Holmstrom Called Up & Skates With Barzal as Palmieri is Day-to-Day

As the New York Islanders came out of the tunnel for warmups Wednesday night against the Edmonton Oilers, netminder Ilya Sorokin did not lead them. No, it wasn’t Semyon Varlamov either. It was 21-year-old Simon Holmstrom.

The New York Islanders announced around the same time that forward Kyle Palmieri is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He sustained his injury after being blindsided by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly. Palmieri practiced this morning and took part in line rushes with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Zach Parise, but left halfway through.

“I think it was an equipment issue,” New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said.

He expected him to be available for tonight.

Both statement were wrong, as evident by the Holmstrom call-up.

The Islanders had the available roster spot as 29-year-old forward Nikita Soshnikov was placed on waivers on Nov. 15 and cleared the following day.

As we see with rookies across the NHL, Holmstrom, wearing no. 10,  took his rookie lap and, during warmups, skated alongside Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom on the Islanders’ top line.

Rookie solo lap for Simon Holmström! 👏 pic.twitter.com/5udSSrOp4E

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) November 24, 2022

We will have a shift-by-shift analysis of his performance for tomorrow morning.

In 15 games with the Bridgeport Islanders this season, Holmstrom recorded three goals and two assists. He skated primarily with Aatu Räty and William Dufour.

But the numbers may be a bit deceiving, says Bridgeport Islanders broadcaster Alan Fuehring.

“This is so well deserved. Numbers don’t tell the full story over his 15 games in the AHL this season,” Fuehring said. “His proverbial “200-foot game” has been solid. Congrats Simon!”

Simon Holmstrom was the most obvious choice for a call-up, as he is the most NHL-ready. He skated with Mathew Barzal some in the preseason and had some chances but did not bury.

Holmstrom gets a big chance in his NHL debut. We shall see if he makes the most of it.

This story will be updated after the contest.