Laurel Hollow’s Marshall Warren will step onto the ice at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia at about noon on Saturday as his Islanders teammates wait in the tunnel from their dressing room, allowing him to skate the traditional rookie lap before his NHL debut.
Thinking about that upcoming moment on Friday elicited an emotional response from the 24-year-old defenseman, who grew up an Islanders fan skating at Iceworks in Syosset, the team’s former practice facility.
“Yeah, really cool,” Warren said after practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. “A lot of hard work. There’s some days in sports you don’t know if you’re ever going to have a chance. When you’re that close, it’s pretty special. I put a lot of work in, a lot of sacrifice. It’ll be pretty surreal. Probably inside, I’ll be like a little kid. But I’ll have a game face when I do it.”
Coach Patrick Roy announced that the left-shooting Warren will be in the Islanders’ lineup against the Flyers as they bring a four-game winning streak into a four-game road trip.
Technically, he will become the third native Long Islander to play a game for the Islanders after Port Jefferson’s Chris Ferraro (1999-2000) and Smithtown’s Kyle Palmieri (2021-present). Richie Hansen (1977-79) grew up in Northport but was born in the Bronx.
“It’s been a crazy journey,” Warren said. “It’s pretty hard to describe. I was driving here [to Northwell Health Ice Center] and I was a little kid at Iceworks skating in that little Islanders’ program. Who would have thought you’d ever be in this position?”
Warren was recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport before Thursday night’s 7-2 win over the Red Wings at UBS Arena. He was a healthy scratch for that game but will take Adam Boqvist’s spot paired with Tony DeAngelo.
The righthanded Boqvist was playing on his off-side with the righty DeAngelo and logged only 13:23 against the Red Wings. The Islanders are missing defenseman Alexander Romanov (upper body/injured reserve).
Warren drove from Bridgeport to UBS Arena but first placed a call to his parents to tell them the good news. He also had to tell them he couldn’t talk long because he needed to start driving.
“It’s kind of emotional,” Warren said. “My mom is pumped. My dad is pumped. My sister is pumped. It takes a village, really. Without them, I wouldn’t be anywhere.”
Warren was a sixth-round pick of the Wild in 2019 and then played four seasons of NCAA hockey for Boston College and one more for Michigan.
He had a particularly strong training camp with the Islanders and has two goals and three assists in four games for Bridgeport after notching four goals and 13 assists in 53 games last season. He was named the AHL player of the week on Oct. 13.
“He was really good in the training camp,” Roy said. “I thought he played really well and he was the player of the week in Bridgeport. Seeing him today, it was nice to see him be rewarded for what he’s been doing. His first game will be even more of a great moment for him.”
Notes & quotes: Forward Max Shabanov (upper body/ day-to-day) did not practice and will miss his second straight game . . . Goalie Ilya Sorokin will start against the Flyers . . . Forward Matthew Highmore was reassigned to Bridgeport after being a healthy scratch against the Red Wings following his recall earlier in the day . . . The Islanders announced the hiring of Siana Sylvester as mental performance consultant. Included in her resume is work with the NFL, NASA and the Harvard and Smith College women’s hockey teams.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
