• 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

Islanders’ Home Grown Talent Leading the Way Defensively

By Jon Zella March 19th, 2019

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Last season was interesting for the New York Islanders. The offense was clicking, scoring 261 goals, which tied them for sixth in the league with the Nashville Predators. The defense was, in a word, bad. They allowed 293 goals at an average rate of 3.57 per game. That’s the fourth-worst goals against and the sixth-worst per game average since the 2004-05 lockout.

This season, with Barry Trotz implementing a more structured defensive system, the Islanders have a league-best 171 goals against with 11 games remaining. What’s impressive is that Trotz has made this improvement (understatement of the year) with many of the same, young players from last season who have worked their way into the Islanders system.

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Defensive Prospect Development

Islanders fans who screamed and paid for billboards that said “Snow must go” year-after-year were rightfully annoyed. Outside of back-to-back 100-plus point seasons and one playoff round win, the Islanders could not put together consecutive successful seasons and let 2009 first-round pick John Tavares slip through their fingers.

But, let’s give credit where credit is due. For much of this season, four of the seven defensemen largely utilized by Trotz were former general manager Garth Snow draft picks.

Between 2011 and 2014, Snow drafted Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews, respectively. All four played well over 100 games in the American Hockey League for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers with only ‘cups of coffee’ with the Islanders, until recently. Mayfield and Pelech made their way into the lineup in the 2016-17 season, earning full-time jobs, with Pulock arriving the following season.

New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield

New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield (AP Photo/John Locher)

But the Islanders, and many who follow the team, knew they had burgeoning defenders in their system and chose to be patient. That composure has paid off so far this season and has been accelerated by the presence of structure and professionalism throughout the organization.

Coaching and Match ups

Jack Capuano and Doug Weight had no NHL head coaching experience when they were named bench boss for the Islanders. This isn’t out of the ordinary as many head coaches are recycled. New coaches with little-to-no experience have made an impact over the last few seasons as teams attempt to find an edge in an increasingly-competitive league.

For the Islanders, though, this experiment simply didn’t work. Even with a mix of young players and veterans, the team lacked the ability to shut down other teams.

Insert coach Trotz in what appears to be a serendipitous moment – the Islanders prospects hitting their stride in the NHL just as an experienced, accomplished, defensive-minded coach was stepping in behind the bench. While it wasn’t an instant success, Trotz made an impact very early in the season and it didn’t take long for other teams and members of the media to begin to notice.

Outside of the overall structure that’s helped the Islanders find success this season, what should be noted is how Trotz has utilized his defenders.

Johnny Boychuk and Thomas Greiss (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

In a recent article by The Athletics’s Tyler Dellow, he dove into all 31 teams’ defensive pairings and match-ups through early March. Dellow had this to say about the Islanders:

One of the curious things about the Islanders last year was that they didn’t really have a lot of definition in their defence pairs. That’s changed this year, with Ryan Pulock having become someone who Barry Trotz is using in a match up role. Also of note: Johnny Boychuk’s competition seems to have been taken down a notch. (from ‘Dellow: Matchup data for defencemen from all 31 teams to find out who has earned their coach’s trust,’ The Athletic, 03/11/19)

Other than Pulock, Thomas Hickey is the only defender whose times is split fairly evenly between first, second and bottom-six matchups. Additionally, Hickey, along with Pelech and Nick Leddy, are the only four defenders with more than 30 percent of their time on ice against teams’ top lines. This means that two of the Islanders’ top defensemen in terms of deployment are home-grown players.

New York Islanders bench Adam Pelech

New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech celebrates with teammates (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Overall, the results show that Trotz is being deliberate about matchups, which, by and large, has worked this season. It also shows that Trotz trusts his back end that, again, is made up a lot of young players who have bought into his system. Other than Toews, no Islander defenseman is playing very many sheltered minutes, whereas many other teams, like the Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs, have a very clear divide between their top two pairs and their bottom pair.

The bright Islanders future appears to be led by a solid core of home-grown talent on the back end that has gained the trust of their coach. Can they continue this success in this season’s playoffs? We won’t have to wait much longer to find out.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
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

Jan 23rd 1:40 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL Rumors: Oilers, Canucks, & Truth Behind Jets and Blue Jackets Trade

Jan 23rd 1:30 PM
Vancouver Canucks

Green Says Canucks Have Looked ‘a Little Immature at Times’ [Video]

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