The New York Islanders have finalized their roster ahead of Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Coach Patrick Roy and GM Lou Lamoriello made their final cuts, setting the team for Opening Night against the Utah Hockey Club.
While there weren’t many anticipated surprises for the upcoming season, the final cuts did bring some unexpected decisions. Let’s look at three surprising players who made the Islanders’ roster this season.
Three Surprising Players on the New York Islanders’ Opening Night Roster
Dennis Cholowski
Cholowski’s inclusion on the team wasn’t a complete shock, but it was noteworthy that he outperformed Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc. Early in training camp, Bolduc appeared to be in a good position for the seventh defenseman role. However, after Coach Roy praised Hutton and Cholowski’s performances in preseason games, it became clear Bolduc was likely to be cut.
Hutton is expected to be the next man up in case of injuries. Although we hope it won’t be necessary, he may see some playing time this season, particularly in emergencies. There’s also a chance the Isles could find a way to create cap space to add an eighth defenseman later on.
Ilya Sorokin
The conversation around Sorokin’s offseason surgery had many fans worried about the start of the season without him. However, sending Marcus Hogberg down to Bridgeport indicates that Sorokin is ready to go.
Semyon Varlamov will likely handle the majority of the starts initially, but Sorokin should get a few opportunities in October, especially with back-to-back games on the 25th and 26th. He may even make his season debut on October 14 against the Colorado Avalanche, which is great news for Islanders fans.
Pierre Engvall
This decision was somewhat unexpected. The Isles placed Engvall on waivers, and as of now, he has cleared, making him eligible to play for Bridgeport. Whether he reports there is uncertain.
Engvall might choose not to report and could seek a trade, although that seems unlikely given his contract situation. It’s possible a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets, looking to meet the cap floor, might be interested in taking him on.
In any case, the Isles have effectively moved Engvall’s contract to the minors, which allows them to stay cap-compliant without losing any active players. It’s unfortunate that Engvall’s situation has reached this point, but it was becoming clear he didn’t fit into Roy’s system, making him the first cap casualty of the season.
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