Aatu Raty, Samuel Bolduc making most of their call-ups with Islanders
Aatu Raty of the Islanders skates against the Red Wings at UBS Arena on Friday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
As the Islanders head into their eight-day All-Star break/bye week, one of the more positive developments during this disappointing month has been center Aatu Raty and defenseman Samuel Bolduc, two of the organization’s top prospects, showing flashes that they can handle a full-time NHL role.
Both were in the lineup as the Islanders concluded a two-game homestand against Vegas on Saturday night at UBS Arena. Their season will resume on Feb. 6 in Philadelphia.
“That’s been a bright spot with each one of the players that have come up,” president/ general manager Lou Lamoriello said in general of the players who have been recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
“They’ve filled the role, whatever asked of them. Sometimes they had to go in situations that maybe is not best for them, whether they’re normally a top-six forward that had to fill in on the bottom six because that’s where the injury was or that’s what’s needed.
“I think each and every one of them, in a different way, have handled every situation the way we would have liked them to handle it and also given us an indication that they’re not far away from being a significant factor in our lineup.”
Having a steady influx of prospects onto the NHL roster is crucial under a salary cap because the younger, cheaper assets allow more flexibility to fill in the lineup in other ways.
Raty, 20, the 52nd overall pick in 2021, had two goals in his first 11 NHL games entering Saturday. Passing the 10-game threshold meant this season counts toward his three-year, $2.8 million entry-level contract.
“Yeah, it’s a good thing,” Raty said. “I didn’t try to think about it too much. But I don’t think anybody wants their contract to slide another year. I’m really happy about that, that they trusted me to give me that 10th game. Not having to think about that at all is a great thing.”
The Islanders project Raty as a top-six forward, but he had been centering the fourth line with Casey Cizikas skating instead on top-line center Mathew Barzal’s right wing. But coach Lane Lambert had started to give Raty some limited shifts with Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier, particularly in Friday night’s 2-0 win over the visiting Red Wings.
“We’ll see what happens,” Lambert said. “I think [Raty] keeps getting better with every game he plays. He’s responsible [defensively] and he’s hungry on pucks. The three of them, they work well together.”
Bolduc, 22, a second-round pick in 2019, went without a point in his first three NHL games. Defenseman Noah Dobson missed his fourth game on Saturday with a lower-body injury.
The 6-4, 220-pound Bolduc will never be the fleetest skater and sometimes needs to be more assertive in taking his hard shot from the point (he got three pucks on net in his first three games). But he’s been poised in the defensive end.
“You either have it or you don’t,” Lambert said. “His vision on the ice helps with that poise.”
Bolduc earned enough immediate trust from Lambert to be inserted as the quarterback on the first power-play unit by his second game.
But one of the biggest factors in whether Bolduc turns this opportunity into a full-time NHL role is how quickly he learns to use his body.
“I just have to learn how to use it,” he said. “But it’s a big advantage. Once you get body position on guys, it’s easier to make a play. In practices and in the games, I’m going to have to learn how to use it better.”
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.
