Barzal Learning, Growing in First 100 Games

Mathew Barzal's hitting a mini milestone on Saturday night, when he plays his 100th NHL game. He'll need 10 times that amount before getting a silver stick, but the century offers a chance to take stock of the past two years, which have flown by.
"It went by quick," Barzal said. "It's been a fun ride so far. There's obviously ups and downs. The first 100 games you're getting used to the speed and size of these guys out here, so just trying go adapt and play my game."
Barzal said he's learned a lot over his first 99 games in the NHL. The first lesson was a harsh one about playing the puck before stepping out of the penalty box in his first game, but every day he's picked up something new from the elder Islanders.

"I've been just trying to learn certain things from the older guys and take little things they do at the rink and away from the rink and try to be more of a pro," Barzal said. "We have a great group here and they've obviously helped me along and over the last little while I've become more mature and it's thanks to those guys."

The maturity showed when he was asked about what he's most proud of during two separate scrums with reporters. He didn't bring up the Calder Trophy, or his three five-point games, but instead looked back at how he handled the year-long gap between games two and three, when he was sent back to Seattle for an extra year in junior.
"I'm most proud of two or three years ago, I got sent back and had a good year," Barzal said. "I didn't take it off and then came back and was fortunate enough to make the team and have a solid year last year."
Following up on an 85-point rookie season is a tall task for anyone, but Barzal is near that pace with 13 points (1G, 12A) in 15 games to start the season. That comes despite tougher matchups and adjusting his game to Barry Trotz's defensively-minded system. That's what separates year two from year one, adding new dimensions after putting the league on notice last season.
"He burst onto the scene last year and I think with a lot of guys in his position, being as talented and successful in year one you have to find a way to add to that and deal with the added pressure that year two brings," Cal Clutterbuck said. "That's a learning process in and of itself."

Clutterbuck, who does not impress easy, is impressed by how Barzal's handled himself in his second year thinks the 21-year-olds ceiling is even higher as an NHL player.
"His career is really still in his infant stages, so it's been impressive to see him be able to maintain the ability to create offense," Clutterbuck said. "At the same time I think he'll be the first to tell you he has more and is in the process right now of trying to figure out who he is and how he's going to go about growing his game to another level."
Trotz wants to unlock that potential from Barzal. The Islanders coach praised Barzal for his elite skating ability, vision and his ability to go coast-to-coast with the puck, but wants to help him become a complete player.
"He's an elite talent and our goal as coaches and his goal - and we're in the partnership there - is to make him an elite player and there's a difference between the two," Trotz said. "He's made some strides, being on the right side of pucks and understanding situational play a little bit better and that will come. He's still a young guy who has relied on speed, skill and talent to overcome any of the technical or positional aspects, he's always been able to make that up with his skating ability. We're just trying to get those two to marry a bit and once they do he'll get to where we want him to be."

Barzal's NHL resume already has him in some elite company, whether it's matching Bryan Trottier's Isles rookie assist record, or matching Evgeni Malkin's rookie numbers. If Barzal, who has 98 career points in 99 games, can record two vs the Panthers, he'll join Connor McDavid as the only players this decade to net 100 points in their first 100 games.
While that would be another nice accolade, Barzal said he'd rather get two points, another sign of maturity from the Isles young star.
"The thing I'm looking forward to most is that we're off to a good start here," Barzal said. "It's fun winning and being at the top of the leaderboard and you feel like you're in it, in the hunt. We have a good team here, a good coaching staff and everyone is really excited for what we can do this year."