Barzal "Fully Healthy" and "Good to Go" Ahead of Training Camp

Mathew Barzal is healthy and raring to go as the New York Islanders are set to begin training camp this week.

That’s great news for the Islanders and their fans, as a pair of injuries limited Barzal was to 30 games last season. Barzal suffered an upper-body injury on Oct. 30 in Columbus that sidelined him until mid-December and a lower-body injury ultimately ended his season on Feb. 1 in Tampa.

One offseason later, Barzal is back to feeling like himself.

“I feel good. I feel like I've had a great summer,” Barzal said ahead of the team’s annual golf outing. “It's forced me to be extremely focused this summer, and kind of put every drop of energy into getting back. I'm obviously a competitor, and I don't take anything for granted. So I want to get back to where I was pre-injury. And I think I did a great job this summer of getting my strength back and mentally being getting stronger and feel good.”

Barzal posted 20 points (6G, 14A) in 30 games last season, which marked the fewest he’d played in a season since becoming a full-time pro. Barzal only missed one game during the first four years of his NHL career, but has missed 78 games over the past three seasons. Barzal was largely healthy in the 2023-24 campaign, recording 80 points (23G, 57A) in 80 games.

Barzal said the two injuries last season tested him mentally, but he’s emerged stronger on the other side.

“When you have an injury, like the one I did, you can go two ways with it mentally,” Barzal said. “You can kind of sulk in it and let it kind of own you – and it did, early on [because] watching it kills you at times, but then you flip switch, and you put everything into rehab and getting better… It’s fully healed and it's good to go. There's no worries about that. So mentally, it's just a matter of just doing whatever it takes to get back to being the player I was.”

Barzal is expected to start Training Camp at center, which is his natural position and where he started his NHL career. Last season Barzal played on Bo Horvat’s wing – something he’d be open to doing at times this season – but said being back in the middle is a chance for him to be more involved in the play. While things could change, Head Coach Patrick Roy suggested that Barzal will start camp with Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri.

“I'm excited,” Barzal said. “I'm ready for it, [center is] a little more involved, maybe around the ice, but like I said, I'll play anywhere.”