What does Mat Barzal starting the season at center mean for top prospect Cal Ritchie?

One of the big talking points surrounding the NY Islanders heading into the 2024-25 season was Mathew Barzal’s shift to the wing. With depth down the middle of the ice, Barzal sliding to the wing allowed him to be more creative offensively without the level of responsibilities of a center.

Playing alongside Bo Horvat, the two found glimpses of success. But after sustaining a lower-body injury off a blocked shot on Feb. 1, Barzal missed the remainder of the season as the Islanders struggled to produce in the offensive end.

Where does Cal Ritchie start the season?

The Islanders still have depth down the middle despite Brock Nelson’s absence after being traded to the Colorado Avalanche, with Barzal, Horvat, JG Pageau, Casey Cizikas, and Kyle MacLean. But with the additions of Jonathan Drouin and Maxim Shabanov, Patrick Roy has options regarding where he’ll play Barzal, and it sounds like he’ll be starting the season at center.

“The plan is to start him as a center,” Roy said yesterday after the final day of development camp. “But that’s the start. We tried him last year as a center. I thought they did really well. We decided to put him with Bo, but we’re going to start the year like this (Barzal at center) and we’ll go from there.”

After Roy’s comments, as of now, it sounds like the Islanders will start the season with Horvat, Barzal, Pageau, and Cizikas at center. So what does this mean for top prospect Cal Ritchie?

Just a few weeks ago, it was presumed Ritchie would start the season with the team. But with two additions to the forward corps entering this season, there may not be room for Ritchie to start the season with the Islanders.

The most likely scenario is that Ritchie will begin the season in Bridgeport, but if his play warrants it in the AHL, it’ll be difficult for the Islanders to leave him in the minors, forcing them to make a roster decision to get him NHL ice-time.