Thursday, January 19, 2023

Dufour makes NHL debut with Islanders

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William Dufour made his National Hockey League debut with the New York Islanders Wednesday night.

The 20-year-old saw just 6:48 of ice time in the Islander's 4-1 loss to Charlie Coyle and the league-leading Boston Bruins at UBS Arena. Dufour finished a -2 with one hit and one giveaway.
Dufour, wearing No. 14 (half of his usual No. 28), had five shifts and played 3:12 in the first period, skating alongside Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey. The Memorial Cup MVP saw very little ice time (if any) after Boston's second goal halfway through the middle frame.

“I liked his first period,” Islanders head coach Lane Lambert told media after the game, via the New York Post. “I liked some of the things he did. He’s a big body. Again he went to the net hard. He’ll continue to learn and grow from that. That’s what that’s about from that standpoint. In his development, he’ll be fine.”

Before the game, Dufour had the traditional rookie lap at the beginning of warmup.
It may not have been the dream start that Dufour envisioned, but making your debut against a veteran Bruins team that's having a historically good season is not a simple assignment. The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward will no doubt get more chances to impress at the NHL level.

Dufour is having an impressive rookie campaign with the American Hockey League's Bridgeport Islanders, posting 13 goals and 12 assists in 37 games. He's the first member of Saint John's 2022 Memorial Cup championship squad to play in the NHL.

Coyle, meanwhile, had an impressive assist in the game. The former Sea Dogs forward now has 10 goals and 15 assists in 44 games with the Bruins.
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