From Swimming To Skating, Kyle Palmieri Talks Injury Recovery

After a 10-month recovery process, trekking through the snowy Long Island winter to rehab and swimming laps in the pool, Kyle Palmieri is back with the New York Islanders at Training Camp. For the 35-year-old forward, it feels good to be back.  

"The idea of kind of being back in a team structure, and I've obviously been skating with my teammates for the last couple weeks here, but to do it with some structure and for real; I've missed it," Palmieri said. "It's been a long time, and it was nothing but exciting to be out there."

Palmieri tore his ACL during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 28, 2025, when he battled against Jamie Drysdale and landed awkwardly on the boards. The injury sidelined Palmieri for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, but not before he delivered one of the assists of the season.

Following the surgery, Palmieri stayed active, focusing on swimming to keep in shape.

"The first 12 weeks of the rehab, I was in the pool five, six days a week," Palmieri said. "It was more time swimming. I learned how to swim properly and do a couple things in the water that may have looked like I was a 90-year-old in a jazzercise class. I think the rehab consumed a lot of my time."

“It certainly wasn't pretty,” Palmieri added. “It gave me a bit of respect for people who do distance swimming because I'm not built for that.”

Palmieri is built for the cold however, not letting a cold Long Island winter or a snowstorm stop his road to recovery.

"It wasn't fun walking over there [to the Nassau County Aquatic Center] in the middle of winter and walking back with a wet bathing suit on, but I made it through a couple of snowstorms and stuff like that," Palmieri said. "It was just part of the process that I tried to do my best to kind of take day by day, and honestly, it kind of went fast, thinking of it's almost 10 months now. I think I can kind of replay the different phases in my head of the milestones and things that kind of occurred since the surgery."

While working on the rehabbing process, Palmieri had familiar faces to help him on his journey. Three other Isles also faced long-term injuries in the 2025-26 season, including Semyon Varlamov, Alexander Romanov and Pierre Engvall. The group motivated each other to keep working. 

"We all tried to push each other." Palmieri said. "It gets lonely and frustrating and monotonous, especially for those guys and the length of time that it's been. Me and Romy were kind of around the same time, as far as working back in, but I think to watch what those two guys [Varlamov and Engvall] went through and to stay with it, and it's really special to be a part of.”  

For Palmieri, there was another motivator in getting to the gym early: getting to choose the playlist. 

"My least favorite types of music is what usually was [playing],” Palmieri said of the music in the gym. “I try to get in the gym first and make sure I can get on there. Romy's got like a rap thing to him, Varly is like Ibiza beach club music, and it's just not for me.” 

Music taste aside, Palmieri appreciated the camaraderie and seeing all his teammates make a full recovery. 

“I'm sure we got on each other's nerves with music choices in the gym and things like that,” Palmieri said. “But I think for the most part we just try to be there for each other, and I think we're all happy that every one of us is out here and fully ready to go."

After 10 months of rehabbing, Palmieri made his return to Training Camp, reconnecting with captain Bo Horvat on a line. The duo is looking to pick up where they left off.

"It was good," Palmieri said about skating with Horvat after the first day of camp. "I think we had a couple good reps. There wasn't a ton of line stuff, but we'll work into that and then find our ways to get ready for the season."

Simon Holmström has been the third member of the line and has been impressed by Palmieri in his return.

“It looks just as the same as his game before, and it was a great player, and we missed him last year, so we're happy to have him,” Holmström said.

The Isles are returning an impact player, and person to their squad this season. Prior to the injury, Palmieri had 18 points (6G, 12A) in 25 games and had scored 30 and 24 goals, respectively, in the two seasons prior.

"I see a local guy who's got great leadership who I admired from the other bench for years,” said Islanders Head Coach Pete DeBoer. “He's a local kind of legend in these areas, both for how he plays the game, but more for what he stands for. I think his leadership and you know the honesty in him in his game and in him as a person.”