On New Year’s Day, New York Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier was sent down to Bridgeport and up came Tanner Fritz.
Playing with the Sound Tigers, Fritz was fourth in the AHL scoring race with 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists) in 29 games at the time of the recall. Fritz made his NHL debut against the Boston Bruins the following day but it took the 26-year-old awhile to get adjusted to the NHL level.
Fritz, who played four seasons at Ohio State University and was captain in his senior year, went undrafted and started his professional career in the 2015-16 season with the Missouri Mavericks, the Islanders’ ECHL affiliate at the time.