Rookie, 26, out to prove he belongs
Tanner Fritz was just about to leave the rink in Bridgeport on Monday when AHL coach Brent Thompson asked him to stop by his office.
Thompson had some news to deliver to the 26-year-old forward: he was getting the call-up to the Islanders.
“I just had a weird jitter feeling in my stomach that I haven’t had since I was a young kid,” Fritz said Tuesday morning, standing in the Islanders’ dressing room hours before playing 11:36 in his NHL debut, a 5-1 loss to the Bruins at Barclays Center. “Pretty cool experience.”
Fritz’s dad and brother caught a red-eye flight Monday night from their home in Alberta, Canada so they could join his fiancée in Brooklyn on Tuesday to watch the culmination of a long, old-fashioned journey to the NHL.
“A couple years ago, I don’t think I would have seen myself in this position,” said Fritz, who went undrafted out of Ohio State, latched on in the ECHL and parlayed a professional tryout with AHL Bridgeport into a two-year, twoway entry-level contract with the Islanders over the last four years. “But I kept working hard, kept working at my game and trying to get better each day.”
The Islanders opened the spot up for Fritz on Monday when they sent Anthony Beauvillier and Steve Bernier back to Bridgeport. Fritz, who was tied for fourth in the AHL with 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists), slotted in at right wing alongside Brock Nelson and Shane Prince on the revolving-door third line.
“That line actually had the most jump in the third period,” coach Doug Weight said after the game.
Josh Bailey was named the NHL’s second star for December, finishing the month with an 11game point streak that was snapped Tuesday night. In 15 games last month, he tallied seven goals and 15 assists.
The longest-tenured Islander entered Tuesday tied for the league lead in assists (38) and second in points (50).
“It’s nice to get that kind of recognition,” Bailey said. “It’s obviously something to take pride in. We wouldn’t be having these sort of talks if it wasn’t for Johnny [ Tavares] and Anders [ Lee] as well and the opportunity.”