Adam Pelech had
been a mainstay for Bridgeport for the last few years and needs more
fine-tuning to his NHL level game. But he also earned his NHL minutes and looked
comfortable after his call-up to the Isles last season. Today, our New York
Islanders agreed to terms on a one-way extension with the tough defenseman, fresh off
his entry-level deal. Pelech was selected in the third round (65th overall) by the Islanders in
the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Remember when
Isles country went nuts when Snow had Pelech on the teams protected list for
the NHL Expansion Draft? Well that very
same Pelech signed a four-year, $1.6M AAV (Staple) contract. I mentioned at
the end of June, “The Isles blue line looks like this. Leddy, Boychuk, de Haan,
Seidenberg & Hickey. Ryan Pulock now has a real opportunity to make the
team out of camp and more will be expected of Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield
for sure. Do not forget about Devon Toews, especially after the year he had
with the BST.” There it is.
Pelech took a skate to the face, and returned in a win against the Rangers in January of 2016.
He’s in the
plan on a low-cost, 4-year deal. A deal that “could” get some serious mileage
out of a “possible” cornerstone, defensive-first blueliner. It will also help
the Isles with the de Haan arbitration plan coming soon & Hickey’s next deal heading into the summer. I think he will have
a chance to grow (much like Hickey & de Haan) into his future self with a
more clearly defined role and under a similar, but a new-look coaching staff. It’s
obvious that Cronin shares Snow’s enthusiasm on what Pelech can bring. An
opportunity to show (along with Mayfield and Pulock) what he is capable of as a
rostered, regular on defense.
"Adam has
proven at a very young age that he's capable of playing an important defensive
role on our team," Islanders President and General Manager Garth Snow
said. "He will be an important piece of our defensive core moving forward
and I'm excited to watch him continue to develop at the NHL level."
The 22 year-old
Pelech had 10 points (3 & 7) in 44 games last season in his rookie campaign
with New York and 12 points (3 & 9) in 53 NHL games previously. He also had
5 points (1 & 4) in 13 games with the AHL Sound Tigers last season and
totals 23 points (3 & 20) in 105 AHL games with Bridgeport.
Per Release, “On
the international stage, Pelech represented Canada at the 2014 World Junior
Championships and the 2012 World Under-18 Junior Championships, winning bronze
in 2012. He also won gold with Team Canada-Ontario at the 2011 Under-17 World
Hockey Challenge.”
Isles Notes:
Per Staple, “Pulock
is not waiver-exempt this coming season. So #Isles will have 8 D who
all need waivers.”
Per Andy
Graziano, “#isles, per
@CapFriendly, at 7.8 cap space
with 13 F/5 D and 2 G. deHaan needs contract.”
“Best guess for
de Haan arbitration, scheduled for next Weds, Aug 2 : team 3, de Haan camp 4.5.
#isles”
NHL Notes:
Thank you from former
Isle, Kyle Okposo
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