Fresh faces and a new system under Pete DeBoer highlight a busy training camp as New York prepares for prospect showcases and a high-stakes preseason schedule.
The New York Islanders play hockey this month.
It's been an incredibly long summer, with Mathieu Darche's squad last playing a game on Apr. 14, a 2-1 loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
The offseason additions were slim -- that was expected -- with the organization saying goodbye to longtime captain Anders Lee, forward Maxim Shabanov, and backup goaltender David Rittich, bringing aboard forward Matias Maccelli and netminder Vitek Vanecek.
The Islanders also will be welcoming back forwards Kyle Palmieri and Pierre Engvall, defenseman Alexander Romanov, and backstop Semyon Varlamov from injury.
The biggest acquisition was the one Darche made with four games to go when he brought Pete DeBoer aboard. The longtime NHL head coach didn't have enough time left in the season to implement exactly what he wanted, but he has had the summer to do just that as we approach the start of training camp.
While we don't have specific dates just yet, the Islanders held their rookie camp on Sept. 11 last season, with training camp beginning on Sept. 18.
When it comes to rookie camp, just a few reminders:
No NCAA players will be in attendance, as they reported to school in early August. Also, No. 13 pick Matias Gustafsson isn't expected to be there, as his SHL season begins shortly.
For the first time, the Islanders will play in two prospect showcase games against the New Jersey Devils. The first game will be in New Jersey on Sept. 13 at 2 PM ET, and the second will be at Northwell Ice Center on Sept. 15 at 6 PM ET.
The Islanders' four preseason games consist of two against the Devils and two against the New York Rangers.
They'll kick things off in New Jersey against Devils at 1 PM ET on Sept. 20 followed by a game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 22 at 7 PM ET.
Then, their final two preseason games will be a back-to-back at UBS Arena, battling the Rangers at 7:30 PM ET on Sept. 25 before wrapping things up against the Devils on Sept. 26 at 7:30 PM ET.
The Islanders face the Toronto Maple Leafs north of the border on Sept. 30 for their season opener, a cool matchup as we are likely to see No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna make his NHL debut.
