Brooklyn Boro

Hamonic latest Islander to depart Brooklyn

Defenseman’s Trade to Calgary Most Recent Purge of Original Roster

June 28, 2017 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Travis Hamonic was introduced as a member of the Calgary Flames on Monday, donning his new No. 24 jersey. He wore No. 3 here for the Islanders. AP Photo by Jeff McIntosh
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Last summer it was Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin and Frans Nielsen, three integral parts of the New York Islanders’ inaugural roster here in Brooklyn, who departed via free agency.

And now, Travis Hamonic, the team’s stalwart defenseman and heart and soul of the New York blue line since his first foray into the NHL back in 2011, is gone.

“I think the world of him on and off the ice,” Islanders general manager Garth Snow said of Hamonic after trading him to Calgary last weekend in exchange for a 2018 first-round draft pick and a pair of future second-round selections.

“Just a first-class player and a first-class person,” added Snow of the veteran defenseman, who took home the NHL Foundation Player Award last Tuesday in recognition of his work with children who have lost a parent.

Like Okposo, Martin and Nielsen before him, Hamonic was one of the most recognizable and reliable players to make the move from Long Island to Downtown Brooklyn for the inaugural 2015-16 campaign.

Originally drafted by the Isles back in 2008, the 26-year-old Manitoba native amassed 146 points (26 goals and 120 assists) and 444 penalty minutes during his career with New York, including a career-high 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) in 2014-15.

Back in November 2015, Hamonic had intimated to Snow that he wanted to be traded out of Brooklyn and closer to his Canadian roots for deeply personal and family-related issues.

“The root of all this is a personal family matter of mine that I hold dear to my heart,” Hamonic said on the Islanders’ website.

“It has nothing to do with the organization or how I’ve been treated here for six years of playing and another two or three since I was drafted,” he added. “I’ve honestly been treated like gold from the start.”

Hamonic eventually backed off those demands, and was an integral part of the team that won the Isles’ first postseason series since 1993 here at Barclays Center later that spring. He played 49 games for New York last season as the Isles fell just one point shy of making the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

“When something like this happens, you’re immediately looking at the calendar and waiting to get going,” Hamonic told the Calgary media during his introductory press conference Monday.

“It’s really exciting … To be able to come in and join a pretty good group already, I’m looking forward to being here. Ready to rock, truthfully.”

So now the Isles will have to lean more heavily on a cache of young defenseman Snow believes can make up for Hamonic’s absence, along with proven veterans like Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy.

Thomas Hickey, Dennis Seidenberg and Scott Mayfield are under contract for the upcoming 2017-18 season, and Ryan Pulock, Calvin de Haan and Adam Pelech are also among the crowded field of candidates to break camp with the team.

“We have a lot of depth on our blue line and it’s going to give our younger D an opportunity to have some playing time,” Snow said.

“We’re really confident in that position moving forward, so it’s a situation we felt we could capitalize on and get some assets. Whether we use those in the future in a draft, or use them as a currency in a future player transaction, it’s a good luxury for our organization to have.” 

Apparently, you can never have enough blue line help as Snow spent the early rounds of the NHL Draft bringing in even more defensemen, many of whom will be on hand for his week’s initial mini-camp, currently being held at the team’s Northwell Health Ice Center on Long Island.

One of the young players getting his first taste of pro workouts is two-way defenseman Robin Salo, whom the Isles took with the 46th overall pick Saturday.

“I’m probably a little better in the defensive zone, a really hard player, defending well with the stick,” said Salo, an 18-year-old from Finland. “I’m the type of player who never gives up and goes everything for my team.”

“Good player with and without the puck and can be used in all game situations,” noted Isles Head Amateur Scout Vellu Kautonen. “Very reliable with the puck, good puck mover with a good first pass.”

The Isles can only hope that Salo, along with the rest of their defensemen, can fill the void left by one of their most popular and hard-working players over the past decade.

“These deals are always tough to do because there’s an emotional element to how [Hamonic] is in our community and the locker room,” Snow ceded.

Isle Have Another: The Isles also selected Benjamin Mirageas (77th overall), Sebastian Aho (139th overall), Arnaud Durandeau (165th overall) and Logan Cockerill (201st overall) in rounds two through seven of the draft after taking Salo earlier in the second round … Also attending this week’s mini-camp are more familiar players who cut their teeth in the NHL last season. Josh Ho-Sang, Matthew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier, each of whom contributed to New York’s late-season push last year, are working out with the NHL neophytes on Long Island. “It’s good to have a lot of young guys together and it’ll help them in a couple of months. It’s always a real fun week,” head coach Doug Weight said. “It’s more about the organization, them getting comfortable with our people, with our culture, whether it’s weightlifting or nutrition and to get on the ice and see some of our coaches. I think it’s more about the conversation and meeting each other.”

 

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