Oliver Wahlstrom will get a chance Saturday to show Patrick Roy that he belongs in the lineup.
Oliver Wahlstrom will get a chance Saturday to show Patrick Roy that he belongs in the lineup.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy will get his first in-game look at forward Oliver Wahlstrom Saturday night against the Florida Panthers.
Wahlstrom, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury last December, has two goals and three assists in his 22 games, averaging 11:07 minutes of ice time per game.
The 23-year-old will slot in alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom in place of Julien Gauthier.
Before his injury, Wahlstrom was finally grasping the 200-foot game and the structure, something that kept him from seeing minutes under Barry Trotz.
Now, with Roy here, structure is incredibly important, and you only get one chance to make a good first impression.
For Roy, before putting Wahlstrom into the lineup, he wanted to make sure that he understood everything.
"I had the meeting with him before the skate," Roy said. "He came in, and I asked him if he was comfortable."
Wahlstrom hasn't played since the Islanders' 4-2 loss in Winnipeg, coming in for then-injured forward Pierre Engvall. Prior to that, Wahlstrom had played just twice since Dec. 27, a 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice.
"First of all, I was very happy with his attitude and making sure that he stayed focused and worked hard," Roy said. "When he went into meetings, we wanted to make sure he understood everything. So it was important for me this morning to explain to him, 'Do you understand everything in here? Are there some things that are not clear to you?'".
Throughout the morning skate, Wahlstrom was asking Roy questions between drills.
"It's hard for a guy that's been out of the lineup," Roy said. "And when he comes back in, you want to make sure that 'okay, is there something you don't understand?' Is there something I can help you to understand?'. If it's not me, it could be MacLean, Houda, or the video guys. So, I really want to make sure that when the player comes in the lineup, he feels good. All he has to worry about is playing the game."
All Roy knows of Wahlstrom's game, outside of watching on television, has been what he's seen in practice.
But a game is nothing like shooting around and running drills. It's the real deal and Wahlstrom hasn't been at his best this season when the puck has been dropped.
"I saw a lot of good practice players. I see the player on the ice. I know Wahlstrom has beautiful hands. He makes moves. I see everything," Roy said. "Now I want to know. Because the game is not just about skills now. There's players that are high-skilled guys, but they just can't play in the structure. Now, unfortunately, you need to be a good mix.
"A guy needs to be able to perform in the structure but also capable of doing it individually. The game is so fast. Everybody has video, everybody studies everybody. Everybody has their own way of playing against whoever. And so if a player cannot play within your structure, that makes it very tough."
Understanding structure has been a major obstacle for Wahlstrom over his now five-year career, and he'll only get playing time under Roy if he can not just understand it but also execute it.
Roy made the decision to take Gauthier out for Wahlstrom with just one game before the NHL All-Star break.
Saturday could be Wahlstrom's only chance to win a bigger role in the lineup.