Brock Nelson of the Islanders reacts after his goal against Sam Montembeault of the Florida Panthers at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on Oct. 12, 2019. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Barry Trotz laid out his belief in Brock Nelson in their first conversation after he became the Islanders coach, certain the previous staff had not maximized his ability.
“The first conversation was I thought he was a better player than just from afar,” Trotz said. “I didn’t see a lot of warts on Nellie when we had him and we got to know him. I thought they were missing out on what he could bring to the group.