Rookie sticks with Isles for rest of season
ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the second straight season, the Islanders have seen a player come from the minors and remake their bottom six.
A year ago, that was Hudson Fasching, who burst onto the scene and never left. Now, it is Kyle MacLean who — it was made official Friday — will not be leaving Long Island any time soon.
To remain eligible to play in the AHL this season, MacLean would have needed a paper transaction to send him back down to Bridgeport by 3 p.m. Friday. That deadline came and went without a move, confirming that the 24year-old from Basking Ridge, N.J., will stay with the Isles for the rest of the regular season.
For MacLean, who did not enter training camp high on the radar among the Islanders’ prospects, that is a milestone achievement. And for the Islanders, it appears they have found a fourth line center of the future.
“Pretty cool,” MacLean said after the team practiced Saturday at the Honda Center. “Happy to be here. I’m just enjoying the ride and it’s cool. We have a little push coming here, too, and it’s an important time of the season.”
MacLean said he was unaware that the deadline for his AHL eligibility was Friday, only finding out after the fact via a text from his agent.
“It’s fun to see someone be rewarded by what they’ve been doing and he’s been playing so well for us,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I’m happy for him. The game is not always fair, but in that case, it was fair. He’s been playing so well and playing hard and he got what he deserves. So good for him.”
“It’s deserving,” captain Anders Lee said. “He’s earned his spot there and earned the remainder of the year. He’s playing great hockey for us.”
Not only has the fourth line found some renewed energy with MacLean skating between Martin and Clutterbuck, but the addition of another center who could play there allowed Roy to complete the revamping of forward lines, which has helped the Islanders win five in a row, with a chance at six Sunday against the Ducks.
There is no longer a need for Brock Nelson to play center, allowing him to skate on the left side of Bo Horvat on an overpowering top line. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas, meanwhile, have both proved well suited to playing up a line.
That configuration, the Islanders’ recent winning and MacLean’s play all combined to help Lou Lamoriello feel comfortable with standing pat at the trade deadline. At least for the time being, the Islanders appear to have solved their problems at forward internally.
“There’s no question it has an impact,” Lamoriello said of MacLean’s role in his deadline thinking. “Because what we have seen is the team come together and play to the capabilities that we thought it could and would on a consistent basis. But we still have a ways to go. … We have everything in our own hands right now. It’s what you want.”
Indeed, the Islanders woke up Saturday just two points behind the Red Wings and Lightning in the wild-card race, with both teams set to play later that day. Getting back over the playoff cutline by the end of this four-game trip, which makes stops in Los Angeles and Buffalo after Anaheim, suddenly feels more than feasible.
MacLean, who made his NHL debut the day before the Islanders swapped Lane Lambert for Roy behind the bench, has played a role in that turnaround.
And he will have a role to play going forward.
“It’s still early, right?” he said Saturday. “I only have [12] games, but you learn a lot, quick, too. And obviously linemates, teammates, help you out a lot. Just the game situations, you get more comfortable and you do learn quick. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable out there and a bit better. Excited to keep going down the stretch.”