After missing the end of last season with a kneecap injury that required surgery, Mat Barzal said Monday he is good to go heading into training camp.
Barzal, who told a group of reporters at the NHL’s media tour in Las Vegas last week that “you potentially never feel back at 100 percent” with injuries like the one he suffered, struck a different tone at the Islanders’ annual golf outing speaking to beat reporters for the first time this year.
“When you have an injury like the one I did, you can go two ways with it mentally,” Barzal said.
“You can kinda sulk in it, let it own you, and it did early on. Watching it, it kills you at times, but then you flip a switch and you put everything into rehab and getting better.
“So, it’s more so just mental. It’s fully healed, it’s good to go. There’s no worries about that. Mentally, it’s just a matter of doing whatever it takes to get back to being the player I was.”
Barzal played just 30 games last season, getting hurt two separate times, with the second injury — coming on a blocked shot off his knee — ending his year.
He was not invited to Team Canada’s Olympic orientation camp over the summer, a sign of his diminished standing after the injury, and will come into this year with much to prove.
“I’ve been skating for a little while now, I kinda know what it’s like,” Barzal said. “I think it’s gonna be a good gauge. I’m not even thinking about [the injury], putting emphasis. As soon as I step on that ice, clear mind and work as hard as I can.”
At least to start training camp, the Islanders are planning to move Barzal back to center, which he has only played in short stints since the team acquired Bo Horvat.
While early emphasis on training camp lines always proves shortsighted, coach Patrick Roy said Monday that the Islanders will start with Barzal centering Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri, while Horvat will play between Maxim Shabanov and Jonathan Drouin.
“I think me and Bo have great chemistry out there,” Barzal said. “Hopefully, we can find ways to get us on the ice [together] still ’cause I feel like we give our team a good chance of scoring.”
Roy was unsure whether Semyon Varlamov (knee) will be ready for the start of training camp, saying only that the goaltender has started to skate. Everyone else should be on the ice Thursday, Roy said.
Horvat said there are no lingering concerns about the ankle injury he suffered at World Championships.
