Islanders rookie defenseman Isaiah George impressing
Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Ryan Reaves battles for the puck with Islanders defenseman Isaiah George in front of Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin during the first period of an NHL game in Toronto on Saturday. Credit: AP/Frank Gunn
Other things may or may not happen this season for the Islanders, namely a concerted playoff push or the potential trades of pending unrestricted free agents Brock Nelson and/or Kyle Palmieri.
But there already is one certainty: Rookie defenseman Isaiah George has been fast-tracked for NHL success.
He showed it again as the Islanders — who will face the Sabres on Monday night at UBS Arena before heading into their holiday break — impressively topped the host Maple Leafs, 6-3, on Saturday night. George, who grew up a Maple Leafs fan a half-hour outside Toronto, returned home after two games as a healthy scratch to notch his first NHL goal.
“Sometimes it’s just a reset,” coach Patrick Roy said after George logged 14:51 with three shots and two blocked shots while skating with Scott Mayfield. “Mentally it was a grind and a lot of games. Don’t forget, last year he was in juniors.”
George, 20, has one goal and three assists in 20 NHL games after an unintentionally brief four-game AHL apprenticeship to start the season. But more impressive than his wrist shot from the left circle that got deflected down past Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll were third-period defensive plays against Bobby McMann and then Max Domi that likely prevented strong scoring chances.
“It’s cool,” a beaming George said after Saturday’s victory, the first time he’s played at Scotiabank Arena. “I grew up coming to this rink to watch Leafs games, concerts. To have family, friends, people that helped me get here to all be watching the game, too, is special.”
The Islanders’ loss of half of their defense corps to injuries on Nov. 1 hastened George’s NHL debut. A maturity that belies his youth has helped him handle the ups and downs of life in the big leagues and not look out of place on the ice.
In addition to Saturday’s strong bounce-back from his first two NHL healthy scratches, George responded well after being benched for poor defensive work and puck management in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Kings on Dec. 10. There were few to no mistakes two days later when George played 14:33 in a 5-4 win over visiting Chicago.
“I do love that,” teammate Matt Martin said of George’s even-keeled and mature demeanor. “A very composed individual in general. A very talented player. One of the more impressive things is, like anybody, when he has made mistakes, it doesn’t seem to affect his game. I think that’s a pretty unique sign for a 20-year-old.”
“You look at video, you know what went wrong and what you can do better,” George said. “It’s just a matter of having a clean slate and being ready to go.”
The 6-1, 196-pound George is a good skater with puck-moving ability and offensive instincts to match his poise with the puck in the defensive end. It’s easy to envision him being part of the Islanders’ younger core defensemen with Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov for seasons to come.
It’s equally as easy to envision him being highly coveted by other teams, especially on a manageable entry-level contract, in a deal that could help the Islanders revamp their aging core.
George has quickly proved to be one of the Islanders’ top assets.
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.
