Five Takeaways from Lou Lamoriello's Preseason Press Conference

After announcing the team's
23-man roster
on Monday evening, New York Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello addressed the media on a variety of topics.
Off the top, Lamoriello was pleased with the team's training camp, Lane Lambert's first as the Islanders Head Coach. Lamoriello cited the Lambert's communication skills with the players, as well as how the coach directed his practices - which were up tempo and featured a focus on battle drills - and demeanor behind the bench.

While the exhibition games don't count towards the standings, the Islanders were 4-2-0 in preseason play, winning their last four games to close out the exhibition slate.
"Training camp went extremely well," Lamoriello said. "We gradually worked into exactly what Lane and his staff had planned as far as trying to get the team to play a certain way, to make the various tweaks or changes, but never lose the fundamental thought process of the defensive part of the game. At this point, we're getting closer and closer. We'll see where we're at opening night, but I feel very comfortable going into the season."

CLUTTERBUCK'S IR DESIGNATION:

Cal Clutterbuck was placed on IR to start the season, retroactive to Sept. 26, as the veteran winger was dealing with some lingering soreness after a preseason game.
"Cal had a little soreness after one of the games and we shut him down completely to get it so that he was 100%," Lamoriello said. "He's been skating on his own and he will be joining the team on a day to day situation. We expect this to be a short turnaround as far as him being in the lineup."
Clutterbuck's retroactive IR placement means he could be available for the Islanders' season opener on Thursday vs Florida, but Lamoriello said it was unlikely he'd play given how much time he's missed at camp.

MAYFIELD SHOULD BE READY FOR OPENING NIGHT:

Scott Mayfield is expected to re-join the team for practice on Tuesday and is also expected to be available for Thursday's game, per Lamoriello.
The GM assured reporters that Mayfield was "100%" despite not skating with the team for the past week. The defenseman had skated on his own for the past couple of days.
"He's been a little under the weather," Lamoriello said. "He has been skating on his own for a couple of days and he will join the team tomorrow. And he should be ready for opening night."

SALO AND AHO MAKE THE SQUAD:

Both Robin Salo and Sebastian Aho were named to the Islanders 23-man roster, as the team filled the sixth and seventh spots on the blue line internally.
Lamoriello said that Salo appeared to grab the sixth spot in his eyes - likely to be paired with Mayfield. As for Aho, Lamoriello said the defenseman's NHL experience - 61 games over three seasons - offensive instincts and being a left shot were the decisive factors in including him over Paul LaDue and Grant Hutton, who are both right shots.
"He's a left shot. He's offensively minded and he plays an up tempo [game]," Lamoriello said. "We know what we can get out of him."
Lamoriello went out of his way to praise LaDue and Hutton.
"It was tough to send Paul and Grant down and put them on waivers," Lamoriello said. "They had an excellent camp, but they're right shots and we felt that Sebastian did nothing wrong and has more experience in the NHL."

PROSPECTS READY TO PUSH IN BRIDGEPORT:

Lamoriello was clear at the onset of camp that it was going to be a longshot for prospects like 2021 second-round pick Aatu Raty, or junior standout William Dufour to make the Islanders roster out of training camp.
Neither Raty, Dufour, or 2019 first-round pick Simon Holmstrom, ended up making the team, but they still made an impression on Lamoriello.
"They're closer [to the NHL] than then maybe we would have thought they might have been," Lamoriello said. "We'd rather bring them up a little late rather than too soon. And I think that they'll go to Bridgeport. We should have a real good team in Bridgeport. They'll get to play a lot, but they're close enough to be ready if any of our players falter at one time or another. We're very comfortable with what we saw in training camp."
Raty had two points (1G, 1A) in three preseason games, while Dufour had an assist in his lone preseason contest. Holmstrom had a pair of shots in his three preseason games. This season would mark Raty's first full season in North America and Dufour's first season in Bridgeport, while Holmstrom is returning to Bridgeport for a fourth year.

PANIK AND WILDE TO BE ASSIGNED:

Both Richard Panik and Bode Wilde are still awaiting their assignments, which Lamoriello expects to have finalized in the next 48 hours.