DETROIT — There are still at least 10 days before the Islanders need to make a decision on Isaiah George, and the original timeline for Adam Pelech's return from a presumed broken jaw It is set for four to six weeks from Nov. 1, when he was shot in the face. 1.
Pelech had not yet started skating on his own as of earlier this week, so there's plenty of time for things to change regarding the young defenseman.
But the first clue as to how the Islanders will deal with what amounts to a choice between George or Dennis Cholowski out of the lineup upon Pelech's return came Tuesday night in Calgary.
With the return of Alexander Romanov to the team, George is no longer needed on the top pair, but he still saw 22 minutes, 16 seconds of ice time compared to Cholowski's 14:04, and Cholowski's ice time on the power play was 2. It's equivalent to Uskey leading the team. The No. 10 Isles lost to the Flames 2-1.
Favorable to young people.
“I thought it went well. We were very good together,” George said of his first match against Ryan Purok. “It was great because he was a great partner.”
The forward numbers weren't very good for the two, and in fact, the Islanders as a whole spent most of the night in the defensive zone.
However, George displayed the same traits that made his first stint in the NHL so spectacular, staying out of trouble and skating up the ice with easy pucks.
The 20-year-old's unperturbed nature was what was most impressive about his game.
He doesn't play like a player who has played fewer than 10 games at this level.
“For the most part, I think the guys around me, the coaches and everything else have supported me and done a good job,” George said Thursday as the Isles open a five-game road trip with the Red Wings. he told the Post before finishing. “Be prepared and be ready. I feel confident there and ready. Of course you learn less as you go, but overall I feel like I'm ready. I feel like I can do it.”
With Mike Riley returning from heart surgery this week, it appears that once Pelech returns, either George or Cholowski will be the team's third-pair defenseman on the left side for the time being.
However, it's not as simple as assuming that George will get the job just because he has more time.
Cholowski also received high praise from coach Patrick Roy, who said power play time was a big question and Roy said the team didn't want to overtax Purock — if he added him to that unit, who will likely play 5-on-4 in Cholowski's place, and his intense play at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill makes him a healthy scratch.
“I feel like he can smell when he's going to rush, and what I like about him is he throws the puck to the net and finds a way to hit it on the net,” Roy said. said about Cholowski. “And he's defending well. I'm very happy with him.”
An argument could be made that George's development would benefit more from playing on the top pair in Bridgeport than playing on the third pair with the Islanders, but how comfortable George is in the NHL. Considering what I saw, that might be impossible.
On Thursday, he framed the jump from junior to Bridgeport (he played just four games before being called up) as a bigger adjustment than going from there to the NHL.
It's not something you normally hear, but it tracks his play as an Islander.
“Obviously this was a big change for me, having just been a junior for the last three or four years, you get used to the routine and everything,” George said. “Then when you go pro, everything changes again. That adjustment. But it was good.”
