Sea Dogs impressing in NHL pre-season

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Willam Dufour made a strong impression in his pre-season debut with the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Dufour setup Nikita Soshnikov in the first period to open the scoring. The Islanders went on to lose the game 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils.

Soshnikov on the breakaway 🤩 pic.twitter.com/2TtPgNzb0D

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) September 27, 2022

Dufour played 14:31 and recorded one shot on goal to go along with his assist. He also saw 4:15 of ice time on the power play.

“He played well,” Islanders head coach Lane Lambert told the New York Post. “He made a great pass on the first goal. I thought he moved pretty well, used his body and he made some plays.”

The Memorial Cup MVP played on a line with Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin.

“He’s a big body that moves really well,” Cizikas told the Post before the game. “He has a good shot. He proved that in junior and he’s gonna do that here tonight. Marty and I, we’re gonna help him out there. We’re gonna tell him play your game, do the things you’re capable of.”

New York Hockey Now has a further breakdown of Dufour's performance.

The 20-year-old remains at NHL camp even after 15 players were assigned to AHL Bridgeport. Among those sent to Bridgeport was former Sea Dogs captain and Dufour's Saint John teammate Vincent Sevigny.

Dufour isn't the only former Sea Dog to impress in the pre-season so far. Jakub Zboril, who played in just 10 games with the Boston Bruins last season due to knee surgery, had some people talking after playing 25:05 in the team's 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Some poised, confident hockey from Jakub Zboril in the early going. pic.twitter.com/wdfnkpD0zx

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) September 24, 2022

“From the first few days of camp, he just continues to impress,” said Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery after Saturday's game, via Boston Hockey Now. “He’s a dominant player out there right now. I think the word is assertive. It’s very impressive for [a guy that had] a year off. For him to have the confidence right now with the way he’s playing the puck, it’s really good.”

A few other NHL pre-season notes...

• William Villeneuve played 12:37 in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Villeneuve had one shot, one hit and one giveaway.
• Raivis Ansons was a -2 with one blocked shot in 11:44 of ice time in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
• Jeremie Poirier had an assist and three shots on goal in 15:48 of ice time in the Calgary Flames' 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal in that game.
• Poirier showed off some of his offensive skills on this play. The Win Column has a story on Poirier's impressive camp with the Flames so far.
• Speaking of Calgary, Yan Kuznetsov served a minor penalty and had one blocked shot in 14:22 of ice time in the Flames' 3-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.