{"id":73160,"date":"2025-08-10T21:10:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T21:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/73160\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T21:10:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T21:10:06","slug":"ryan-pulock-ready-to-mentor-matthew-schaefer-and-other-ny-islanders-defensemen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/73160\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Pulock ready to mentor Matthew Schaefer and other NY Islanders defensemen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"61\">The New York Islanders used the coveted first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to select defenseman Matthew Schaefer, a player whose high-end skill and mature character have already impressed the hockey world \u2014 and veteran blueliner Ryan Pulock.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"64\">Pulock first met Schaefer at the end of Islanders Development Camp and came away impressed with more than just the rookie\u2019s talent. \u201cSchaefer\u2019s just a genuine kid, mature beyond his years,\u201d Pulock said in an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/islanders\/news\/catching-up-with-ryan-pulock\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NewYorkIslanders.com<\/a>. \u201cHaven\u2019t really seen him on the ice but obviously a tremendous talent. He\u2019s been through a lot and has worked for everything. He\u2019s a real star player and person joining us, which is amazing for the franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"67\">Come September, the veteran and rookie defensemen will share the ice at Islanders Training Camp. For Pulock, entering his ninth NHL season, his role goes beyond just defending in the top four; he\u2019ll be tasked with helping the next generation, led by Schaefer, find their footing at the professional level.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">\u201cDoing things the right way, going out of your way to make them feel more comfortable,\u201d Pulock said of his mentorship approach. \u201cI remember as a young guy coming in, when an older guy comes over and talks to you it makes you feel more comfortable. So, for me that\u2019s the biggest thing, helping these kids get comfortable and be at their best, get their confidence high.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">With competition for roster spots expected to be fierce, Pulock welcomes the challenge and the opportunity to guide. \u201cThe competition in camp will be good with some great young players, some fresh, top-end d-men,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see these kids and help them grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\"> For Schaefer, having a steady veteran like Pulock and others in his corner could make all the difference in his first NHL training camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Islanders used the coveted first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to select defenseman Matthew&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-73160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}