SEATTLE — There’s no question that when the New York Islanders signed forward Pierre Engvall to a seven-year deal worth $3 million annually in the summer of 2022, they expected him to bring his speed and strong transitioning skills to the ice every night.
Unfortunately for Engvall and the Islanders, his first full season on Long Island saw him become a healthy scratch a few times.
And after a full training camp under Patrick Roy, the 28-year-old failed to make the team.
“We certainly weren’t happy with Pierre, to be perfectly honest, of what we feel he can bring,” Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “We want him to bring that because we know that he can help us in that lineup. He is an NHL player, without question.”
Engvall’s demotion to Bridgeport wasn’t because the Islanders stopped believing he could be effective, but it certainly was an effort to provide a major wake-up call.
“There are certain elements that each player has to bring, and we know what he can bring,” Lamoriello said. “He’s gotta bring it every night. And we want a lineup that we can solidify. There’s no question. You can see, people who’ve been watching each and every game in different spots, whether they be 11 and 12 in the lineup, we’ve been having different players in there.”
After spending six games in Bridgeport, with one assist, the Islanders found themselves with a roster spot and cap space after forward Anthony Duclair went down with a lower-body injury.
They recalled Engvall ahead of their Oct. 26 game against the Florida Panthers, a 6-3 loss.
They recalled Engvall ahead of their Oct. 26 game against the Florida Panthers, a 6-3 loss.
Engvall only played 10:36, and Roy wasn’t too pleased.
“We know what he did for this team the past two years, and I guess Lou thought it was a good moment for him to be back and play,” Roy said.
Engvall continued to struggle a bit, and after two games with no points and one shot on goal, while playing on the Islanders’ fourth line, Roy elected to scratch the forward.
But once Mathew Barzal suffered an upper-body injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 30, Engvall has remained a staple in the lineup, skating on the third line alongside Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom.
And since then, the Engvall the Islanders have expected has come into play.
But, there was one area of his game that Roy still wanted to see.
“He’s a good skater. I mean, he could skate to Sweden, no problem, and I’m not sure he’d be tired,” Roy said on Nov. 4 a day after his team lost 5-2 to the New York Rangers. “But, I will say this. He needs to bring pucks to the net. That’s his ticket, and when he does that, I like him as a player.”
Related: Islanders Patrick Roy Pushing Pierre Engvall To Be More Aggressive: ‘That’s His Ticket’
Over the last few games, Engvall has done exactly that.
In the Islanders’ most impressive win of the season, a 5-2 routing of the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, Engvall crashed the net, burying a Holmstrom rebound at 2:10 of the second period to give New York a 3-1 lead, his first goal of the season:
Then, Engvall kept the strong play going against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday afternoon at Climate Pledge Arena.
Although the Islanders fell 3-2 to snap a five-game point streak (3-0-2), Engvall went hard to the net and buried a rebound off a Ryan Pulock slapshot for goals in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 of 2023, scoring against the Carolina Hurricanes and then the Florida Panthers:
Following the game, I asked Roy if he believed that Engvall got his message loud and clear because it certainly seemed that way.
“100 percent he did,” Roy said. “He goes to the net, and he made some nice plays. It was a nice goal for us. I mean, we had our chances, and that was one of them, and it was a big goal for us.”
Islanders captain Anders Lee has loved what he’s seen from Engvall over these last few games.
“You know, what? When he gets that speed, and he goes to the middle, and he can he can beat the guy wide, drive him down low and turn up, that’s when he’s really effective,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “And he’s getting to the middle of the ice. His rebound goals are because he’s getting dirty, and he’s had a few of those, and he’s getting rewarded for it, and it’s paying off.”
Another area of Engvall’s game, outside of the goals, has been his chemistry with Holmstrom.
A few times over the last few games, Holmstrom has thrown the puck into the offensive zone from behind the red line, with Engvall beating out icings.
The two, along with Cizikas, have been impeccable on the forecheck and have found themselves cycling the offensive zone more often than not.
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
The effective Engvall is back and he’s played a vital role in helping the Islanders with two-thirds of their top line and the entirety of their blue-line’s left side out injured.
“I feel like I am getting better and better,” Engvall said. “I feel like my confidence is coming more and more.
“Like I said when I got called up, I’m just trying to do my best and get better and better.”
