Hub City a Chance to Bond for Islanders

When you spend as much time together as the New York Islanders do, your teammates become family.
Whether you're a part of the core veteran group or one of the the budding players in their early 20s, the Isles have endured triumphs and failures on the ice, and experienced all of life's greatest joys and most trying hardships off of it.

Now, they'll add competing for a Stanley Cup amidst a still present global pandemic to the list.
"There's that uncertainty that we know we've never been like this before," Isles captain Anders Lee said via Zoom on Friday afternoon. "That's the beauty of all of this. We're going to have each other. We're all going to be going through this together. Having each other is what is going to get us through this in those times of homesickness and just basic challenges that come with playing hockey and doing your best to play well, winning and losing. The team aspect is going to be stronger than ever."
ISLANDERS TRAINING CAMP
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Qualifiers and Playoffs Roster
Lee-Barzal-Eberle Ready
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Isles Excited For Qualifiers
Isles Depth A Strength
Isles-Panthers Broadcast Schedule
Return to Play FAQ
TRAINING CAMP VIDEO
Trotz and Lamoriello Zoom 7/25
Barzal and Eberle Zoom 7/25
Lee and Mayfield Zoom 7/24
Boychuk, Cizikas, Ladd Zoom 7/23
Eberle, Johnston, Nelson Zoom 7/20
During the pause, every player - father or not - had just spent four uninterrupted months at home with their families.
To reach this point, and participate in the NHL's Return to Play plan, every player had to make a sacrifice.
Over half to the Isles regular season roster are fathers, but for Lee, Jordan Eberle, Josh Bailey and Matt Martin, who all gave birth to baby girls during the pandemic, that meant leaving behind their newborns. For Casey Cizikas, that meant returning to his hometown without his son or wife, who is expecting their first daughter in October. For Scott Mayfield and Devon Toews, they've made the most of the circumstances after each having their July weddings postponed.
"One way or another you're leaving family behind," Martin explained. "You have to make those choices and make those decisions. The comfort that we have and the friendship that we have as a group are going to help us through uncomfortable different situations that we've never been a part of. Hopefully, we can come together and make some noise."
The experience of being quarantined in a hub city and residing in the same hotel as their opponents and competing at the highest stage in an empty arena is entirely novel situation for everyone involved. By bringing their Xboxs, guitars and playing cards and planning activities as a group since they'll be limited to only internal interactions, the Isles have already projected ways to instill some normalcy into their setups and routines.

"We're going to have a lot of time to kill," Jordan Eberle said via Zoom on Monday. "I'll definitely be bringing [my guitar]. I've talked to a few guys and a couple of guys are bringing some instruments. I'm sure we'll be a traveling band and I'm sure we'll get lots of cards in and play cards against each other. It'll be good to hang out with some guys."
Due to those circumstances, there's essentially a level playing field for all teams. One of the few factors that is within their control and provides the most normalcy, is what unfolds on the ice.
"It's going to be a mental grind," Scott Mayfield said via Zoom on Friday afternoon. "Playoffs always add a physical grind. I think this will add a mental grind to it as far as being away from your family and not being able to go home, sleeping in a hotel bed, all of that stuff that's out of your control. That's going to throw a little bit of a wrench in there for certain guys and certain teams. It's going to be a team that's mentally just focused on playing hockey and playing their best."

"It's anybody's chance to win the [Stanley] Cup and that's a good place to be," Johnny Boychuk added via Zoom on Thursday afternoon. "We have the chance to win the Stanley Cup. It's right from the start."
With so much of the year influenced by trials and tribulations on and off the ice, the Isles are embracing this exciting yet unconventional opportunity ahead. In weeks of preparation for this trip, the Isles have focused on shaping their own identity and the challenge of taking on the Florida Panthers. They've checked off 13 mentally and physically stimulating days of Training Camp. They've arrived in Toronto and they're betting on themselves.
"We proved at times how effective of a team we could be and how we can play with anybody," Lee said. "This opportunity that we have is extremely unique. Having these months off and then, coming back and being in a playoff position and making a run at this thing. We're as confident as anybody else coming into this that we can make a run at it."