Islanders fans are optimistic for a playoff berth this coming season
Islanders fans cheer following a first-period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at UBS Arena on Apr. 28, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Deer Park’s Kyle Hayden included his son, Jack, into the inquiry when asked what he expected from the Islanders this season.
“You think they’ll make the playoffs?” the 53-year-old Hayden asked his 18-year-old, who replied, quickly, “Yeah.”
“It’s a good question, it’s a tough question,” the elder Hayden said. “I’m expecting them to compete for the playoffs. I’m not sure they’re quite there. Keep in mind they’re rebuilding. I think they’re on the right path.”
The Haydens were at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow on Tuesday night as the Devils beat the Islanders, 4-3, in a shootout during a rookie camp game. Islanders faced the Devils in a rookie camp game. The team’s main training camp opens on Thursday under coach Pete DeBoer, who took over with four games remaining last season as the Islanders missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
They have not won a playoff series since 2021.
But the eight fans interviewed by Newsday at Tuesday’s game all expressed optimism partly based on the Islanders’ younger players, such as unanimous Calder Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer and Cal Ritchie, also a rookie last season, plus prospects Victor Eklund, Cole Eiserman and Daniil Prokhorov, all forwards, and defensemen Kashawn Aitcheson and Isaiah George.
All but Schaefer — who does not need to attend rookie camp — were in the Islanders’ lineup against the Devils.
Victoria Manzella, 27, of Bellmore, wore a No. 17 Matt Martin jersey as she made her way into the stands. But her 4-year-old son, Caden, who traveled in her arms as she navigated the crowd, wore a No. 48 Schaefer jersey.
“He loves Schaefer,” Victoria Manzella said.
She said she became an Islanders’ fan last season because her son, following the lead of his godmother, started ardently rooting for the team. And Tuesday marked the first game her son had attended since undergoing heart surgery on March 3. She said he slept with a Sparky doll during the two weeks he spent in the hospital recuperating.
And as Victoria Manzella learns about the Islanders to keep up with her son, she said she enters this season with “high hopes” for the team. “I’m expecting them to go far.”
Why?
“We have Schaefer,” she said.
Regardless of whether the Islanders return to the playoffs, the fans interviewed believe the team is headed in the right direction.
“I love this team,” said 18-year-old Larry Andres of Ronkonkoma, adding free agent forward Matias Maccelli should also help the Islanders improve. “It’s going to be hard but I do expect them to make the playoffs. I think the power play will be better. I think the defensive structure will be better under DeBoer. Schaefer is in his second year.”
“You think that they can squeak into the playoffs,” said 16-year-old James Glynn of Carle Place. “The Metropolitan Division is always open. If [goalie] Ilya Sorokin plays as well as last year, that should help the Islanders get to the playoffs. A few years ago, they had no prospects.”
“I expect them to compete for the playoffs,” said 58-year-old Ralph Ruggiero, who grew up an Islanders’ fan in the Bronx and remained a season-ticket holder at Nassau Coliseum even after moving to Fanwood, New Jersey. “I expect the kids to get integrated into the lineup.”
Dale Thomas, 51, of Plainview and 50-year-old Karen Johnson of Hicksville attended Tuesday’s game wearing matching white Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ jerseys, recalling that team’s former identity before rebranding as the Islanders and then moving to Hamilton, Ontario for this season. The friends said they won’t go to an AHL game in Canada but will travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to watch the team when it visits.
They’ve traveled together to Nashville, Tennessee to attend an Islanders’ NHL game and, this season, are planning a trip to Dallas.
They, too, are excited about the Islanders’ chances and praised the team’s direction.
“As a season-ticket holder, I’m happy about all the events they’re doing with us,” Thomas said. “We’re feeling more appreciated than in the past. Even if they don’t make the playoffs, the player engagement is better.”
“I hope everybody is healthy so we don’t have to shuffle lines as much as we did last year,” Johnson said. “I expect DeBoer to be an improvement. I expect the defense to be a little tighter. It looks like we’re going with our youth. I like having so many young guys that can come up.”
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.
