Kyle MacLean, son of Islanders assistant coach John MacLean, will make his NHL debut

CHICAGO — The father, Islanders assistant coach John MacLean, was helping to run practice on Thursday at Fifth Third Arena while the son, Kyle MacLean, was getting used to centering fourth-line wings Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck in preparation for his NHL debut on Friday night against Chicago.

It was business, not a family reunion.

“They probably avoided each other more than normal,” Anders Lee said.

Kyle MacLean was recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport on Wednesday after Casey Cizikas (lower body) was placed on injured reserve. After five seasons of junior hockey and parts of four with Bridgeport, the undrafted 24-year-old finally is getting an NHL chance.

“For Dad, it’s great,” John MacLean said. “We see how hard he’s worked, so it’s great to have an opportunity. His brother [John Carter] is coming. His mom [Adrienne] is coming in. So it’s going to be an exciting time for him.

“It’s a tough road to stay with it. There’s ups and downs,” said the elder MacLean, who played 18 NHL seasons after being selected sixth overall by the Devils in 1983. “I was a first-round pick and it worked out for me. You get extra looks. Kyle didn’t get extra looks all the time. He had to keep working. He had to keep going. He enjoyed it and he loves the competition. It’s a credit to him more than anything else that he was able to stick with it.”

John MacLean coached both his sons when they were in Mighty Mites but, otherwise credits his wife for Kyle MacLean’s hockey upbringing. She was the one taking him to tournaments and practices while MacLean was busy with his multi-stop NHL coaching career.

“It’s pretty cool,” Kyle said of having his father as an assistant coach in the NHL. “It’s a unique situation. Not many people get this, so it’s definitely special. It’s cool seeing him around here, but it’s business now. We both have jobs.”

John MacLean, a right wing, compiled 413 goals and 429 assists along with 1,331 penalty minutes in 1,194 NHL games, winning the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995. His son, who has six goals and 13 assists in 36 AHL games this season, plays a hard-edged north-south game, very suited to centering the Islanders’ fourth line in Cizikas’ absence.

“He’s a dog,” Lee said. “He works extremely hard and he makes a ton of little plays. You need that at this level. He’s got that and he can play at this level no problem.”

John last dressed for an NHL game on April 14, 2002, just before Kyle turned 3. So Kyle has only seen video of how his father played.

“I don’t think we’re too similar from the highlights I’ve seen,” Kyle said. “I’m kind of my own player.

“I’m not going to change much. I’m just going to try to play a responsible game. Be a good two-way forward. Work hard. Keep it simple. Do the same thing I do down [in the AHL].”

As for game-day advice to calm any butterflies his son might have, John said he won’t have to say much.

“The only thing I would say is, ‘Just breathe,’ ” he said. “Don’t forget to breathe because it’s going to come quick.”

Notes & quotes: Left wing Pierre Engvall (upper body) did not practice after missing Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Jets. Coach Lane Lambert said there’s no timetable for Engvall to resume skating. “I do not know,” he said. “He’s day-to-day.” Lambert revamped his second power-play unit, inserting Julien Gauthier and defenseman Samuel Bolduc on the half-walls . . . Defenseman Mike Reilly and right wing Oliver Wahlstrom  likely will be the healthy scratches . . . Goalie Ilya Sorokin is expected to make his eighth straight start and extend his career high with a 13th straight appearance.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.