• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
New York Islanders

3 Takeaways From Islanders First Day of Training Camp

By James Nichols January 5th, 2021

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Head coach Barry Trotz and Co. opened up training camp on Monday morning with two groups of skaters taking the ice.

Of those skaters, we all know New York Islanders’ star center Mat Barzal was not on the ice as he and general manager Lou Lamoriello continue to hammer out a contract. As for the rest of the roster, it remains mostly unchanged, with a dash of a few young faces, however, minus two on the blue line.

Kids Make an Impact

Skating with the first group, Oliver Wahlstrom reported for duty after being recalled from loan overseas with AIK of the Allsvenskan league. The 20-year-old sniper tallied eight points (4G, 4A) in 10 games skating in Sweden’s second-highest professional league.

Oliver Wahlstrom just made a nice defensive play, stretching his stick out to deflect the puck into the stands and break up a potential scoring chance during a defensive-zone drill. Showing strong D will be key for his chances.

— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) January 4, 2021

A third-line spot is up for grabs on J.G. Pageau’s wing, and a continued strong effort from Wahlstrom could help him claim that spot by the end of training camp.

“I’m not really concerned about the goals,” Trotz said on Monday afternoon when asked about the potential inclusion of top prospect Oliver Wahlstrom in the starting lineup. “I’m more concerned about the wins. As you find in the playoffs, it’s harder to score goals…if you look at the teams that went to the final four last year, they were probably in the top five of defensive teams.”

Ilya Sorokin headed out to the ice with the Islanders second group and new veteran goaltender Cory Schneider.

Sorokin had been with the team for the entirety of the NHL playoffs, so this wasn’t the first time he skated with the team. Currently, he’s been on Long Island for about a month and a half now, training for the upcoming season and working on his English.

Semyon Varlamov chimed in on his transition from the KHL to the NHL when asked about Sorokin’s transition:

“There’s definitely more traffic in front of the net for NHL goalies,’’ Varlamov said. “I remember, in 2012 when I played in the KHL during the lockout, I had no problems during the game, to (be) able to find the puck. And then we finished KHL season and came back… it was very difficult for me, to play the game again here, because, it’s really hard to find a puck (through traffic) in this league.’’ (from ‘Islanders rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin must adjust to NHL style of play, Barry Trotz says,’ Newsday, 01/03/2021).

Dmytro Timashov remains a restricted free agent. However, he was out on the ice for day one, as the Islanders still own his rights. Lamoriello acquired the 24-year-old winger from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations on Dec. 11th, 2020.

#Isles Barry Trotz on Dmytro Timashov:

"He did a real good job. He’s a real solid player. What stands out about him, he’s got a really good skill level. He’s not physically a tall player but he’s a physically strong player…

— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) January 4, 2021

Bode Wilde was also invited to the first day of training camp and made a good impression on Trotz.

Trotz adds that Bode Wilde has impressed and will be in the mix for 7/8/9 roles alongside Aho, Hutton, Bolduc, Wotherspoon. #Isles https://t.co/M0tqMcSRwn

— Joe Pantorno (@JoePantorno) January 4, 2021

After having his season cut short twice in 2019-20 due to injury and then the pandemic, Wilde’s impression is a great development for a thin Islanders prospect pool.

Well Conditioned

With the shortened training camp and no exhibition games before puck drop on Jan. 14th, Trotz is going to have to figure out his forward groups quickly.

However, Trotz doesn’t appear eager to do so within the next few days, as he has other plans.

“We’re going to go three days working on fundamentals, I wouldn’t read too much into the lines right now,” Trotz admitted. “You have to have a really good foundation right now. There isn’t going to be a lot of practice time…you’re probably going to have four or five games in a week [during the season]. Rest is going to be a bit of a weapon this year.”

#Isles Barry Trotz: "I have not gotten over the loss to the Lightning."

— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) January 3, 2021

Coming up two wins short of a Stanley Cup Final berth, Trotz believes the Islanders have an advantage coming into the 2020-21 season with mostly the same group. First and foremost, he is going to make sure his team is well-conditioned.

