WESTBURY, NY -- New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal is ready to go for training camp after his season-ending knee injury on Feb. 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

“I feel good. I feel like I’ve had a great summer," Barzal said.  "It forced me to be extremely focused this summer and put every drop of energy into getting back. I’m obviously a competitor. I don’t take anything for granted. So I want to get back to where I was pre-injury. I think I did a great job this summer of getting my strength back, mentally getting stronger. I feel good.”

“I feel like I got a mentality: when you have an injury like the one I did, you can go two ways with it mentally. You can kinda sulk in it, let it kinda own you. And it did early on. Watching it, it kills you at times, but then you flip a switch and you put everything into rehab and getting better. So it’s more so just a mental — it’s fully healed. It’s good to go. There’s no worries about that. Mentally, it’s just a matter of doing whatever it takes to get back to being the player I was.”

Barzal recorded 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 30 games last season but had 8- points (23 goals, 57 assists) in 80 games in 2023-24, his best numbers since his Calder-winning season (22 goals, 63 assists, 85 points). 

He's excited for training camp and to get back to playing after missing 52 games last season as he dealt with an upper-body injury early in the season, too. 

“I’ve been skating for a little while now. I kinda know what it’s like. I think it’s gonna be a good gauge," Barzal said. "I’m not even thinking about it, putting emphasis on it. As soon as I step on that ice, clear mind and work as hard as I can.”

Islanders Outlook: Mathew Barzal Profile & Projection The 2024-25 season was anything but easy for <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders" target="_blank">New York Islanders</a> forward <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-mathew-barzal-remaining-patient-during-rehab-process">Mathew Barzal</a>.

General manager Mathieu Darche and head coach Patrick Roy said that the plan is to move Barzal back to center after he spent the last two-plus seasons on Bo Horvat's wing. Roy said on Monday that Barzal will start with Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri.

"We’ve talked about it a little bit. I’m excited to play anywhere," Barzal said. "I love playing with Bo on the wing. I think me and Bo have great chemistry out there. Hopefully we can find ways to get us on the ice still cause I feel like we give our team a good chance of scoring. If that is the plan, I’m excited, I’m ready for it. A little more involved, maybe. I’ll play anywhere. At the end of the day, I love playing with Bo. We’ll see how it all shakes out.”

Barzal has enjoyed getting to know Darche. 

“It’s been great getting to know Darche," Barzal said. "He’s got a great personality. We’ve had some good, honest communication. That’s all you want out of someone like that. You want him to be honest with you. He comes from a  great culture down in Tampa Bay. I'm sure he’s gonna bring some of that to our group, he’s got a lot of great players. I’m sure he’ll be able to give me a few pointers and help me.”

Islanders training camp opens up on Thursday, Sept. 15.

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