EAST MEADOW, NY — Jonathan Drouin’s start to life with the New York Islanders could not be going much better, with four points in his first four games with his new team.
“I just feel comfortable,” the winger, who has a goal and three assists, said following the team’s practice on Monday. “I feel like I’m not thinking anymore on the ice, just playing my game.”
The stars have rarely aligned for the 30-year-old across his first 11 years in the league. A can’-miss prospect with the Tampa Bay Lightning, top-tier production never materialized. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens, but injuries destroyed any hopes of success, as he played more than 58 games just once in five years.
But the skill was undeniable when healthy. Drouin has always been a playmaker, and his skillset seemed perfect for the high-powered Colorado Avalanche, which whom he signed with in 2023.
He put up 56 points (19 goals, 37 assists) in 79 games before breaking “four or five ribs” in the first game of the 2024-25 season. Still, he came back and was nearly a point-per-game player with 37 points in 43 games playing alongside superstars like Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar.
The Islanders are not nearly as prolific as the Avalanche in terms of offense, but Drouin is doing just fine.
“There are some very good players here,” Drouin said. “[Mathew] Barzal and Bo [Horvat], you got [rookie defenseman Matthew] Schaefer there who is very impressive for an 18-year-old.”
He nearly reference Makar when bringing up Schaefer, who has five points in his first five NHL games — the youngest blue liner ever to do so — but stopped short.
“I don’t like comparing people,” he began, “but he’ll be a very good defenseman in this league.”
Drouin has found himself on the left wing of the Islanders’ first line alongside center Bo Horvat, who he practically grew up playing alongside in Canada and was drafted in the same year with, and a fixture of the Noah Dobson trade with Montreal, Emil Heineman.
“We’re all kind of different,” Drouin said. “Bo’s a two-way centerman, scores a lot of goals, Heineman all-around is a hell of a player. His shot is very underrated, he’s got a very good one. He’s very good on the forecheck, he’s physical. So it’ sbeen clicking. It’s been pretty good so far.”
Perhaps more important that anything, though, is that he is healthy, which plays a part in this developing comfort on Long Island.
“One thing in my career has been too many injuries at bad times,” he said. “I’ve been trying to take care of my body as much as possible the last couple of years and it’s been pretty good.”
