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New York Islanders Place J.G. Pageau, Two Coaches In COVID Protocol; Anthony Beauvillier Day-To-Day

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According to the Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, the New York Islanders will be short a few coaches and players tonight as they take on the New York Rangers at home (Link to Tweet). First and foremost, the team has placed forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Associate Coach Lane Lambert, and Assistant Coach Jim Hiller in COVID protocol. Though the team is only short one player for tonight, Lambert and Hiller represent half of the team’s coaching staff behind the bench, putting extra weight on the shoulders of Head Coach Barry Trotz. Seeing COVID-related absences surely gives the Islanders unpleasant flashbacks to November, when the team was without a large portion of its roster due to COVID.

Also missing from the Islanders lineup, unrelated to COVID protocol, is forward Anthony Beauvillier, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear when exactly Beauvillier’s injury occurred, as he logged 18:24 of ice-time against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, the Islanders’ last game. The team next plays Saturday afternoon on the road against the Buffalo Sabres.

In a corresponding move, the Islanders have recalled forward Otto Koivula on an emergency basis. Koivula has seen limited NHL time this year, with only five games played, the last on March 10th. In those five games, Koivula has just one assist, but the 23-year-old does have 12 goals and 35 assists in 56 games with the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL this season. The forward is in the lineup tonight.

These transactions seemingly draw to a close a busy day of moves on the Island, with the team having placed defenseman Grant Hutton on waivers (link) and signing one of their top prospects William Dufour earlier in the day (link). For now, the Islanders will still have to focus on their game against the Rangers despite the missing pieces, but will be able to give Koivula another look in the NHL.

New York Islanders Sign William Dufour

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The New York Islanders have agreed to terms with prospect William Dufour on a three-year, entry-level contract that will start in the 2022-23 season. The contract is worth $842.5K in 2022-23, and $867.5K in 2023-24 and 2024-25, says Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. Dufour currently plays for the Saint John Seadogs of the QMJHL, the host of the 2022 Memorial Cup.

You couldn’t really ask for a better final junior season than Dufour has experienced this year. After being traded from the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the offseason, the 20-year-old forward has absolutely exploded offensively, racking up 52 goals and 109 points in 61 games with the Sea Dogs. He leads all players in both categories and has a chance to expand on those totals with a handful of games remaining on the schedule.

After that, he’ll try to chase down a QMJHL title and then Memorial Cup, before making the jump to professional hockey next season. Selected in the fifth round, this isn’t some undersized talent that will struggle with the physicality of the next level. Dufour stands 6’3″ and uses his size and power effectively to dominate junior competition. While his skating will have to continue to improve if he’s to make the same impact in the AHL and then the NHL, he sits as arguably one of the Islanders’ top prospects.

In fact, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked him second in his recent evaluation of the Islanders prospect pool, ahead of players with much higher draft pedigree like Simon Holmstrom or Ruslan Iskhakov. While there is still a long road ahead of him, Dufour’s signing today is a nice step toward fulfilling the promise he’s shown this season.

Jimmy Lambert Signs AHL Contract

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April 19: Lambert has now agreed to an AHL contract for 2022-23. Trevor Cosgrove and Koby Bender, who are also with the Islanders on tryout contracts, have also agreed to minor league deals for next season.

April 18: After a successful four-year career at the University of Michigan, Jimmy Lambert has turned pro, signing a tryout contract with the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL. The undrafted forward will be able to test the waters of professional hockey, before finding a full-time contract for next season.

Lambert, 25, already has ties to the organization through his uncle Lane Lambert, who serves as associate coach of the New York Islanders. He’s been the right-hand man of head coach Barry Trotz for years now, going back to their days with the Nashville Predators. Bringing in his nephew is a nice reward for the family, one that will be involved in some more headlines later this summer.

That’s because Jimmy’s cousin (and another Lane nephew) is Brad Lambert, a top prospect for the 2022 draft. The Finnish-born forward was ranked fifth among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting and has been considered a first-round talent for quite some time. The Islanders, who were eliminated last night in a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, will be in the draft lottery this season as they try to put a disappointing campaign behind them.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Lambert is coming to the Islanders after his best offensive season, though that was still just six goals and 14 points in 39 games. The hard-working forward did wear an “A” as alternate captain and racked up 42 penalty minutes, but doesn’t figure to be an impact player at the next level.

Aatu Raty Assigned To AHL

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The New York Islanders have brought over a very interesting prospect, assigning Aatu Raty to the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL after his season overseas came to an end.

Raty, 19, was selected with the 52nd pick in 2021, a far fall from where he was once expected to go. As a junior player, some believed he could challenge for the very top of his draft class, but after some poor results in his first taste of Liiga and a development path that appeared stalled, he dropped all the way to the bottom of the second round.

That pick looks brilliant now, as Raty exploded this season in Finland after a move to Jukurit, scoring 13 goals and 40 points in 41 games. Adding in the one point he had for Karpat before the trade has his 41-point season ranked 14th in the entire league, with his point-per-game rate even higher than that. It was a very impressive performance from a player that had so recently been written off–at least somewhat.

