Tanner Fritz was just about to leave the rink in Bridgeport Monday when AHL coach Brent Thompson asked him to stop by his office.
Thompson had some news to deliver to the 26-year-old forward: he was getting the call up to the Islanders.
“I just had a weird jitter feeling in my stomach that I haven’t had since I was a young kid,” Fritz said Tuesday morning, standing in the Islanders’ dressing room hours before playing 11:36 in his NHL debut, a 5-1 loss to the Bruins at Barclays Center. “Pretty cool experience.”
Fritz’s dad and brother caught a red-eye flight Monday night from their home in Alberta, Canada so they could join his fiancée in attendance Tuesday to watch the culmination of a long, old-fashioned journey to the NHL.
“A couple years ago, I don’t think I would have seen myself in this position,” Fritz said. “But I kept working hard, kept working at my game and trying to get better each day.”
The Islanders opened the spot up Monday for Fritz when they sent Anthony Beauvillier and Steve Bernier back to Bridgeport. Fritz, who was tied for fourth in the AHL with 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists), will slot in at right wing alongside Brock Nelson and Shane Prince on the revolving-door third line.
After playing four years at Ohio State, where he was named a captain as a senior, Fritz went undrafted. He latched on in the ECHL with the former Islanders affiliate, the Missouri Mavericks, in 2015-16 and late in the season played with Bridgeport on a professional tryout. The 5-foot-11 righty impressed enough to stick around for a playoff run and then got invited to the Islanders’ training camp in 2016.
“I owe a lot of thanks to be here right now,” he said.
Fritz spent all of last year with the Sound Tigers, notching 42 points in 63 games. Last March, the Islanders signed him to a two-year, two-way entry-level contract — the moment Fritz realized a day like Tuesday could be possible.
“That showed they believed in me, that maybe I could have a sniff in the NHL,” he said. “This is my chance and my opportunity to prove that I belong here. … I play with a lot of pace. I think I play a strong 200-foot game, reliable in all situations. Hopefully that can translate to the NHL and I can have success here.”
Coach Doug Weight pointed to Fritz’s speed and smarts in a scouting report of his newest player.
“He’s earned his trip up here,” Weight said. “There’s no bones about it, we need some energy. He’s got a lot of confidence right now. He’s got [35] points in [29] games. We need some swagger. I want him to bring his energy and bring some confidence.”
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The flip side to Fritz’s promotion was a first-time demotion for Beauvillier. The 20-year old, who recorded 24 points in 66 games as a rookie last year, had put up just four goals and three assists through 31 games this season.
While Beauvillier couldn’t find an answer for the Islanders’ struggling third line that accounted for only five goals and three assists in 15 December games, Weight offered him encouragement in an hour-long talk during a Monday flight back from Colorado.
“He’s gotta find his game,” Weight said. “… For his defense, he hasn’t had a lot of help in the places he’s been playing. [Mathew] Barzal and [Jordan] Eberle have come into this team and stamped that second line. Beau was a little lost. He’s gotta get his confidence. He’s a great kid. He’s going to be an NHL player, there’s no doubt in my mind. But it’ll be great for him.
“Go down, play a lot of minutes, put a lot of responsibility on him.”
Just the kind of opportunity that Fritz pounced on — only coming from a different direction.
Josh Bailey was named the NHL’s second star for December, finishing the month with an 11-game point streak that was snapped Tuesday night. In 15 games last month, he tallied seven goals and 15 assists.
The longest-tenured Islanders player entered Tuesday tied for the league lead in assists (38) and second in points (50).
“It’s nice to get that kind of recognition,” Bailey said. “It’s obviously something to take pride in. We wouldn’t be having these sort of talks if it wasn’t for Johnny [Tavares] and Anders [Lee] as well and the opportunity.”
Speaking for the first time since he was ejected in the second period of a loss Sunday to the Avalanche for arguing with referees, Weight said he was upset about a call and wanted to spark his team.
“After I got a penalty, I said I might as well finish this thing off,” Weight said Tuesday morning. “… It’s not something you want to do all the time.”