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Islanders Barry Trotz Unworried Over Aatu Raty Development with Karpat

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Aatu Raty

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz didn’t appear to be overly concerned about the news that Aatu Raty was scratched for the second consecutive game with Karpat on Saturday.

Raty started the year with the Islanders on Long Island for training camp before he was returned to Finland on September 30. The 18-year-old appeared in his first game of the season for his Liiga club on Wednesday when he centered Karpat’s third line.

However, Raty was a scratch on Friday for Karpat and then was scratched again on Saturday for their following game. Word of the prospect failing to play in consecutive games reverberated around social media Saturday morning.

“He’s playing on a very good hockey team,” Trotz said Saturday morning ahead of the Islanders preseason game in Bridgeport. “Obviously he just got back there. They probably have got things a little bit set in terms of how they started guys with their training camp. He’s a good hockey player. He’s probably going to be on a World Junior team. For now, I’m not too worried about his development.”

Aatu Raty was selected by the Islanders 52nd overall in this year’s draft and impressed the coaching staff during his stint in training camp. Raty had been projected to be a high draft pick, but after a down season, his stock fell.

Part of the problem for Raty was the depth that Karpat had which limited his playing time.

“He’s got all the tools and they must have a really good team for him to be a healthy scratch,” Trotz said. “He’s a terrific kid, so there’s no reason not to play him.”

Trotz said that he hadn’t kept his eye on the situation as much with roster decisions looming for the Islanders. He was certain that general manager Lou Lamoriello and the development staff have been monitoring Raty’s development since he returned to Finland.

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