EAST MEADOW, NY — Friday marked the opening of New York Islanders rookie camp.
Usually, Day 1 is just basic drills, but Hamilton Hammers head coach Jay McKee, who is running rookie camp, wanted to keep the intensity up.
“A lot of these players are new to us, so you want to get to know the guys and make them feel comfortable,” McKee said. “But we wanted to have some compete. They're going to be playing a game in a couple of days, an afternoon game. So we didn't want to go too hard, but we certainly wanted to grind them a little bit. I really like the tempo of the practice and the compete, and guys are always nervous on day one, so we try to ease into it a little bit with some flow early on, and then get them competing.”
What I’m Watching For At Islanders Rookie Camp
We are a day away from New York Islanders hockey returning, in some capacity.
McKee spoke about a few prospects.
Here’s what he said about Victor Eklund:
“He’s a highly talented player who has a really good brain for the game. He’s very shifty, obviously not overly big in stature, but he's very strong on his feet. We could see in some of the compete drills out there protects the puck very well. There’s unlimited potential with him. He's going to be a very exciting player to watch for a long time.
Here’s what he said about Cole Eiserman:
“He’s a skilled forward. What I like about him is that, in one of my first conversations, he acknowledged the things he needs to improve on, and that's a step of maturity right there. A lot of young guys won't address those issues. They'll just talk about the things that they're good at and want to work on those things, but he's addressed that, and that's a great start. For me, things [he wants to work on] are easily fixable. But he's a highly skilled forward, has a good pace to his game, and has a fantastic shot. You can't teach that. I certainly can't. He's got a great shot. I mean, it's a weapon. He's dangerous. We want him shooting, and if you're on his line, you should be getting to the net because you know that he can pull the trigger, and it's a unique ability that not a lot of guys have. So, it’s certainly a weapon that he needs to use.”
Now, onto Kashawn Aitcheson:
“He's got to pick his spots. He's a very talented defenseman. Obviously, another heavy, heavy shot and can make plays. He can jump up in the play, and he can make the bone-crushing hits. He may have that energy where he's out running around right away, but he's a complete player as well. So, he’s not just a guy that I want or expect to go out and start running around right at the drop of the puck. Obviously, he has no fear of stepping up and protecting teammates and things like that. But he's a great all-around player, and if he lays some big hits, which at some point he will — I don't know if it'll be game one or not, but he's going to lay some big ones for sure.
And we’ll close with what he said about Isaiah George:
“He's really impressed me. I thought, at development camp, he was exceptional. I didn't see him a lot when he was in junior. We were in a different conference, but he's impressed me a lot. I'm seeing more than I expected with him. Obviously, he’s got great feet, makes some great plays with the puck, and has his head up. So he's another exciting player for this organization.”
Takeaways From Day 1:
Victor Eklund was seamless and smooth. Of all the forwards on the ice, he was the standout for me. There’s just an ease to the way he moves around the ice and with the puck.
Isaiah George got BIG. While he said he didn’t put on a ton of weight this offseason, you can certainly tell he gained muscle. He looks much bigger than he did a year ago.
Luca Romano is so shifty. There was one play in particular where he pulled off a spin move in transition as he came over the blue line. His skating and skill were noticeable.
Kashawn Aitcheson’s skating has improved. We know about the physicality and the shot. Now, it’s about him continuing to become a complete player, which McKee touched on above.
Speaking of Aitcheson’s physicality, he absolutely bodied the gigantic Daniil Prokhorov. The two then battled together in front of the goal. If you were wondering whether Aitcheson would tone down the physicality against fellow prospects, you got your answer pretty quickly.
Quinn Finley (shoulder) isn’t cleared to practice yet, but he said he’s at the finish line when it comes to getting cleared.
