EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Patrick Roy wasted no time in his first training camp as Islanders coach. The first drill on Thursday morning was run by the Isles’ presumptive top line for 2024-25, with Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal flanking Bo Horvat.
“He’s just a crispy hockey player,” Barzal said of Duclair, who signed a four-year contract worth $3.5 million per on July 1. “I’m pumped. He’s high skill, good skater … He’s just crispy. I want to get my chemistry going with him and see where it goes.”
Duclair was the only player among the 57 that took the ice on Thursday who knows what a Roy training camp looks and feels like, since he went through three of them as a teenager playing for the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL. That was a long time ago for Duclair and Roy, but there were certainly some familiar moments.
“I knew coming in it was going to be intense,” Duclair said. “It’s definitely a tough one. But at the same time you enjoy the grind, because it helps you prepare for a long season.”
Barzal got back to the 80-point plateau last season for the first time since his Calder Trophy-winning 2017-18 season, showing he can produce at a high level while also playing Islander-style hockey. His linemates that year were Jordan Eberle and either Anthony Beauvillier or Andrew Ladd; it’s not exactly a slight on anyone to say Barzal has the two most skilled linemates he’s ever had heading into this season.
“Other than when Leo (Komarov) was on my line, sure,” Barzal joked.
Barry Trotz asked Barzal to build his complete game starting in 2018-19 and the sacrifice was individual numbers. Barzal traded points for wins and the result was three multi-round postseasons. Lane Lambert tried to put Barzal in a spot to score and contribute in other ways, something Roy harps on as well. Roy and Barzal didn’t talk much before camp began but the emphasis was on playing the same way Barzal did down the stretch of last season.
“He just harped on the last 15 games or so and that’s where we want to pick up,” Barzal said.
As for point totals, Barzal’s not setting a bar. “The puck found its way in for me a little more last year,” he said. “That goes with having Bo and playing a little more offensive style. But I feel like the chances were always there in years before. I had an emphasis on takeaways last year, get better at that, and I did and that helped generate some offense. I’m 27 years old now, there’s seven years left on this contract and it’s time to step into seven really good years here.”
Sorokin absent, no timetable given
Roy didn’t let anything slip Thursday about Ilya Sorokin not being on the ice for the first day of camp. The coach did let slip on Monday that Sorokin had back surgery at some point during the offseason; Lou Lamoriello said last week Sorokin had an injury during offseason training that might cause him to miss a day or two of camp.
Back surgery certainly sounds more long-term when it comes to recovery and readiness to play so it wasn’t a surprise the Isles’ top goaltender was absent from the first day. And Roy is not giving any specifics about when Sorokin might return.
“We’re going to go step by step and see how he feels,” Roy said. “I’m sure he’ll be there eventually.”
One forward line holds over from last season: Lee-Pageau-Engvall
One of the stronger lines in the five-game first-round loss to the Hurricanes was the Anders Lee-J.G. Pageau-Pierre Engvall third line and it returned intact on Day 1 of camp.
Roy will surely be mixing and matching as the preseason goes along but that Pageau line seems like a real possibility to start the season together. All three had serious ups and downs last season and finding them a consistent home could bring out a bit more in each.
“I think our line had a great playoff so it makes total sense to pick up on it now and go from there,” Lee said. “We played some pretty good hockey together.”
Lee played the majority of 2023-24 with Horvat and Barzal but then shifted gears to match up with Pageau and a rotating cast of wingers before Roy settled on Engvall late in the season. That lack of consistency certainly hurt Pageau, and Lee — who had more points (four) in the playoff series than he did in the first 17 games of the regular season — could certainly use a more defined role entering this year that emphasizes his skill set now that he’s more likely to be a bottom-six winger at five-on-five.
“We had that rotating guy on our line (with Pageau) and that’s tough to get in a rhythm,” Lee said. “Once we found it (with Engvall), everything felt normal. We have an opportunity as a third line to be very effective.”
Chance for Simon Holmström
The left-wing spot alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri went to Holmström on Thursday. The 23-year-old, who scored 15 goals in his second full NHL season, has the size and speed to keep up on a projected second line but his defensive skill might be better suited to a bottom-six role. Roy threw the doors open on winning that top-six job after Thursday’s first day.
“I want them to force my hand,” Roy said of Holmström and Oliver Wahlstrom, the latter of whom needs a strong camp to simply earn a roster spot. “Simon came in in great shape, had really good testing. I want to see him forcing me to play him with Nelson and Palmieri, playing a larger role. That’s what you want.”
Maxim Tsyplakov, another newcomer who has a shot to earn that 2LW spot, skated on Thursday with Casey Cizikas and Julien Gauthier. Wahlstrom was with presumptive fourth-liner Kyle MacLean and Liam Foudy.
Stray observations
• There appears to be very little mystery on defense. The six defensemen who are basically locks were divided into three presumed pairs: Alexander Romanov–Noah Dobson, Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock and Mike Reilly-Scott Mayfield. Roy said these may change but it’s hard to envision anyone performing well enough to knock these six off their spots.
• Tsyplakov got his first taste of skating with NHLers after a week of participating in rookie camp. “Maybe a little more skating,” he said. Tsyplakov’s stall at the Isles practice facility is between Pageau’s and Barzal’s, so aside from a bit of a language barrier, the 26-year-old will get a chance to ask some questions of two seasoned vets.
• Cal Clutterbuck’s old stall, between Lee’s and Cizikas’, sat empty. With 61 players in camp, you don’t normally see empty stalls but that’s a show of respect for an Islanders locker-room and fan favorite. Clutterbuck did not go to camp with any other team and is contemplating retirement, though nothing is official as of now.
• Matt Martin, in camp on a tryout, skated with Fredrik Karlström and Hudson Fasching on Thursday. Tryouts usually have a lot to prove, but everyone around the organization knows what Martin can do.
“He’s got nothing to prove to me,” Roy said. “He’s an Islander. He’s proud of this organization … (Whether he makes the team) is more a Lou (Lamoriello) matter than my matter.”
(Photo of Mathew Barzal: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
