New York Islanders Head Coach Doug Weight shed light into Ryan Pulock‘s role with the team heading into the 2017-18 season.
General manager Garth Snow traded away one of the New York Islanders top-four defensemen in Travis Hamonic earlier this offseason.
The move was puzzling at the time since the Islanders are looking to make more of an impact sooner rather than later and dealing a top-four defender for a handful of picks (albeit they were a 1st and two 2nd rounders) didn’t seem like an immediate fix.
But new head coach Doug Weight shed light on what the organization’s intention will be on the blueline heading into next season:
The Islanders defense was a topic that has been heavily speculated since the abrupt departure of Hamonic, but now with some official word, answers are presenting themselves. Signing Adam Pelech to a four-year deal also helps push the Islanders youth movement on the blueline.
It’s good to have some official confirmation of Pulock’s long-awaited inclusion on the Islanders roster. For the last two seasons, fans have been clamoring that the 22-year-old should be a mainstay, with the #FreePulock movement really gaining momentum through the second-half of the 2016-17 season.
The inclusion of Pulock gives immediate help to the NHL’s 28th-ranked power play and a Shea Weber-like presence that can demolish pucks at over 100 mph.
It looks like it’s finally #PulockTime time in Brooklyn this October.