Former Seattle Thunderbirds junior hockey star Mathew Barzal set a New York Islanders rookie record with five assists Sunday night in a NHL win over the Colorado Avalanche at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Barzal, 20, played four seasons with the T-Birds and helped lead them to the Western Hockey League championship last season. He was the WHL Playoff MVP after scoring 25 points on seven goals and 18 assists in 16 games. The T-Birds play at Kent’s accesso ShoWare Center.
The Islanders picked Barzal in the first round (16th overall) in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
“It’s pretty cool I didn’t know,” Barzal said about the record, according to Associated Press. “Actually (Jordan Eberle) was saying maybe six would be a record, but we were just joking around. I had no idea, so that’s a pretty cool thing to do.”
New York’s record for most assists in a game by a player is six. Barzal also tied a franchise-rookie record with five points in a game.
“It’s fun to play with him,” Eberle said about Barzal. “His speed is his number one attribute. I just want to create space for him.”
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
