Coburn Getting Settled with Islanders

It's been a busy 72 hours for Braydon Coburn to say the least.
From solidifying the
trade from Ottawa to Long Island
on Sunday night to driving through the Canadian border by himself on Monday, to completing COVID-19 protocols, to joining the team for his first practice on Wednesday morning and then, shipping up to Boston that afternoon to begin a three-game road trip, it's been a whirlwind.

But the 36-year-old veteran defenseman is rolling with it.
"Basically, I'm here to do whatever they need me to do," Coburn said, with a freshly shaven face, during his first media availability following practice."

Coburn capped off the Islanders acquisitions at this year's NHL Trade Deadline, after the team acquired forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from New Jersey on April. 7. With the addition of Coburn, the Islanders bring in an experienced veteran who has reached the ultimate goal of hoisting the Stanley Cup, as he accomplished last season with Tampa Bay.
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"When you win the Cup there's an instant respect factor that goes there," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "But one of things I know about Braydon is that he's earned that respect for the years in the league and going through the battles and then, last year being a part of the Tampa Bay team. It does land a lot of credibility to your words and what you do."
Trotz has familiarity with Coburn, who hails from western Canada - Shaunavon, Saskatchewan to be precise - and an appreciation for his disciplined, rugged and committed style of play. Over the course of his 15-year NHL career, the left-shot has amassed 234 points (49G and 185A) and 716 PIMs in 980 career NHL games.
"Braydon is a guy who is a tremendous worker," Trotz said. "He's a really good person. I've known Braydon for a few years. He went to the same high school [Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan] as me and [Jordan Eberle] so we know a lot of the same people through that connection. If you talk to any of his former coaches, they'll tell you what a kind of quality person he is."
While Coburn only dressed in three games of Tampa's Stanley-Cup winning run last season, he still offers wealth of experience when it comes to the games that matter the most. Coburn has appeared in 137 career Stanley Cup Playoff games and scored 32 points (3G, 9A). He's also appeared in three Stanley Cup Finals (Philadelphia 2010, Tampa Bay 2015, 2020) and six Eastern Conference Finals.

Coburn is expected to bolster the Islanders defensive depth, giving them a seasoned option to insert into the lineup down the stretch and into the playoffs. And with a 6-foot-5, 224-pound frame, he certainly knows how to make an impression.
"He's been around, I've been playing against him since I came into the league," Cal Clutterbuck said. "He's one of those guys who is really, really strong, really tough to play against and has been in some really big moments. He knows how to be and knows how to play. He's just going to add to the experience, the character and the strength of our team."
For Coburn - who will wear No. 45 - he's excited for the opportunity to compete with a team that's been vying for first place in the ultra-competitive East Division for the majority of the season and join a tight-knit group. When it came down to making the decision, Coburn didn't have an issue waiving his No Trade Clause (NTC) to join the Islanders.
"When you think of teams and you think of identities, it's not hard to pin an identity on this team," Coburn said. "They're just a hard working great defensive team with a lot of skill. For me, it was an easy decision to come down here."
While Jordan Eberle and Thomas Hickey are the two players that Coburn is most familiar with, he's excited to get to know the group on a deeper level after having faced them regularly when he was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers from 2007-14.
"[Eberle and Hickey] are from Calgary - my wife's from Calgary - I've spent a lot of time there training in Calgary," Coburn said. "I know those guys very well. They're a little bit younger than me, but [they're] great guys. [Eberle] was born in or is from Regina and I'm from - Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. Zajac, I played with him in one of the world championships. To be honest, some of the guys it feels like I know them. Just the fact that I've played so many games against this group over the years. There's not many games on this team that I don't feel like I know at least from a competitive standpoint."

What stands out to Coburn, when asked about any comparisons between the Islanders and last year's Tampa Bay squad, about the Islanders is its resolute team identity and culture, something he thinks highly of.
"A lot of the things are the same," Coburn said. "The identity of the team. With that whole thing - I saw in Tampa - the more a group stays together, the more the chemistry builds, the stronger the group becomes. I truly believe that. I was telling someone the other day, 'If you're going to play the Islanders in a series, I think they're one of the toughest outs.' To beat this team it's really, really tough. Last year with Tampa, it was a grind for sure and one that wasn't taken lightly."
With rosters around the NHL officially solidified and just 14 regular season games remaining, Coburn is excited to be a member of the Islanders.
"It's something that's contagious and you just want to keep winning again and again," Coburn said of competing for a Stanley Cup. "You want to be part of a group that has success. That doesn't go away."