NYHN Daily: Reminiscing with Former Islander Scatchard, Chara Stories, & More

The New York Islanders are getting ready to start their training camp this week. Former Islander Dave Scatchard joins NYI Hockey Now editor and chief Christian Arnold and Sean Cuthbert for an amazing interview to talk about his career, Zdeno Chara, and more.

These stories and more in today’s Daily Links!

When former New York Islanders forward Dave Scatchard thinks about Zdeno Chara and their time on Long Island together, one story comes to mind pretty quickly. When Chara was first coming up in the NHL with the Islanders, Scatchared recalled, the future Hall of Famer didn’t have the right sticks. The length and the width of his sticks were incorrect and the 6-foot-9 defenseman had still been working to get more accuracy on his shots. (NYI Hockey Now)

Dave Scatchard joined Sean Cuthbert & Christian Arnold to talk about his brand new book “The Comeback – My Journey Through Heaven and Hell” and reminisce about his time as an Islander in the early 2000’s. The fellas also covered the latest Isles news including Chara, camp, and more. (Hockey Night NY)

To the surprise of nobody, really, Boston Bruins first round pick Fabian Lysell is expected to play for the Vancouver Giants in the WHL this season. The 18-year-old wrapped up a solid rookie camp introduction by notching three assists in Boston’s 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils at the Prospects Showcase in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. It was a better effort for the Swedish winger on Sunday than it was on Saturday as Lysell utilized his speed to dominate some of his shifts and fed fellow Swede Jesper Froden with a slick pass to set up a power play goal during the matinee affair. (Boston Hockey Now)

The Las Vegas Golden Knights signed center Nolan Patrick to a two-year deal worth $2.4 million. The contract is almost exactly on par with PHN’s prediction of a $1.3 million AAV. Still, it represented the last opportunity, albeit crazy and unlikely, for the Pittsburgh Penguins to add center depth and youth. The quiet offseason has not yielded more NHL talent on the Penguins roster, but it has produced an even older roster with holes to fill. Technically, the Penguins offseason ends on Thursday as training camp begins, but there are precious few options remaining for GM Ron Hextall to improve his Pittsburgh Penguins club. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

The Florida Panthers erupted for eight goals in the Prospect Showcase game on Sunday morning so one would think center Anton Lundell had his name all over the scoresheet. Lundell had one assist. And that is just fine. “He had the puck a lot and was making plays,” Charlotte Checkers coach Geordie Kinnear said. “He makes the players around him better and that’s the sign of a great player.” (Florida Hockey Now)

Defenseman Dru Krebs wears a smile as he walks over following Day 2 of Washington Capitals rookie camp. Soft-spoken and modest, he reflects on his journey so far — a childhood dream that’s becoming a reality. Krebs is attending his first NHL camp after a whirlwind summer and continued development amid a global pandemic. His calm collected demeanor off-ice is far different from his play at camp, which so far has been, physical, fast-paced and overall, prominent. To give an example: his day started off with 1-on-1 battles, where he threw a major check on Connor McMichael. (Washington Hockey Now)

The 7-3 loss the Detroit Red Wings absorbed at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets during Sunday’s NHL Rookie Tournament finale took a back seat. In the forefront of every player’s mind was the condition of Red Wings defenseman Jared McIsaac. Oft-injured Detroit defensive prospect McIsaac was hurt again. At first glance, this one looked like it would be the worst of the them all. As things turned out, the incident was far worse than the outcome. (Detroit Hockey Now)

Nolan Patrick will not be a holdout when the Vegas Golden Knights open training camp Wednesday. Patrick, the team’s remaining unsigned player, agreed Sunday to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $1.2 million. The 23-year-old center was acquired by the Golden Knights from the Nashville Predators this summer for center Cody Glass after the Philadelphia Flyers sent him and Philippe Myers to the Predators for Ryan Ellis. (Vegas Hockey Now)

Ryan Merkley still has a long ways to go. Despite a productive start to the 2021 Rookie Faceoff Tournament — Merkley notched three assists in an 8-4 loss to Anaheim — it’s the other end of the ice where the San Jose Sharks‘ 2018 first-round pick must improve by leaps and bounds to have a chance at making an NHL impact. Merkley’s defensive micro-stats from last year — a San Jose Hockey Now exclusive from SPORTLOGiQ — illustrates some of the 5-foot-11 defender’s problem areas. These are 5-on-5 stats for 292 eligible AHL defensemen. (Colorado Hockey Now)

Yes, the Vancouver Canucks need to sign their two young stars Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, and plenty of teams need to work their salary caps into order, but just for fun, I asked a mix of a dozen non-Pacific Division GM’s, player agents, and national broadcasters for their educated picks on the Pacific Division. Roughly totalled, the group brings approximately 400 years of direct NHL hockey exposure and experience to the table. I’m included in the twelve; I first covered the NHL and got sound bites for radio from a Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks game as a teenager in 1981. (And made $10 under the table!) (Vancouver Hockey Now)