Islanders Give Matt Carkner, 2 Others PTO

The New York Islanders have extended professional tryout contracts (PTOs) to three players, who will attend Islanders camp to vie for a roster spot. Among them is soon-to-be 35-year-old defenseman Matt Carkner who played 53 games for the Isles in 2013-14 and has already signed a contract with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Also grabbing PTOs are 25-year-old forward Tyler Barnes and 24-year-old goaltender Parker Milner.

Barnes grabbed two games with the Grand Rapids Griffins during his first professional season last year, following a four-year career with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. Last year, he primarily found himself suiting up for the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL, where the Minnesota-native thrived, scoring 34 goals and 40 assists through 71 games.

Milner spent last season predominantly with the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL, with a couple short call-ups to the Iowa Wild in the AHL, affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, though he only got into a single game with Iowa. The BC-alum played 43 games for the Mallards posting an impressive .920 save percentage.

#Isles announce professional tryout contracts for defenseman Matt Carkner, forward Tyler Barnes and goaltender Parker Milner.

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) August 24, 2015
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Carkner, in particular, is in a weird position, because the Isles haven’t gotten deeper on defense — in fact they’ve subtracted prospect Griffin Reinhart and veteran Lubomir Visnovsky is a free agent — but they gave him an AHL contract and a tryout for the NHL squad.

Lots of familiar names are taking PTOs this season. Keep up with all the tryout contracts with The Hockey Writers’ 2015 PTO Tracker.