NY Islanders recall Isaiah George - may debut tonight

The NY Islanders have recalled defenseman Isaiah George from Bridgeport, amid their injuries issues along the blue line.

Depending on Romanov's status for tonight, George could make his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

George has appeared in just four professional games in his career, scoring once and adding an assists.

Isaiah George recalled

Selected with the first pick of the fourth round in the 2022 NHL Draft, George played his junior hockey with the London Knights of the OHL. Last season, George was a crucial part of the Knights on their road to the OHL Championship and appearance in the Memorial Cup Finals. He had the best season of his junior career last year, totaling 30 points (6 G, 24 A) in 68 games, adding 12 points (4 G, 8 A) in 18 playoff games.

With Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly sidelined after suffering injuries against the Columbus Blue Jackets, along with Alexander Romanov who's been battling injury after being on the receiving and delivering ends of hits against the NJ Devils, George is being called into action.

Before Sunday's game against the NY Rangers, the Islanders recalled Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc to fill the holes on the left side of the blue line. Hutton was serviceable but Bolduc was a disaster. An unacceptable turnover that led directly to a Rangers goal saw Bolduc pinned to the bench for the remainder of the game, and sent back to Bridgeport soon after.

“He needs to be better if he wants to play for us,” said Roy of his defenseman. “If he wants to play in the NHL, he must understand and step up. He’s a good hockey, he has all the tools, and now has to figure it out.”

George has been one of the Islanders' more exciting prospects in what is a bleak prospect pool, but without much professional experience, it isn't ideal to have him jump into action this early in his career. But with None of their normal left-handed defensemen available, the Islanders don't have much choice but to throw him into the fire.