The Islanders have plenty of young talent on the cusp of helping the NHL roster.
Many of them hit the ice as the team kicked off its Rookie Camp on Friday morning, including 22-year-old defenseman Isaiah George.
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This will be George’s fifth time participating in camp with the club, but it presents, perhaps, his biggest opportunity to establish himself as a full time pro to this point.
The youngster has received cups of coffee with the team in each of the past two seasons, but he’s only appeared in a total of 37 NHL games over that span.
Injuries and some stubbornness from the old regime have been what’s held him back, even while the team searched for defensive help last season.
But that didn’t stop George from continuing to grind this offseason, and he’s earned himself nothing but praise from the organization heading into a big camp battle.
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“It’s a big confidence booster,” George said at Rookie Camp. “For them to have that belief in me to make this team — obviously I have that belief in myself already — but just to have that outside support is an added boost.”
With Matthew Schaefer and Cal Ritchie no longer participating in rookie camp, there’s no reason for George not to be among the biggest standouts of the group.
If he is, that’d certainly provide a nice little boost on his case for a regular role.
George likely has to knock veteran Scott Mayfield out of the rotation to earn a role, but head coach Pete DeBoer having no ties to the old depth chart should help his cause.
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DeBoer has been among those singing the youngster’s praises over the past few months.
“I’m excited to work with him, he’s done it the right way,” he said at Development Camp. “He came up as a prospect and has paid his dues — he played in some games, went back down again, but didn’t pout — now he’s knocking on the door to be a full-time NHLer for a long time.”
