Islanders rookie Isaiah George learning from each scenario Patrick Roy entrusts him with
Islanders rookie defenseman Isaiah George. Credit: Jim McIsaac
DETROIT — Junior hockey, the AHL or NHL. Skating with Noah Dobson or Ryan Pulock. Regardless of the variables, a strength of rookie defenseman Isaiah George’s game is the consistency he quickly has shown in different situations.
The Islanders conclude a five-game road trip, their longest of the season, against the Red Wings on Thursday night looking to snap a two-game losing streak — 1-1-2 so far on the trek — after Tuesday night’s shootout defeat in Calgary.
The match marked defenseman Alexander Romanov’s return to the lineup after he missed 10 of 11 games with an upper-body injury. He was reunited with Dobson on the top pair, bumping George, the 20-year-old who has played seven NHL games and 11 total in pro hockey, to the second pair with Pulock.
“You cannot have a better veteran for him than Pully,” coach Patrick Roy said. “We have a lot of good veterans on our team but Pully is a guy that’s going to help him a lot. I’m sure [George] is going to look up to him. Pully has been here for a long time and is such a great person. It’s a good opportunity for him.”
It seemed a fairly seamless transition on Tuesday as George logged 22:16 of ice time, one second less than Pulock. And perhaps getting to skate with different veterans will hasten George’s development.
“For me, I look at it as no different,” the 6-1, 196-pound George told Newsday. “They’re both good players. I played with Pulock a little bit in [training] camp. They’re both righthanded shots so there’s not really any change for that stuff.
“Every player is different. Being a young guy coming in, you get to see a little bit up close, the good habits they have. So it’s good in that sense. I’ll go out there and play with whoever and all these guys are good defense partners.”
But there’s also room for improvement for George, a fourth-round pick in 2022 who concluded his junior career with London of the Ontario Hockey League last season.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the Flames had eight scoring chances Tuesday, compared with three against them, with George on the ice. The high-danger chances were tilted 6-0 in the Flames’ favor with George on the ice.
Still, George has quickly earned Roy’s trust at crucial moments and in drawing tough assignments. George is averaging 19:45 of ice time, considerably more than Dennis Cholowski (11:05) and Grant Hutton (14:02), the other defensemen who entered the lineup when Romanov, Mike Reilly and Adam Pelech all went out with injuries on Nov. 1.
“In juniors I played a lot, too,” George said. “I do have that familiarity of what it’s like to be out there for shifts where you’re going to be a little tired. I thought I handled it well. In the summer I prepared myself pretty well to be ready for the pro game with my conditioning level.
“It’s definitely harder [in the NHL]. You can’t let your foot off the gas at this level. Try to keep my foot on the gas and don’t take any shifts off.”
Notes & quotes: The Islanders re-assigned Travis Mitchell to their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. The defenseman did not dress for any of the three games since being brought up.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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