Islanders: Vande Sompel Does Not Make Training Camp Roster

The New York Islanders have just released their training camp roster and one young defenseman was omitted from the roster.

Today marks the first day that the New York Islanders have started on-ice practice at training camp and all of the attention surrounding the Islanders has been about Mathew Barzal, his contract situation, and him being named to their training camp roster.

When taking a more in-depth look at the Isles roster, there is one omission that has caught the attention of some fans and that player is Mitchell Vande Sompel.

Vande Sompel was drafted by the Islanders in the third round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In October 2016, Vande Sompel signed an entry-level contract with the blue and orange and made the jump to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the 2017-2018 season.

To the AHL

He performed well in his first two professional seasons in the AHL. In 2017-2018 Vande Sompel had seven goals and 22 assists in 58 games. In 2018-2019, he picked up a couple of more points with 10 goals and 21 assists in 71 games.

Unfortunately heading into last season Vande Sompel suffered an injury and missed the entire 2019-2020 campaign. Although he did not play last year, he was a restricted free agent this offseason and the Islanders decided to extend him with a two-year contract.

Many people thought Vande Sompel could challenge for a roster spot in 2021 after the Islanders traded Devon Toews to Colorado and lost Johnny Boychuk after he was forced to retire due to an eye injury.

It seems that as of right now Vande Sompel is not in the Islanders’ plans for 2021. The Islanders decided to invite the likes of Samuel Bolduc, Grant Hutton, Bode Wilde, and Parker Wotherspoon to training camp rather than Vande Sompel.

I would not write the book off on Vande Sompel. After missing the entirety of last year, the Islanders front office could be trying to work the twenty-three-year-old back into the fold with Bridgeport rather than rushing him back in with the Isles.

Want your voice heard? Join the Eyes On Isles team!

Write for us!

Most people believed Vande Sompel would get invited to this training camp, which is why his omission comes as a surprise. With some solid performances in Bridgeport this upcoming season, we could see Vande Sompel make the jump to the Islanders by the end of the season.

Isles Country: Did the Islanders make the right decision leaving Vande Sompel off the roster? Leave your comments below!

*All Stats Provided by The AHL*