The New York Islanders won't be moving from Nassau to Brooklyn until 2015, but Thursday they were offered a glimpse of what the future will hold when they opened up training camp in their future home of Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Islanders boarded a train in Garden City, L.I. and hopped off in Brooklyn for their first practice at what will soon be their home arena. The Islanders and New Jersey Devils will do battle at Barclays on Sept. 21 in a preseason game which will mark the first NHL contest to ever be held in Brooklyn.
Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark welcomed the Islanders with open arms upon their arrival.
"First and foremost, welcome to your new home," Yormark told the team per NHL.com. "We're thrilled to have all of you with us today," Congratulations to you on a great last season. I'm sure you're going to replicate that effort this season."
The preseason game in Brooklyn has sold over 10,000 tickets according to the NHL, and Yormark and the rest of the Barclays family is hopeful that the Islanders will have a bright future in Brooklyn.
A photo of the Islanders marching towards practice in Brooklyn can be seen here.
Glimpses of a promising future began to show last year, when the Islanders made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in six years and finished with a 24-17-7 record and the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The team eventually fell to the No.1 Pittsburgh Penguins in six games during that hard-fought series, but not without a fight.
The Islanders can only hope that the experience of getting into the postseason will help the young team moving forward.
"We will raise many Stanley Cups right here. You're a great team. Let's get it done," said developer Bruce Ratner, according to NHL.com.
Ratner also applauded Islanders recently named captain John Tavares for leading the team back to prominence. Tavares led the Islanders in every way possible last season, netting 28 goals and 19 assists for 47 points while playing in every contest during the 48-game lockout-shortened NHL season.
Tavares, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Islanders in 2009, has scored 112 goals and notched 137 assists for a total of 249 points through 291 games in his career.
Tavares was a finalist for the Hart Trophy last year and represents a progressive upward movement for the franchise with its young core that also includes Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner, Travis Hamonic and Josh Bailey.
Bailey was very impressed with the arena.
"It's great. We didn't really know what to expect. I hadn't seen the rink yet. I was looking forward to getting down here and seeing it. You can tell it's going to be a great atmosphere," the forward said per NHL.com. "The seats are right on top of you. It makes for a heck of an atmosphere. The fans are going to love it and the players are going to love playing here."
Ratner continued his praise for the Islanders and what may happen for them in Barclays down the line.
"We've got a great captain. We've got a great team," Ratner said. "I want to thank you for all your good work. I want you to lead us to victory this year."
The Islanders got a glimpse of what their future will hold, now it's up to the team to seize it.
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