies,” Varlamov said. “I can tell that I remember in 2012 when I played in the KHL during the lockout I had no problems during the game to find the puck. … I remember how big the difference was coming back from the KHL to the NHL again. I started playing all these games here and it was very difficult for me to play the game here.”
So far, Sorokin’s new teammates have been impressed with what they’ve seen from the new goaltender.
“First impressions are just how quick he is,” Eberle said. “His athletic ability. The way that he gets across, even just a backdoor pass. A lot of the skates we’ve been doing we’re playing a lot of mini-games and there seems to be a lot of odd-man rushes and opportunities. He’s making a lot of big saves, quick saves that you don’t see a lot of goalies make.”
Goaltending
The one thing the Islanders won’t have to a lot of this season is traveling far. The Islanders Division is essentially the Northeast corridor, which means trips won’t be longer than a few hours.
What that means is Trotz will be able to deploy the same goaltender on various occasions, including back-to-back games.
“I think it’s going to be schedule based,” Trotz said on Sunday. “Obviously I have a bigger history of, say, Varley, than I would with a Sorokin. Ilya came in the bubble, which I think was the best thing for him and the best thing for him and the best thing for me too. I have a lot of trust in both of them, but I think it’s going to be schedule based.”
He added: “The great thing about having minimal travel is that we’re probably playing the same team a lot. We’re playing the (New York) Rangers right off the bat twice. Probably not going anywhere, so you can go more back-to-back with those guys with a day in between.”
