Andrew Gross: Islanders prospect Isaiah George eyes full-time NHL role ahead of training camp
Islanders' Isaiah George skates on the first day of prospect camp on Monday, June 29, 2026 in East Meadow. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche and coach Pete DeBoer have stated their belief that Isaiah George is an NHL player.
Now. This season.
“He’s mature,” DeBoer said. “He’s a pro, and I do think he’s ready.”
It makes sense. The 22-year-old lefthanded shot has shown flashes during his 37 NHL games the past two seasons. He’s poised with the puck, he’s able to defend against the rush, he’s comfortable jumping into the play up ice.
George, a fourth-round pick in 2022, just needs to stay healthy — that’s what repeatedly kept him from having more opportunities with the Islanders last season — and earn the playing time with six established defensemen already on the roster.
But Darche’s blueprint for sustained Islanders success eventually includes a core of young defensemen in George, franchise face Matthew Schaefer (who just won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year after a record-setting first campaign) and Kashawn Aitcheson, the 17th overall pick in 2025, who is starting his first professional season.
“Isaiah George will have every opportunity to be on this team and we hope he finds a way to be on this team,” Darche said.
But plans and hopes are just that. George knows exactly what he must do once DeBoer opens his first training camp as Islanders coach in September. It’s why George opted to attend this past week’s development camp at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow despite already having two seasons of professional experience.
“It’s good to have those expectations on yourself,” said George, who has recorded a goal and five assists with the Islanders and six goals and 26 assists in 80 AHL games. “But at the end of the day, you’ve just got to come in and earn it, and that was my mentality my first year coming into camp and it’s the same mentality this year. Just put my best foot forward and come in as prepared as I can. And my goal, always, coming into camp was to make the NHL.”
Currently the Islanders’ returning defensemen are lefthanders Schaefer, Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov and righthanders Ryan Pulock, Tony DeAngelo and Scott Mayfield.
George has consistently indicated a willingness to play wherever needed, but DeBoer said he’s more inclined to keep the young player in his natural spot at this stage. Interestingly, DeBoer freely offered that he would consider moving Schaefer to the right as an option. That, too, could open a door for George at the expense of Mayfield.
It all sets up George’s push to become a full-time NHLer as one of the main storylines at training camp.
Yes and . . . maybe?
Teams lose exclusive signing rights to players drafted out of the NCAA on Aug. 15 of the year their class graduates, essentially after four years of eligibility. For the Islanders, defenseman Ryan Healey, selected in the fourth round by the Wild in 2022, will become an unrestricted free agent next month if he does not sign an entry-level deal. Center Danny Nelson, taken by the Islanders in the second round in 2023, has until next year to sign with the organization.
Both spoke to Newsday as they attended the Islanders’ development camp. Nelson said he will play his senior season at Notre Dame and then sign with the Islanders. Healey was not so sure of his future after four seasons at Harvard.
“I wasn’t really expecting the trade, but I’m happy about it,” said Healey, 22, acquired by the Islanders for future considerations on June 27 with the Wild not convinced he would sign. “[The Islanders] are a great organization and I’m just excited for the opportunity to come out here and give myself a chance.”
Nelson said the lure of playing a final collegiate season with his two brothers as teammates was too great to ignore. His older brother, Henry, is a defenseman who also attended the Islanders’ development camp. Their younger brother, Sammy, is an incoming freshman. It’s the first time all three will be teammates.
“It was a great opportunity either way; that’s what made it such a tough decision,” Danny Nelson said. “I wanted to do both so bad. That was something I didn’t want to pass up, the opportunity to play with my two brothers.”
Becoming a free agent isn’t a thought.
“It was either sign with the Islanders now or go back to school and sign with the Islanders after next year,” Nelson said. “Obviously, I can see how it could get looked at like that.”
Mutual respect
New AHL coach Jay McKee may well work with prized defense prospect Kashawn Aitcheson, the 17th overall pick in 2025, who will start his first professional season with Hamilton, Ontario.
The two have history and mutual respect. Aitcheson helped Barrie eliminate McKee-coached Brantford in seven games in the OHL semifinals this spring.
“I don’t like him. He knocked us out of the playoffs this year,” McKee, a former NHL defenseman, said with deadpan humor during the Islanders’ development camp. “I first interacted with him, we held a top prospects game in the OHL and we had him on our team. He’s just such a vibrant personality. He’s a treat to coach. On the other side of it, he’s frustrating to play against. Special player, ton of potential.”
“He’s a great guy; he’s a great coach,” Aitcheson said. “It was a really tough seven games that they gave us. If I’m there [Hamilton], I’m super-excited for him to be my coach.”
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.
