5 things the Islanders must show before the season starts

The ice is ready to be installed at UBS Arena and the Islanders are set to open rookie camp this week, with the main training camp starting next week.

Hockey is very much around the corner.

Tuesday, in fact, marks the one-month countdown to the Islanders’ regular-season opener in Pittsburgh on Oct. 9, with the six-game preseason slate set to open on Sept. 21.

It’s been a busy and newsy offseason for the Islanders. General manager/vice president Mathieu Darche took over for former boss Lou Lamoriello and lucked into the first overall pick in the NHL Draft via the lottery. He selected consensus No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer, a Canada-born defenseman who finally turned 18 on Friday and whose engaging personality has reinvigorated the franchise.

Yet there certainly are numerous questions to be answered for an organization that has not won a playoff round since 2021 and missed the playoffs last season for the second time in four years.

Here are five things we need to see before the puck drops against the Penguins:

1. Matthew Schaefer playing against NHL veterans

The 6-2, 183-pound, left-shooting Schaefer has excelled at every level, particularly in Canadian juniors, international competitions and the Islanders’ summer prospect development camp, thanks to his elite skating, stickhandling and on-ice vision. But he’s still a growing, developing teenager trying to integrate into a man’s league, and once the Islanders go on the ice for the first day of training camp on Sept. 18, Schaefer will have to adapt to the increased physical play and speed. It would be a shock if he does not make the opening-night roster, but the next month will be an indicator of how much the Islanders will be able to rely on him early in the season.

2. Patrick Roy and Anthony Duclair amicably speaking

Roy, entering his second full season as the Islanders’ coach, and Duclair, the well-traveled wing entering his second season on Long Island, are highly emotional men whose relationship dates to Duclair’s junior career. But Duclair’s injury-plagued first season with the Islanders ended with him being granted a leave of absence after Roy publicly — and harshly — criticized his play. Roy said during the summer that he wanted to apologize to Duclair in person. Duclair seemed to indicate this summer that things were good. But the proof will be in how the two interact through training camp. The Islanders very much need a productive season from Duclair.

3. Maxim Shabanov adapting to the NHL

The 5-8, 156-pound Shabanov has been a steady producer in the KHL. He notched 23 goals and 44 assists in 65 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk last season before adding 10 goals and 10 assists in 21 playoff games. He needs to show that productivity can translate to the NHL, where his size could work against him. Darche and the Islanders think otherwise, and if they’re right about Shabanov, who will turn 25 two days before the opener, he should be a top-six forward.

4. A healthy Bo Horvat

The top-line center played 81 NHL games last season, then suffered an ankle injury while playing for Team Canada in the World Championships in May. Horvat and Darche have said it won’t be an issue heading into training camp. That’s a must for Roy, who plans to move Mathew Barzal back to center and off Horvat’s wing after Barzal missed the final 31 games last season with a knee injury.

5. More special teams work

Roy has acknowledged not spending enough time working on special teams in his first training camp with the Islanders. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Islanders finished 31st on the power play at 12.6% (26-for-207) and 31st on the penalty kill at 72.2% (130-for-180). Roy jettisoned assistant coaches John MacLean and Tommy Albelin, who ran the power play and penalty kill, respectively, in favor of Ray Bennett (power play) and Bob Boughner (penalty kill). It will be interesting to see just how much time is spent in camp and preseason trying to improve the units.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.