The next step will be transitioning that offensive performance to the AHL where things are a lot different, but Raty certainly is back on track to becoming an impact player in North America. Signed to his three-year entry-level deal last August, it will slide this season and keep him under contract through 2024-25.

Mathew Barzal Fined For Unsportsmanlike Conduct

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  • The Department of Player Safety issued a fine of $2.5K to Islanders center Mathew Barzal for unsportsmanlike conduct. The incident occurred late in the third period on Sunday when he grabbed onto Mitch Marner’s jersey from the bench.  No penalty was issued on the play.

AHL Shuffle: 04/10/22

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After a dozen games on Saturday, seven more are on the docket today. After colliding yesterday, the Capitals and Penguins are back in action Sunday and again face stiff competition. Washington will face the Bruins this afternoon, while the Penguins square off with the Predators later in the day. The Stars are also facing a back-to-back this weekend and looking for a better result today versus Chicago after falling to New Jersey on Saturday. Every point matters at this point in the season and teams are working diligently to make sure they are prepared for each and every game. Keep up with all of those roster preparations here:

Atlantic Division

  • After Jake Allen, who has been oft-injured this season, left with an injury yet again last night, the Montreal Canadiens have made a move to replace him. The team announced that Cayden Primeau has been recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. The 22-year-old has played well in the minors this season, but struggled at the top level. In a dozen NHL games, Primeau has an .868 save percentage and 4.62 goals against average to the tune of a 1-7-1 record.
  • The Ottawa Senators have re-assigned rookie Mark Kastelic to AHL Belleville, opening up a roster spot for the return of Tim Stutzle. Kastelic is a big, two-way center and the former captain of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen who is asserting himself as a solid bottom-six option for Ottawa, recording 25 points in 56 AHL games this season, in turn earning him 11 NHL games.

Metropolitan Division

  • Hayden Hodgson is heading back to the AHL after a brief recall to the Philadelphia Flyers. The team has announced that the recently-signed forward has been returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After pro four seasons, spent mostly in the ECHL, Hodgson is enjoying a breakout campaign with 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games in the AHL, leading to an NHL contract and three points in six games with the Flyers over the past few weeks.
  • With center Casey Cizikas’ one-game suspension served, the New York Islanders are returning forward Andy Andreoff to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Andreoff, 30, is a veteran of 185 NHL games and has 39 points in 55 AHL games this season.

Central Division

  • The Nashville Predators have announced that with goaltender Juuse Saros out day-to-day with a non-COVID illness, goaltender Connor Ingram has been recalled from Milwaukee of the AHL. Ingram, 25, has appeared in 2 games so far this season and has a 1-1 record and a .906 save percentage. Ingram has a .914 in 50 games in the AHL this season.

Pacific Division

Islanders Recall Andy Andreoff

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  • The New York Islanders announced (Twitter Link) that they’ve recalled forward Andy Andreoff from the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL. Andreoff has spent the majority of the season with Bridgeport, but did get into five games with the Islanders this season amid their COVID outbreak in late November and early December. The call-up comes with forward Casey Cizikas being suspended for one game after a hit on Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Brendan Smith last night. Andreoff will draw into the lineup tonight against the St. Louis Blues.

Casey Cizikas Receives One-Game Suspension

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With the Islanders in action tonight against St. Louis, the disciplinary hearing for center Casey Cizikas needed to be held quickly.  That indeed happened as the Department of Player Safety has made their ruling, announcing (video link) that the veteran has received a one-game suspension for his hit last night on Carolina defenseman Brendan Smith.

The incident occurred just seven seconds into the third period with Cizikas receiving a minor penalty on the play.  Smith, meanwhile, left the game and did not return with no word on how long he might be out for.  It’s the first time that Cizikas has received any sort of supplementary discipline from the league.

Cizikas will forfeit $12.5K in salary as a result of the suspension and the money will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.  He will be eligible to return to New York’s lineup on Tuesday when they host Pittsburgh.

Casey Cizikas To Have Hearing For Boarding

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The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas will have a hearing for boarding Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brendan Smith.

Cizikas laid the hit on Smith in the first minute of the third period of last night’s game. Cizikas was assessed a two-minute minor for boarding on the play, while Smith left the game after the hit and did not return. Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour did not have an update on his status postgame.

While Cizikas does have a physical edge to his game, he does not have a history of being fined or suspended by NHL Player Safety, something that ought to work in his favor during this hearing. Cizikas has nine goals and 14 points in 63 games this season in the midst of a rough season offensively and defensively.

 

Ilya Sorokin Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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  • New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said after today’s game against Tampa Bay that goalie Ilya Sorokin suffered an upper-body injury that took him out of the game after the second period. It’s unclear whether Sorokin will travel with the team to Columbus for their next game. If he’s out of the lineup, it’s a huge blow to any sliver of hope the Islanders had at making a miracle run into the playoffs. Quietly, Sorokin has been one of the NHL’s best this season, buoying the Islanders with his six shutouts and .927 save percentage in 42 starts. Coming into the game against Tampa Bay, he hadn’t had a save percentage under .929 in his last five games.

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