Grant Hutton wasn’t drafted.
He’s chased the NHL since signing with the Islanders out of Miami-Ohio some five years ago and gotten 18 games with the big club along with the backhanded compliment of becoming a veteran presence in Bridgeport for his trouble.
The dream is gashed onto his face, which sports a missing row of front teeth.
“You hear a lot that I’m getting older, I’m 29 years old now,” he said before the Islanders’ 5-2 victory over the Rangers in the preseason finale on Friday. “You don’t know when your last chance is gonna be.”
You bet that this chance — the chance to make the active roster out of camp as the team’s seventh defenseman — means the world to him.
“I’ve been around this organization for a long time and I’ve gotten a taste of what the NHL is like,” Hutton said. “I’ve said it before but once you get that taste, it’s hard to imagine it any other way. I’m happy to be here.”
Coming into camp, the Islanders’ six everyday defensemen were, essentially, set.
The only question was about the seventh spot on the depth chart, and Samuel Bolduc was assumed to have a leg up after spending all of last season in the same role.
At this late stage of training camp, however, Bolduc appears to have been passed on the depth chart by Hutton and Dennis Cholowski, with Hutton getting the chance for one final audition on Friday night.
“It’s just the consistency level,” coach Patrick Roy said of Bolduc. “He’s a good hockey player, he’s got great potential. But I think what I prefer so far more from Cholowski and Hutton is the consistency that they bring in their game.”
That is a calling card for Hutton, who cracked a smile on Friday when a question was posed asking if he liked that others described his game as simple.
“For sure,” he said. “For me, I want my teammates first and foremost to trust when I’m on the ice, one, that I can hold my own. Two, that I can contribute to what we’re trying to accomplish here. … When I’m up here, whether I’m playing big minutes or whether I’m limited, my game needs to be consistent. That’s my goal, my way to the NHL.”
Kyle Palmieri and Scott Mayfield were the only two lineup regulars not to participate in Friday’s game.
Palmieri was held out with maintenance whereas Mayfield had already played in four preseason games, so the Islanders did not see a need to use him a fifth time.
