New York Islanders: Training camp roster announced

New York Islanders
Jan 5, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; New York Islanders left wing Matt Martin (17) is congratulated by right wing Cal Clutterbuck (15) and center Casey Cizikas (53) after scoring during the second period against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

New York Islanders‘ training camp officially hit the ice this morning. And just before the team hit the ice, general manager Lou Lamoriello released the official training camp roster. There were 34 skaters and 4 goalies on this roster, and it managed to answer so many questions. Without any further stalling or build-up, who made it to the 2021 Islanders’ training camp?

Forwards

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. Mat Barzal is on the training camp roster, but he did not take the ice today. This means Barzal has taken a physical and can get on the ice the second he signs his next contract. Another surprise was forward, Tom Kuhnhackl. This offseason, it looked as if Kuhnhackl was forgotten, but I guess Lamoriello had another trick up his sleeve. Kuhnhackl also didn’t take the ice today, it’s either he doesn’t have a contract yet, or because of his shoulder. Dmytro Timashov was on the ice, and that means he did receive an official contract, so that’s one less person to sign. Also, Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom made a few good defensive plays today. Finally, Josh Ho-Sang has still not been invited to camp, and his time with the Islanders has gotten even more toxic than my last relationship.

Defense

The Islanders invited 12 defensemen to training camp, and only half of them will be playing on opening night. Honestly, I don’t see a single top 6 spot up for grabs right now. There are 6 defensemen competing to be the next man up if an injury occurs. This is the case unless Andy Greene just totally forgets what Hockey is. I think either Sebastian Aho or Grant Hutton will receive the honor of being called the 7th defenseman.

Goalies

Four goalies received an invite to Islanders’ training camp this year. Take a guess who got invited. Obviously, Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin would get an invite. And there literally is no one else behind them other than Corey Schneider and Jakub Skarek. No shockers here. This is the full training camp roster. The Isles are in for another successful season if they can develop their young guns properly.