Islanders Get First Look at UBS Arena During First Practice

As the New York Islanders filed onto the ice for their first practice at UBS Arena on Thursday, a voice from one of the construction workers in the stands bellowed out.
"Welcome home!"
The hearty call was both a welcome back from a 13-game road trip and a welcome to your new digs, as the Islanders finally got eyes of their long-awaited state-of-the-art new arena. The only way captain Anders Lee could describe walking in: surreal.

"We've been looking forward to this for a long time, and I know the fans have and the organization," Lee said. "To get in here today to practice was pretty cool and walk around the place for the first time and see what everything is about and how hard everyone has been working on this place. It's going to be really great and I'm excited for everyone to get in here and see a game and really enjoy this all together."

Thursday's practice officially started at 11:30, but nearly the entire team was on the Islanders bench 15 minutes early, watching the goalies go through their session. That's a rarity, but so is being the first NHL team to skate in a new building and the Islanders just wanted to soak it in for as long as possible. Ross Johnston and Oliver Whalstrom played rock-paper-scissors for first steps on the ice and even Ryan Pulock, who couldn't participate in the first practice due to a lower-body injury, stuck around to watch and posted "Can't wait to hear you Saturday" on his Instagram story.
Mathew Barzal wanted to get the full experience of walking into the building for the first time, so he intentionally shielded himself from seeing too much UBS Arena construction progress. He had no expectations heading in, but judging by his reaction, the building exceeded whatever he thought was possible.
"It absolutely blew me away," Barzal said. "I walked right in, saw the gym, saw the eating area and I couldn't wait to see more. The entire facility and the rink and how it was set up was so high end. I can't even tell you how nice it is down here. We're a really lucky group."

Barzal has been in the organization since 2015, but a handful of the longer-tenured Islanders have waited a long time for a new building. Scott Mayfield remembers being a part of the push for the Lighthouse Project in 2011 shortly after being drafted, so he can appreciate how long the organization has waited for this. Same with Lee.
"It's a brand-new building this franchise has been looking forward to for a really long time, so there's a ton of emption in that," Lee said. "It's an extremely exciting time for everyone that's put in a lot of work and a lot of fans who have been patient for this. There's a lot that's gone into it and it'll bring a lot of life."
Head Coach Barry Trotz said practicing in the new building gave his team some extra energy on Thursday. The Islanders coach said it was akin to practicing on a rink for a Winter Classic or Stadium Series. Eventually the novelty will wear off, but certainly not on day one.
Construction crews continued to put some of the finer touches on the building while the team practiced, but Trotz wanted to point out that the Islanders recent success also helped the building come to fruition.

"The guys have been a part of this team at least the last four or five years, they built this," Trotz said. "It's helped that we've been a competitive team the last couple of years and we have to continue to be a competitive team."
UBS Arena is set to open on Saturday when the Islanders host the Calgary Flames, a harken back to the Islanders opening Nassau Coliseum against the Atlanta Flames in 1972. After playing 13-consecutive games on the road, the Islanders are looking forward to finally playing a home game.
"We're going to be so excited," Barzal said. "It's all going to be channeled into our play, into our game. As a group we're just so excited to play in front of our fans after playing on the road for so long. We're going to channel it into the right directions… I can't tell you the excitement and energy level that was at the rink today being at a new facility and such a special facility."