NY Islanders find joy on Frozen Pond near Anders Lee’s Minnesota home on toad trip

If you’ve ever wondered where the joy in this New York Islanders season comes from, the answer might be sitting on a frozen pond outside Anders Lee’s house in Minnesota.

This wasn’t some carefully choreographed team-building exercise. It was simple. Pure. Hockey the way it was meant to be played. An off day during a long, grinding road trip turned into something special when the captain opened up his home in Edina and said, essentially, we’re doing this.

“[It’s a] dream scenario for me to be able to have an ice rink in my backyard,” Lee said. “Neighbor helped me out and had his rink going in the back and the boys showed up yesterday, and just had a wonderful day together, skating, hanging out, watching the football games and enjoy each other's company.”

Skates on. Sticks tossed in the middle. Teams decided on the fly. Seventeen guys a side, junior jerseys pulled out of storage, and a frozen pond that looked like it belonged in a hockey postcard. There was a bonfire on the ice. Coolers nearby. Sun overhead. No systems. No video. No pressure.

Just hockey.

That’s the part that hits hardest. This wasn’t about X’s and O’s or trying to manufacture chemistry. It was about remembering why these guys fell in love with the game in the first place. Ryan Pulock nailed it when he said it made everyone feel like kids again. In the middle of a brutal road trip, the day slowed things down. It broke the routine. It reminded everyone that this game is supposed to be fun.

And the smiles mattered. You could see it the next day. The practice was sharp. Fast. Focused. Patrick Roy noticed it immediately. Joy didn’t lead to shortcuts. It led to energy. To compete. To a group that wanted to work for each other.

That’s leadership from Lee. Not a speech. Not a closed-door meeting. Just opening his backyard and saying, let’s play.

Even the details felt perfect. Trainers skating with players. Kyle MacLean stealing the show in goal. Everyone together, no hierarchy, no stars, no roles. Just one big hockey family on a pond. Jean-Gabriel Pageau said it best. It brought back memories of being young, skating with friends and parents, smiling without thinking about the standings or the grind.

That’s the magic. That’s Isles hockey at its core. Sometimes chemistry isn’t built in video rooms or locker rooms. Sometimes it’s built around a fire, on a frozen pond, with laughter echoing across the ice. “I see the joy in our group right now,” Patrick Roy said on Monday. “I think that's great for the chemistry of the team, and I felt like the guys seems to enjoy themselves, and that's what the game should be all about.”