Golyshev likely done in ‘North America’
After a brief call-up in which he didn’t see the ice, Anatolii Golyshev is back in Russia — and unhappy with the Islanders.
In an interview with Sport Express, a Russian outlet, Golyshev said the Islanders led him on about playing time and he was likely done playing in North America.
“I was constantly fed with promises,” a translated version of Golyshev’s comments reads. “And yet, in reality, everything was not at all what I was told.
“For example, in [AHL] Bridgeport, for some reason I was not a first-line player but was in the third or fourth [line]. I had very little [ice] time. … I didn’t understand a little why such an attitude, because the Islanders continued to insist that I was the first person they would call up from the farm club.”
Golyshev earned praise during training camp, but when the Islanders suffered a COVID-19 outbreak, Barry Trotz didn’t dress him.
In 15 AHL games, the 26-year old Golyshev scored five goals with two assists. This was his first year playing in North America following nine years in Russia.
“Goly hasn’t proven it at this level, I guess,” Trotz said after a Nov. 26 loss to the Penguins. “Felt that other people are a little bit ahead of him. That’s really my choice, I would think. Just didn’t feel that he’s quite there.”
He said that after being assigned to the third line in Bridgeport, he started “to work only for myself,” knowing he could return to the KHL. His contract with the Islanders was terminated after the team put him on waivers.
“It is unlikely I will still go to North America,” Golyshev said. “There are some chances, but now all my thoughts are about the KHL. We have agreed with two teams that we will return to the question of possible cooperation next summer. But now I understand that words mean nothing here.”
➤ After Oliver Wahlstrom’s two assists in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Devils, Trotz said the young winger is starting to earn more ice time. Wahlstrom played just 9:49, the second-fewest minutes of any Islander, in the win.