Isaiah George, 20, already making Islanders impact as rookie
Isaiah George outsourced the job of taking ticket requests to his parents, so he wasn’t sure exactly how many friends and family were in the stands at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
All he knew: It was a lot.
George grew up just 35 minutes down the road from Toronto in Oakville, Ontario, and admitted — dropping his volume a little in the Islanders’ dressing room — to being a Maple Leafs fan as a kid.
The building in which he played for the first time Saturday was his window into pro hockey.
When George stepped on the ice for morning skate, he took a moment to look up and take it in.
Somehow, this was the first time he’d played in the building despite having played in the Greater Toronto Hockey League and the Ontario Hockey League before coming to the Island.
So to score his first NHL goal here, to have it eventually stand as the game-winner on a Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday as the Islanders defeated the Maple Leafs, 6-3, in what might have been their best all-around performance of the season?
It was a dream come true for the 20-year-old defenseman.
“Really special,” George said, beaming. “In the moment, in the game, once all the boys started getting excited, I think it really set in. It was a really special moment. Saw the guys’ reaction — this is what I was talking about, how they’ve been great teammates since I’ve been here.”
After George’s shot from above the left circle deflected off a Toronto stick and in, Kyle Palmieri quickly grabbed the puck for safekeeping.
The other Islanders on the ice surrounded George in a hug.
In the dressing room, the whole team directed reporters to George’s stall in the corner, telling reporters, “Georgie’s over there.”
In a mere matter of weeks, that’s the sort of impression George has made on this dressing room.
“He’s just such a happy kid,” Mathew Barzal said. “Always got a smile on his face, always seems to be laughing at everything. So he’s one of those kids — you just get excited for everything he does.”
That has bought George some credit.
So, too, has his play, which has blown away everyone’s expectations after the Islanders — due to a glut of injuries on the blue line and Samuel Bolduc blowing his shot in a messy performance against the Rangers — called up George after just four AHL games in what was, essentially, a desperation move.
At this point, it’s entirely possible that four AHL games is all he ever plays.
Even after being made a healthy scratch for two straight games upon Adam Pelech’s return to the lineup last week, the Islanders kept him on the roster, exposing Grant Hutton to waivers instead of sending down the waivers-exempt George when they needed to clear space for Anthony Duclair.
He got his chance Saturday night and again showed that the Islanders’ highest ceiling is with him in the lineup.
Not only did George net his first NHL goal, he was on the ice for two other goals, with none against.
Per Natural Stat Trick, the club’s 73.33 scoring chance rate over George’s 14:51 on the ice was the best on the team.
After hitting a speed bump a couple of weeks ago with a rough performance against the Kings, this was the sort of bounceback the Islanders were hoping to see.
“Sometimes, it’s just a reset,” coach Patrick Roy said. “Mentally, it was a grind, a lot of games, I think. Don’t forget, last year he was [in] juniors. So it’s probably different being on the bus, being on the plane, whatever, going to cities in the NHL.”
You wouldn’t know it from watching.
“This was awesome,” Roy said. “I was very happy for him. He played a strong game. Actually, since he’s been here, he’s been outstanding.”
