Isles Day-to-Day: Practice Updates Oct. 19, 2026

The New York Islanders were back at Northwell Health Ice Center for practice on Monday, and Head Coach Pete DeBoer offered updates on Cal Ritchie and Matias Maccelli after they sustained lower-body injuries on Saturday.  

“They’re both under evaluation,” DeBoer said. “I think they've got doctor's appointments this afternoon... They're not going to play this week, but I don't have a prognosis yet on how long after this week that'll be.”

UPDATE: Maccelli is expected to be out 2-4 weeks, while Ritchie is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Read more here.

Lines

Simon Holmström  – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri
Emil Heineman – Brayden Schenn  – Victor Eklund
Ondřej Palát – JG Pageau – Anthony Duclair  
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Mitchell Chaffee  

Logan Stanley – Matthew Schaefer   
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock   
Matthew Kessel – Tony DeAngelo  

Extra: Scott Mayfield

With Ritchie and Maccelli absent from practice, the lines took on a new look. Brayden Schenn – who has played every game at left wing – was back at center in Ritchie’s second line spot.  

Additionally, Kyle Palmieri who started Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on the fourth line was back on the top line with Bo Horvat and Simon Holmström. Mitchell Chaffee was emergency recalled on Monday morning and joined the team for practice.  

Chaffee – who had six points (4G, 2A) in six games with the Hamilton Hammers this season – was alongside Casey Cizikas and Kyle MacLean in practice. Chaffee and MacLean are expected to make their season debuts on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks.  

Horvat said the injuries to two top-six forwards, Ritchie and Maccelli, reinforces what he called a “next-man-up mentality” as Chaffee and MacLean will look to bring a physical style to the fourth line.  

“We can't make excuses for ourselves,” Horvat said. “Good teams find ways to get wins, and we're a good hockey team in here, so we're gonna find a way to get wins.” 

DeBoer said the recent injuries don’t impact the return timeline for Mat Barzal, who continues to skate and work his way back from a lower-body injury.  

DeBoer said he told the team on Monday morning that the injuries emphasize the importance of playing within a structure.  

“If you have a foundation to your game, you can move pieces in and out of the lineup, you can survive those type of things and I think that's got to be our goal,” DeBoer said. 

DeBoer also said he learned about the kind of group he has in front of him on the bench and called Saturday’s 4-1 win over Toronto” He said the Isles stuck with the implemented game plan and battled through despite only having 10 forwards for over two-thirds of the game.  

“That was really a gut check type game,” DeBoer said. “Could have been easy to roll over there, and I saw a group that really dug in for each other and relied on our structure and our systems in order to get through a really tough situation so that's always a great sign early in the season.”

Chaffee Comes To The Island  

Mitchell Chaffee started his Sunday getting ready to suit up in game action for the Hamilton Hammers. By the end of the night, he had an assist, nine shots on goal and was on a plane to Long Island to be with the Islanders.  

Chaffee was aware of the injuries to Ritchie and Maccelli and found out after the Hammers’ 4-3 loss to the Syracuse Crunch that he’d be joining the Isles.  

He carpooled from TD Coliseum in Hamilton to the Toronto airport with Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche, Assistant General Manager and Hamilton Hammers GM Evan Gold, and co-owner Jon Ledecky and the four flew to Long Island together.  

Chaffee played the 2025-26 season with the Crunch and totaled 57 points (24G, 33A), tied for 25th in the AHL. He blends his strong offensive prowess with a physical brand which will pair well with Cizikas and MacLean.  

Chaffee inked a one-year contract with the Islanders in July, and this will be his first shot with the club since being signed. He said it’s an opportunity he’s excited for as he looks to make his Isles debut.  

“This is why you play the game,” Chaffee said. “You want to play at the highest level, and a big part of me is I feel like I can help this team. My plan is to come here and help the team in many different ways that I can and play my game and continue to get better. There's obviously a great staff here and a lot of good players and just learning from them as well.” 

Chaffee has been an all-situations player in the past on the power play, penalty kill and 5-on-5.  

DeBoer will be able to call upon Chaffee’s versatility if needed and the latter said understanding DeBoer’s system has come quickly due to the stylistically similar structure to that of Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning where Chafee spent parts of three seasons.  

“[He] just worked hard, good detail to his game, really professional,” DeBoer said. “What I liked best about him was he was disappointed when he went down, as he should have been, because he had a good camp. But the way he handled it, he went down had a hat trick in their opener. That's a great lesson on how to handle adversity and control what you can control and he did, and as a result, he's right back up here again.” 

When the Islanders signed Chaffee on July 1, they also signed defenseman Matt Kessel, his collegiate teammate at UMass (NCAA).  

Chaffee was the captain of the 2019-2020 UMass team they played on and the pair of Michigan products exchanged a series of congratulatory texts together when they signed with the Isles.

They may have an opportunity on Tuesday to play together for the first time in six years in a regular season game.  

“It’s awesome to have him up here,” Kessel said. “I was happy when he got signed here. We've seen what he can do during camp and awesome that he’s here now.”

MacLean Looking To Make The Most Of Opportunity 

DeBoer said a prevalent conversation between him and the coaching staff often regarded getting MacLean involved in the lineup.  

With the injuries to Ritchie and Maccelli, MacLean will likely get his shot to make his season debut on Tuesday against Anaheim.  

MacLean has played 172 career games scattered across three seasons with the Islanders including 59 a season ago.  

MacLean played with Chaffee during a preseason game and has played with Cizikas often in the past. He said their line is looking to bring the energy in the offensive zone and hunt pucks down.  

“On the forecheck, try to bring my legs tomorrow and make sure I'm up and down the ice and getting on pucks,” MacLean said. “Aside from that, try to be detailed and make sure I’m playing low with energy within the system.”