The New York Islanders got the rare opportunity over the past couple of weeks to see some of their Bridgeport players get into the NHL lineup. They had as many as five defensemen out along with multiple important forwards due to injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak. Do any of the call-ups deserve to stay in the lineup now that the team is mostly healthy again?

Sebastian Aho

It’s difficult for young players in the NHL to prove their worth when surrounded by a poor-performing team. Sebastian Aho has faced this problem more so than any other young Islander. In his rookie season in 2017-18, the young Swede played in 22 games and the Islanders finished with more goals against than any other team in the league.

Despite being with the top club for the past two years, he played in just three games last season and has skated in nine games this season, all of those during the team’s losing streak and many of them when a lot of defensemen were out due to COVID-19 or injury. Aho has shown bursts of talent accompanied by a fair share of mistakes, but one could argue he should be given more room for error than some of the veterans.

He has shown improvement and will continue to do so if the coaching staff shows faith in him and keeps giving him opportunities. 

Robin Salo

Robin Salo played well in Bridgeport to start his first season in North America and was one of the first players called up to the NHL level. He has registered more minutes per game than any Islander not named Adam Pelech — and that includes Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield. With the whole back end minus Mayfield out with COVID-19 or injury, Salo was trusted with a large workload and showed that he is capable of being an NHL-caliber defenseman.

Grant Hutton

Hutton has spent parts of the past three seasons playing in Bridgeport after a four-year collegiate career at Miami University (Ohio). He went undrafted and finally got his first big league call-up this year at the age of 26. With Pulock out due to injury — and Zdeno Chara struggling — one could reasonably justify that Hutton would be best-suited to fill in for him given the fact that he’s one of few righty defensemen in the Isles’ organization. 

Barry Trotz on the callups: "they've all had games where they were very good. there were times when they looked a little unsure. We did find out a lot about alot of our young guys. You can win with them." #Isles

— Peter Schwartz (@SchwartzSports) December 1, 2021

Thomas Hickey

Hickey is an experienced veteran who has been in the organization since 2013. He is older than the other defensemen on this list, but he is capable of a spot in the lineup given his experience and leadership capabilities.

Austin Czarnik

Czarnik was a late call-up, coming up after most of the team was back from COVID-19. He put up 12 points in 18 AHL games and deserved the call-up. He is known to play the right way and can fill whatever role is asked of him. 

Kieffer Bellows

At a time when the team could use more offensive production, it might be worthwhile to give the young Edina native a bigger role. He hasn’t played a game in Bridgeport yet this season, but he has been a healthy scratch for the majority of Islanders’ games. He has been given little opportunity over the past few years to play with high-skilled players and is well-deserving of it. 

Otto Koivula

Like Bellows, Koivula is a young forward with a lot of potential. He registered nearly a point-per-game in Bridgeport and was thrust into the lineup during the team’s COVID-19 outbreak. He played three games and registered his first career NHL point on a shot that was redirected by Andy Andreoff. With Casey Cizikas still out due to COVID-19, he could be worthy of a few more chances.

Andy Andreoff

Andreoff was acquired this offseason and found some success early on in the minors before getting called up. He played five games with the Isles and registered one goal before being sent back down. The 30-year-old has a role as a depth forward, but there might be better options in the organization.

Richard Panik

Panik is a smart veteran who can fill any role on the ice. He has played over 500 games at the best level in the world and registered one assist in four games this season before he was sent down. For those who don’t want the Islanders to take risks and put too much faith in young players at such a critical point in the season, Panik might be a prudent solution. He plays hard and is always in the right position.

John Smark