Anders Lee Jam Kancer EAST MEADOW, NY -- If there's one player who just figured it out in the second half of the 2022-23 season, it's New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/new-york-islanders-training-camp-mailbag-stefen-rosner]defenseman Alexander Romanov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/noah-dobson-alexander-romanov-lou-lamoriello-nhl-offensive-defenseman-stefen-rosner]. After struggling to adapt to the system alongside Noah Dobson [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/noah-dobson-new-york-islanders-defenseman-stan-fischler], being paired with veteran Ryan Pulock [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/ryan-pulock-kyle-palmieri-new-york-iislanders-playoffs-game-3] changed everything. You could see the confidence rise in his game in all facets, and if the Islanders could get into the playoffs, his physicality should pay off in New York's favor. However, when it was time for playoff hockey, Romanov was not. READ MORE: Buckle Up For Training Camp [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/new-york-islanders-training-camp-mailbag-stefen-rosner] An injury on Apr. 1 down in Tampa, after Cory Perry wrestled Romanov to the ground, twisting his shoulder, forced him to miss the final six games of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs. Clearly, Romanov was playing nowhere near 100 percent, which impacted his ability to bring that physicality at a consistent rate. Following the Islanders' elimination, Romanov had his shoulder operated on. The initial report, per general manager Lou Lamoriello [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/news/new-york-islanders-lou-lamoriello-josh-bailey-nhl-draft-2023], was that Romanov would be back for training camp. When we spoke to Lamoriello before rookie camp began, there were doubts about Romanov's availability. "It'll be close," Lamoriello said. "If he's not (ready for the start of camp), it'll be close. He's skating. He's doing everything. We will be as cautious as we possibly can. If it was up to him, he'd play with two broken legs." Romanov did hit the ice with his teammates to start camp. He skated with Dennis Cholowski to start, so don't pay too much attention to the pairings. "Everything's fine," Romanov said following the skate. "Just day-to-day decision. So I probably will start because everything's going good, and I think I'm ready to play." The rehab process was not easy. "Tough rehab. I spend almost all summer here," Romanov said. "So yeah, it's just not good times. Not so fun." "It's my hard work and the hard work of our trainers [that got me ready]. So yeah, we did it."
