The New York Islanders will open their preseason tonight, facing off against the New York Rangers.
While the Islanders’ roster is mostly untouched from last year, apart from the departures of really only Josh Bailey and Zach Parise, there are some minor battles that we’ll see play out for spots in the lineup.
Obviously, the Islanders are set in goal. Then on the blue line, five of the six spots will be occupied by full-time, NHL defensemen, with Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov on the left side, and Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson and Scott Mayfield on the right side.
However, the one blue line battle will be for the final left-side spot. Sebastian Aho finally emerged as an every day NHLer last season, and did post good offensive numbers, with 23 points in 71 games. But also looking for a spot will be Samuel Bolduc.
Bolduc got into 17 regular season games with the Islanders last season, plus two playoff games. While Aho is a possibility to keep the spot on the left side, Bolduc is now no longer waiver-eligible. As a result, we can expect him to at least earn a spot as the team’s seventh defender and push for playing time. If Bolduc can outplay Aho in the preseason, there’s a real chance he could take over the lineup spot on opening night.
We could still see Robin Salo possibly battle for the role as well, but with the priority likely on getting Bolduc onto the roster, Salo’s time to make a run at an NHL job may have come and gone.
The other question will be who gets spots within the forward group. We can expect the Islanders to run back a top line of Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. Hopefully, some sustained time with Barzal can get Horvat’s game on track to start the year.
Then for the second line, we could see Brock Nelson stick with Pierre Engvall and Kyle Palmieri. The line worked well for the Islanders in the postseason, and it would make sense to keep them together. While it’s possible the top two lines could be mixed up, even if they were, we know all six players listed would have full-time spots.
Then skipping to the fourth line, when healthy, we can expect Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck to remain intact. While the trio may not be quite as effective as they once were, and players like Julien Gauthier, Karson Kuhlman, and even Ross Johnston could push for a spot at the bottom of the lineup, the identity line is likely to start the year together.
But where we could see a battle is on the third line. Jean-Gabriel Pageau should remain locked into the 3C role, but without Parise, there will be three wingers battling for the two spots, in Oliver Wahlstrom, Hudson Fasching and Simon Holmstrom. The obvious conclusion would be Wahlstrom and Fasching take the spots, but like Bolduc on the blue line, a strong training camp for Holmstrom could always change things, and possibly bump someone lower down the lineup.
While Holmstrom did play 50 games with the Islanders last season though, if he can’t show he’s taken a step in the preseason, he could find himself back in the AHL. He’s still young enough where it may not be the best course of action to stick him in the press box, and he’s still eligible for waivers. If he can’t earn close to a full-time NHL role, we could see the likes of Gauthier or Kuhlman crack the roster as a spare instead.
I’d also maybe note William Dufour, and even Ruslan Iskhakov as x-factors. Both forwards are coming off strong years in the AHL, and will be looked at as possible future members of the lineup. While either player earning a spot to start the year seems unlikely, you never know.
Again, the Islanders’ roster is likely just about set, and the only battles we will see are for roles down the lineup. Honestly, the team doesn’t have the most interesting preseason storylines to highlight, but that also means they head into the year with a serviceable NHL roster.
It’ll all come down to the young talent like Bolduc and Holmstrom, and whether they can force their way into roles in the lineup.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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