Good Morning, Islanders Country.
There is nothing quite like the power of positivity that arrives with a new NHL coach. It doesn’t matter how long he’s been around, how many benches he’s stood behind, how many times he’s run this exact same playbook. When he walks into a new room, everything feels new again. Every drill has purpose. Every message lands a little louder. Every detail suddenly feels like it might be the one that changes everything.
That’s where Peter DeBoer finds himself now.
Nearly two decades behind the bench, and still, in these first few days, everything he touches is met with a kind of unfiltered enthusiasm. “I’m going a little old school for sure with the whiteboard and jerseys,” DeBoer said. “I’m drinking from a fire hose right now trying to get up to speed. Just trying to get information to the guys without paralyzing them.” It’s equal parts honesty and urgency, and right now, it sounds exactly like what this team needs to hear.
Because the early returns are always the same.
The practices feel sharper. The pace feels higher. You hear about intensity — more of it, better of it — just like you did when Patrick Roy replaced Lane Lambert. That’s the cycle. The reset. The jolt that comes when a new voice takes over and everyone leans in just a little bit more.
And DeBoer has done this before.