“Today was more about our lungs and our legs than it was about making plays,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “Right now, we’re all genuinely looking forward to getting things going again. When you have a run like [last season’s], it’s always disappointing to have it end. The step we took was also inspiring in a way, too, and extremely motivational. It’s a combination of us working toward that final step and at the same time, building off the end of last year.”

After their first day on the ice, the head coach expressed his pleasure with the state of the team’s conditioning.

#Isles Barry Trotz says he does not have any issues with any of his players conditioning. Says the group is spot on with the work they've done to prepare.

— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) January 4, 2021

Defense Pairs

Whereas we won’t take stock in the forward line combinations just yet, Trotz did confirm the top-6 defensive pairings, and it’s pretty much what you expected.

#Isles Barry Trotz confirms what we suspected about D pairs to start: Leddy-Mayfield, Pelech-Pulock, Greene-Dobson.

— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) January 4, 2021

Back in October, Lamoriello made a deal with Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic that sent Devon Toews to the Avs for two second-round draft picks. A little over a month later, Johnny Boychuk announced his “retirement” from hockey, a forced life decision after his eye injury in the 2019-20 season.

When the team returned to head into the bubble, they cleared Boychuk to return as well. However, newly acquired Andy Greene played his way into the lineup, and Boychuk watched from the press box for most of the playoffs.

Now, Greene has returned to the Islanders for the 2020-21 season (although the terms of his contract are still unknown) and is paired with young Noah Dobson.

Lamoriello gave Dobson the vow of confidence after trading Toews to Colorado. “We would not have made this move certainly if the ice time that Devon received, we didn’t have the ability to put a player into that, and Noah Dobson will certainly, we feel is ready to take the next step,” said Lamoriello. “We’ll have to just wait and see.” 

Noah Dobson New York Islanders
Noah Dobson, New York Islanders (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Nick Leddy will pair up with Scott Mayfield with long-time partner Boychuk out of the equation. Adam Pelech, who has confirmed he’s 100% healthy, and Ryan Pulock remain the Islanders’ top-pairing defensemen.

As for a seventh defenseman and the taxi squad, Sebastian Aho, Grant Hutton, Thomas Hickey, Sam Bolduc, Parker Wotherspoon, and Wilde all remain in the mix.

After the first day of training camp, the Islanders are happy to be back and eager to build off their success from the bubble. The expectations are high within the locker room for the close-knit group.

“Tremendous credit to all our guys,” said Trotz. “I feel like we’re going to be in a good place.”

Want more Islanders content? Check out the Nassaumen Hockey Podcast, hosted by The Hockey Writers authors James Nichols and Jon Zella. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!


Sign up for our regular 'Islanders Newsletter' for all the latest.

  • Tags
  • Barry Trotz
  • Ilya Sorokin
  • Lou Lamoriello
  • Semyon Varlamov
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 23rd 8:00 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets Thrilled To Bring Laine, Roslovic On Board

Jan 23rd 6:58 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens’ Price Still Has Room to Improve Early in 2020-21

Jan 23rd 4:05 PM
All-Star Weekend

25 Years Later: The FoxTrax Glowing Puck Makes Its Debut

Jan 23rd 3:50 PM
Boston Bruins

Bruins Should Play Grzelcyk With McAvoy

Jan 23rd 3:23 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Are Being Too Patient With the Puck

Jan 23rd 2:20 PM
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins’ Pierre-Oliver Joseph Shines in NHL Debut

Jan 23rd 2:10 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Ducks Prospects: Lacombe, McLaughlin, Sundsvik & More

Jan 23rd 2:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Prospects News & Rumors: Clarke, Byram & Cozens

Jan 23rd 2:00 PM
New York Islanders

Islanders’ Kieffer Bellows Adapting to New Role

Jan 23rd 1:50 PM
Calgary Flames

Flames’ Monahan Vying to Be Best Center in North Division

Editor’s Picks
2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information