NY Islanders players share what's really changed with their new leadership group

For years, some New York Islanders fans screamed for change.

The same core, the same voices, the same results. As much as everyone respected what Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck meant to the organization, there was a growing sense that the Islanders needed to turn the page.

Well, they've turned it. And maybe the most encouraging part is that the leadership inside the dressing room hasn't skipped a beat.

Think about how much has changed in a relatively short period. Lee is in Utah, Nelson in Colorado, Martin and Clutterbuck are retired, but around. Bo Horvat is now the captain, Brayden Schenn has brought a Stanley Cup pedigree into the room, and 19-year-old Matthew Schaefer is already wearing a letter despite barely beginning his NHL career.

That's not just a changing of the guard. It's practically a different generation of Islanders leadership.

And yet, the culture that helped carry the Isles to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals hasn't disappeared with the players who helped establish it.

"I wouldn't say they're different at all," Casey Cizikas told Ethan Sears of the New York Post when comparing Horvat and Lee as captains. "They both leave it out on the ice every single night. They lead with their work ethic, with details, what it takes to be a professional."

That's probably the greatest compliment Horvat and the new leadership group could receive.

The Islanders didn't need to erase everything about their past to move forward. They needed different players capable of maintaining the accountability, competitiveness and professionalism that made those earlier teams successful, while bringing some fresh energy into a room that had grown a little too comfortable.

Schenn has seemingly done exactly that.

"Right from the day we got him, he kind of assumed a leadership position, whether by choice or not," Adam Pelech told Sears. "It's the way it is with a guy like him."

And then there's Schaefer, who might be the clearest indication of where this franchise is headed.

The kid hasn't even played 20 NHL games this season, yet he's already a voice teammates look toward. He's confident, outspoken and doesn't seem remotely intimidated by the responsibility of being a leader on an NHL team.

"Schaef is just himself. He's just himself every day. He doesn't need to change to be a leader," Pelech told the Post.

That's something you can't manufacture.

Of course, leadership doesn't guarantee wins. The Isles are dealing with a four-game losing streak and have strayed from the disciplined defensive identity that fueled their encouraging start under Pete DeBoer. It's on Horvat and the rest of the leadership group to make sure this doesn't spiral into something worse.

But there's an important distinction between changing a team's core and losing its culture.

For years, the Islanders seemed reluctant to move on from the players who gave this franchise its most successful stretch in decades. Maybe that loyalty lasted a little too long. Maybe the changes should have happened sooner.

Still, give the organization credit for one thing: It has managed to replace some of the most respected personalities in its dressing room without creating an obvious leadership void.

The faces are different. The voices are different. The expectations shouldn't be

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