EXCLUSIVE: One Year Later, Mat Barzal Talks About Going From Center To Wing

New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal spoke with our Stefen Rosner a year after changing from center to wing about how he's adjusted.

New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal is having some season. 

The 26-year-old has 17 goals and 42 assists for 59 points in 54 games and is on pace for 88.5 points, which would be a new career-high, surpassing his 85-point Calder trophy-winning season. 

It's been impressive to see Barzal trusting his shot more than ever, which has turned him into an elite threat alongside Bo Horvat. 

After potting a goal and earning an assist in the Islanders' 5-4 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, Barzal has points in eight straight games with five goals and six assists. 

This tremendous season is one that deserves even more recognition because it's Barzal's first season ever that he's playing on the wing. 

Following the acquisition of centerman Bo Horvat last All-Star break, Barzal moved from center to wing to accommodate the new weapon, and it's been a match made in heaven.

Unfortunately for Barzal, his first stint on the wing lasted all of six games after falling victim to a lower-body injury on Feb. 18 of last year, which forced him out of the lineup for the remainder of the regular season. 

His inability to get into games before the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs certainly limited his ability to get more accustomed to the new position but being healthy this season has allowed him to flourish on the right side of Horvat. 

A little over a year after the trade, The Hockey News caught up with Barzal to discuss the positional change and how he's grown in his new spot. 

"Yeah, I'm getting more comfortable," Barzal said. "I'd say, like, offensively, I feel fine, but defensively, a little bit, I'm still just finding my routes and my spots on the ice, so that's really the only thing I'm still a little bit rusty with. That takes time."

It didn't take long for Barzal to buy into the positioning change.

"Well, I mean, as soon as Bo came in and they told me I was going to the wing, I was all aboard," Barzal said. "I feel like I've had a good grip on it right from the start, like I've been committed to being a winger, and with Bo here, obviously, we share a little bit of the duty in the middle of the ice, but my commitment is to the wing and just whatever is best for the team to win." 

Barzal's positional change didn't force him to change up his offseason routine. 

"No, not really," Barzal said on if he added new drills. "At the end of the day, you look at Kucherov. You look at Kane. Even though they are on the wing, they have the puck the most.

"I'm still trying to find my ways about having the puck a lot because I want the puck, and it's just about finding different ways to get the puck."

Early in the season, Barzal had spoken about how he felt more comfortable at the left-wing position because it allowed him to cross over the opponent's blue line on his backhand, which gave him more of an opportunity to get around defensemen and cut toward the goal on his forehand. 

But, with Anders Lee being the guy on the left of Horvat after Simon Holmstrom didn't pan out as the top-line right winger, Barzal has had to stay on the right side. 

"It is what it is," Barzal said. "I can play both sides. I think both sides present different things. I'm just doing what's asked of me and what's best for the team."

Barzal hadn't asked his winger teammates too many questions, using a different avenue to learn. 

"Just watched a lot of video," Barzal said. "Watching Kane and Kucherov, those guys, to see just how they get the puck and what routes they take."

Despite Islanders new head coach Patrick Roy being one of the best goaltenders the NHL has ever seen, Barzal said he's learned a lot about what he can do better on the wing from him in their short time together thus far.

"He gives me tips all the time,' Barzal said. "We've got a very communicative relationship, and he tries to help me and everyone."

After talking with Barzal, THN asked Roy what he'd seen from Barzal on the wing, knowing that this was his first season as a full-time winger. 

"It's an adaptation for him, going from center to wing, but he's been so receptive," Roy said. "And for a coach, that means a lot. 

"Barzal cares about the team, and he wants to see this team win."