NEW YORK, NY — One of the bigger New York Islanders stories this summer was defenseman Isaiah George.
The 22-year-old played 33 games in 2024-25 but wasn’t available to the Islanders in 2025-26 due to injury. He got into just four games this past season before the Islanders acquired Carson Soucy from the New York Rangers.
Still, general manager Mathieu Darche and head coach Pete DeBoer gave him a major vote of confidence.
They viewed George as an NHL defenseman and hoped he would win a job out of training camp.
It’s Isaiah George’s Time To Shine With Islanders Roster Spot His To Lose
It’s Isaiah George’s time to shine.
The seventh-defenseman job was his to lose — still is — with a chance to earn a spot in the starting lineup.
The Islanders have pushed back on the idea that Matthew Schaefer is getting reps on the right side to make room for George, but that move would allow the Oakville, Ontario, native to play on the third pairing alongside Tony DeAngelo.
George still has to outplay Scott Mayfield for a starting role. That battle is ongoing with two preseason games left.
The Islanders had George attend development camp following the 2026 NHL Draft, and he stood out among the young defensemen. The same couldn’t be said at rookie camp. He got off to a slow start. He didn’t look sharp and seemed to be going through the motions, trying not to do too much.
George told me point-blank that he wanted to play the way the Islanders wanted him to play, rather than show off to get their attention during scrimmages. I understood where he was coming from, but I didn’t think he was doing enough.
As camp progressed, though, George started to look more like the player the organization envisioned.
I thought he was the second-best defenseman in the Islanders’ 2-1 preseason loss to the New Jersey Devils, behind Vladimir Dravecky, who was part of the club’s first cuts.
Playing alongside Matt Kessel in a prospect-heavy game, George had two shots on goal in 19:16.
He looked even better in Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Rangers. George skated alongside DeAngelo, played 19:20 and put two shots on goal, but more than anything, he looked more confident. In the third period, he made a spin move in the right corner, a very Pelech-esque play that showed why the Islanders are so high on him.
I asked DeBoer about George’s performance and how his game has improved as camp has gone on:
“He was better tonight. It was his best night, so he’s got to build on that. I thought he came into camp, started a little bit slow, but tonight was his best night.”
DeBoer also explained what George still needs to do to win a spot in the lineup: