New York Islanders prospect Calle Odelius said at the beginning of training camp that he would be heading back to Europe for the 2023-24 season. Now, there seems to be a chance he will stay in North America.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- New York Islanders prospect Calle Odelius is participating in his first training camp with the organization. 

The second-round pick in 2022 has a bright future, but his contract with Djurgadens IF of the Swedish Elite League made coming to North America not part of his plans until 2024-25. 

But a few weeks into camp, the 19-year-old defenseman hinted to The Hockey News that heading back to Europe wasn't 100 percent a done deal.

"Yeah, there is a chance I stay here," Odelius said. "I don't know yet."

While that certainly doesn't mean the mobile blueliner is staying here, like fellow European prospect Eetu Liukas, it certainly means things have changed as training camp has progressed. 

Odelius may not have stood out during rookie camp training camp or even in the first preseason game of his career, but that's not necessarily a negative.

He hasn't stood out for the wrong reasons, and Islanders head coach Lane Lambert liked what he saw from Odelius Monday night in New Jersey alongside NHL vet Scott Mayfield. 

"You know what, I thought he was pretty good, his mobility, his skating," Lambert said following the 6-5 loss. "There were times when, potentially, he could move the puck a little quicker, but you could say that about all our defensemen tonight.

"I was happy to see him play and happy with what I saw."

It was a dream come true for Odelius.

"It was so cool. I know it wasn't a real NHL game, but it was a dream come true," Odelius said. "I just enjoyed it so much. And it was so much fun".

In 16:44 minutes, Odelius recorded three blocks and three shot attempts, two getting blocked and another missing the net.

In transition, he made a few strong passes up the ice, which led to offensive zone entries. 

Being on Long Island for a few weeks, Odelius has enjoyed this experience. 

"It's been so fun, like getting to know the Islanders organization, getting to know all the prospects here. Like made so many friends already."

Any player that comes to North America from Europe has to get accustomed to the smaller ice surfaces, which impact all facets of the game.

In Europe, finesse and dekes are much more prevalent than physicality and board battles. While Odelius has the skating to use the bigger ice to his advantage, he believes his style actually fits better on this side of the pond.

"Coming from Europe, from Sweden, we played on bigger ice, so just to come here and get to experience playing on on a small rink and getting those tips and tricks from the players and the coaches," Odelius said. "I would say my game fits better here. Like you need to make quicker decisions, quicker reads, and that's one thing I kind of struggled a little bit [with] back in Sweden. 

"I felt like I had so much time with the puck side, so I didn't feel like I needed to get rid of the puck, so yeah, I think my playstyle fits better here because I need to play the puck quick, get up the ice and follow the offense."

THN asked Odelius which Islander he's leaned on the most for advice. 

"I've talked a lot to Dobson," Odelius said. "He's a really good guy."

Former Islander Johnny Boychuk has not missed a single day dating back to development camp and has left his mark on Odelius. 

"He's so good with all the prospects," Odelius said. "Like he's taking care of us so good. He's really been a big help this couple of weeks."

Odelius has been practicing with the AHL prospect squad since the Islanders made their last round of cuts on Sept 29. 

But there's still a chance, like we saw on Monday, that he gets to skate in one of the final two preseason games later this week.