The New York Islanders switched up their practice groups on Saturday morning.
See below for the revised groups.
NOTES
Matthew Schaefer on Right Side
Matthew Schaefer skated on the right side on a pairing with Adam Pelech. Schaefer, a left-handed shot, skating on the right was something Head Coach Pete DeBoer said he wanted to see at camp, noting Schaefer's ability to play all over the ice.
"It's not the first time he's played right, and like I said, he ends up on that side a lot in the games when you watch him, anyway," DeBoer said. "I think the rest of our lineup will dictate [whether he plays on the left or right]. [It'll depend on] who elevates here in training camp, who plays well. Do we need him on the right because of the way the rest of the D is rolled out? [If] we hit any injuries. Just the familiarity with having had some reps on the right, so that we have that option in all those situations is the idea."
DeBoer Starts Work on Power Play
DeBoer also started work on the Islanders power play, which he said is going to take some time to revamp.
"It's not a quick fix. It hasn't been good for quite a while," DeBoer said. "We're looking to take steps and build a foundation and try and get this to be good going forward. Now you cross your fingers and hope it's a quick fix. I'm very confident it's going to be improved and we're not easing into it."
The Isles power play converted at 16.5% last season, which ranked 30th in the NHL and ranked 31st at 12.6% the year prior. DeBoer said he felt the power play was a little "stagnant" last season with players being too locked into their own positions on the power play and less fluid.
"The good power plays are interchangeable," DeBoer said. "There's a lot of motion, there's a lot of movement, there's a lot of guys moving to different parts of the ice, and they're interchangeable in their positioning. I felt this group was really stagnant almost deferring to well, that's my spot there, that's your spot.
"The biggest thing is using the whole zone and being interchangeable," DeBoer added. "Like all the elite power plays are."
BLUE GROUP
Forwards
10 - Brayden Schenn
11 - Anthony Duclair
14 - Bo Horvat
18 - Pierre Engvall
21 - Kyle Palmieri
26 - Mitchell Chaffee
32 - Kyle MacLean
44 - JG Pageau
51 - Emil Heineman
53 - Casey Cizikas
63 - Matias Maccelli
64 - Cal Ritchie
73 - Victor Eklund
81 - Ondrej Palat
92 - Simon Holmstrom
Defensemen
3 - Adam Pelech
4 - Matt Kessel
6 - Ryan Pulock
7 - Marshall Warren
24 - Scott Mayfield
28 - Alexander Romanov
36 - Isaiah George
37 - Kashawn Aitcheson
48 - Matthew Schaefer
77 - Tony DeAngelo
Goaltenders
30 - Ilya Sorokin
40 - Semyon Varlamov
41 - Vitek Vanecek
LINES
Holmstrom - Horvat - Palmieri
Maccelli - Ritchie - Schenn
Eklund - Pageau - Heineman
Palat - Cizikas - Duclair
Engvall - MacLean - Chaffee
Pelech - Schaefer
Romanov - Pulock
Aitcheson - DeAngelo
George - Mayfield
Warren - Kessel
