Still plenty of room for Islanders' Anthony Beauvillier to grow
Islanders left wing Anthony Beauvillier skates with the puck in a scrimmage game during training camp at Northwell Health Ice Center on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Anthony Beauvillier, still just 23 as he enters his fifth NHL season, has a "high ceiling."
Those words come from Islanders’ linemate Brock Nelson. But Beauvillier, too, knows he still has untapped potential.
"I think I’m ready to take the next step in my game," Beauvillier said on Wednesday after scoring two goals in the first scrimmage of training camp, a 4-2 victory for his Blue squad. "I want to be a better player, a more consistent player and I want to be a big part of this group. It’s been like that for a couple of years now. I just have to do it."
Beauvillier had 18 goals and 21 assists to set a career high with 39 points while playing all 68 games last season. He then added nine goals and five assists in 22 postseason games as his line with Nelson and right wing Josh Bailey was the Islanders’ most consistent.
And coach Barry Trotz indicated that trio will be a constant in this truncated regular-season, which opens on Jan. 14 against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.Last season Bailey toggled between the second line and centering the third line.
"I probably did him a disservice last year by playing him in probably every position but goalie," Trotz said.
Beauvillier, too, found a home on Nelson’s wing. But he has been a streaky player through his first four seasons. Which is why he cites consistency as the component that can elevate his game.
"I think you learn as a player and you know what you’ve done wrong in the past and whatnot," said Beauvillier, who scored a career-high 21 goals in 2017-18. "It’s more about consistency. It doesn’t matter if you get points every night or not. It’s just about doing the right things. And, usually, when you do the right things, the points are coming and the team is winning.
"You kind of feel it and sometimes you don’t," Beauvillier added. "It’s a tough league. You don’t just want to have streaks, you want to have some consistency and be like that all year long. So, it’s the thing I’m looking forward to this season."
The Islanders have been seeking more scoring from their wings, evidenced by Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello hotly pursuing top free agent Artemi Panarin before he signed with the Rangers in 2019.
And the Islanders will need increased production up and down their lineup, particularly as long as Mathew Barzal remains absent. The team’s top playmaker and No. 1 center remains unsigned as a restricted free agent and presumed third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau took Barzal’s spot in between captain Anders Lee and right wing Jordan Eberle on the White squad for Wednesday’s scrimmage.
It’s a situation Beauvillier could find himself in next offseason as he enters the final season of a two-year, $4.2 million deal.
He is a pending RFA with arbitration rights. Naturally, finding the consistency he seeks and elevating his game would only increase his asking price.
"I think he’s taken quite a few steps in terms of consistency, for sure," Nelson said. "His points numbers have gone up. He’s contributed. And even when he’s not, he’s good. He’s getting chances and being a difference maker in learning how to impact the game in different ways.
"But with that being said, there’s still more room for him to grow. I think he knows that and he wants that challenge. That’s just part of being a competitor and he’s that so he’s definitely taken some strides to help the team. But he’s got a high ceiling."
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.
