Islanders podcast: How new defenseman fit in the team

EAST MEADOW, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: (L-R) Zdeno Chara #33 And Thomas Hickey #2 of the New York Islanders take part in practice at the Northwell Health Ice Center at Eisenhower Park on September 23, 2021 in East Meadow, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
EAST MEADOW, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: (L-R) Zdeno Chara #33 And Thomas Hickey #2 of the New York Islanders take part in practice at the Northwell Health Ice Center at Eisenhower Park on September 23, 2021 in East Meadow, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The New York Islanders will be bringing two new faces on the blueline that are going to be part of the NHL squad or hope to be part of the NHL squad in some way.

The two names I’m talking about here are Zdeno Chara and Erik Gustafsson. (Of course, there are other names that are new but we focused on these two.)

We know that Zdeno Chara will be on the NHL squad. His spot is guaranteed. What remains to be seen at camp is who he’s paired with. That isn’t the case for Erik Gustafsson. His spot is by no way guaranteed. He’s here on a PTO so he has to earn a spot if he wants to play at the NHL level.

On this week’s podcast, Matt and I are talking through how both will/could fit in the system, who will Chara likely play with at training camp and into the season. For Gustafsson, we’ll talk about his chances to make the team.

You can listen to the podcast through any podcatcher out there. You can also listen to the podcast right here on the page.

New York Islanders Podcast: Camp and new defenders

We don’t just spend our hour talking about the two defensemen. There’s a ton more content this week. We also take a stab at what could be the training camp roster. Even though camp is open we didn’t actually know who was there for the Islanders.

Of course, this was before the Islanders actually announced the training camp roster. See how well we did with figuring out who could be on the roster.

What else do we talk about?

  • Down on the Farm: I’ll take you through the latest news and information from players in the Islanders system. Including what happened with Ruslan Iskhakov, how has Henrik Tikkanen looked at the Liiga level, what prospects are at camp?
  • Quiz: I have a mystery Islander player for you to figure out. You have five clues to find out who he is. Can you guess the player before Matt does?
  • Social: What’s the latest happening on social media from Islanders fans?

Schedule