Perunovich Positioned to Help Islanders on Blue Line

There is another new face on the New York Islanders’ blue line, as Scott Perunovich joined the team for Tuesday’s morning skate.

Perunovich was acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Monday afternoon, helping to fill the void left by Ryan Pulock’s upper-body injury. It was a whirlwind 24 hours for the 26-year-old, who is expected to make his Islanders debut against Colorado.

“It was a long day yesterday, but I’m happy to be here,” Perunovich said. “The guys have been great so far and I’m looking forward to it.”

While Perunovich is a new face, it’s a familiar situation for the Islanders, who signed free agent d-man Tony DeAngelo on Friday in the wake of a lower-body injury to Noah Dobson. (Perunovich and DeAngelo’s acquisitions also mimic the back-to-back additions of Mike Reilly and Robert Bortuzzo – also from the Blues – last season.) For the Islanders, who have won a season-long four-in-a-row, the reinforcements back the belief in the room that the team can make a push for the playoffs in the second half of the season.

“Right now we’re banged up, we’re missing a lot of key guys, going out and getting Tony and now Scott to try and keep us in it,” Brock Nelson said. “We’re still trying to win, so it’s huge.”

Perunovich has an offensive pedigree, recording 105 points (20G, 85A) in 115 games at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, culminating in the 2020 Hobey Baker Award as the top player in NCAA D1 hockey. He also scored over a point-per-game in the American Hockey League, posting 42 points (5G, 37A) in 39 with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

“My skill-set is a puck-moving defenseman and we have good forwards here,” Perunovich said. “Hopefully it’s a good fit and [I can] just kind of get my feet moving, jump up and try to create some offense.”

Head Coach Patrick Roy had a similar assessment and said Perunovich will get a chance to play on the Islanders power play.

“He’s a good puck mover,” Roy said. “We feel like he’ll help our power play, so he’ll play there. I’m excited to give him the chance to play for us.”

Perunovich said it was difficult to say goodbye to close friends in St. Louis, but understands the opportunity in front of him to make an impact with a new team in a playoff chase.

“It was a surprise, but I knew something was probably coming,” Perunovich said. “It was definitely sad saying goodbye, but you have to do what’s best for you and this is it.”

Despite being one of four Minnesotans on the team – Perunovich hails from Hibbing, MN – he doesn’t have any connections to the current Isles. He did get some intel on Long Island from former Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy.

“He had nothing but good things to say,” Perunovich said. “He said to reach out, but I won’t have any problems, it’s a great group of guys, great staff and should be an easy transition.”