Mathew Barzal, Jamal Watson returned to T-Birds over the weekend

After taking three of a possible four points this weekend with a lineup still missing some major star power, Seattle received two more bits of good news in that Mathew Barzal and Jamal Watson were both being sent back to Seattle by the pro clubs that they were auditioning for.

Barzal, 18, was a first-round draft pick by the New York Islanders back in June. After Barzal signed his contract, it was expected that he would stick around with the Islanders for the majority of the NHL preseason. However, when New York sent last year’s first-round pick, Michael Dal Colle, and this year’s second first-rounder, Anthony Beauvillier, back to their junior clubs while Barzal stuck around, some wondered if Barzal’s tryout may end up turning into something more.

The Coquitlam, British Columbia, native was reportedly very impressive during camp and the preseason, and some in Islanders nation were clamoring for him to hang with the professional club for the season’s first nine games, which would have been the maximum number allowed to avoid burning the first year of his entry level contract. That would have kept the T-Birds’ top center out of the lineup until nearly the end of October, but instead, the Islanders decided to send him back to Seattle. It’s expected that he will be in the lineup next weekend.

Watson, 20, took the more complicated road for his tryout, being invited to the Montreal Canadiens’ development camp, then performing well enough there to get invited to their main training camp before being sent to the St. John’s IceCaps with a shot to earn an AHL contract.

As an undrafted free agent, Watson received a long look, but will return to Seattle where he is expected to have a huge season that could earn him a professional contract in the coming months. This will be the most talented roster he’s been a part of and his style of play fits in well with head coach Steve Konowalchuk’s game plan, which should translate into a good showing for scouts this year.

Both players, in addition to Ryan Gropp, who is reportedly close to returning from a minor injury, will fit into Seattle’s top six once they return. Seattle scored nine goals in two contests this past weekend, and adding the scoring capabilities of three likely future NHL players will only make the offense even more dangerous. All three are more than capable defensive players as well, so Seattle will feel the ripple effect of their return up and down the lineup.

Barzal and Gropp should slide right in on the team’s top line once they return, perhaps with fellow NHL draftee Keegan Kolesar on their right wing. Watson will likely join Scott Eansor and Nolan Volcan on the T-Birds’ second line, a combination that was probably Seattle’s best during training camp and the preseason.

For this past weekend’s games, Seattle had to put together some patchwork forward lines as they were short a number of bodies. In fact, defenseman Sahvan Khaira was actually listed as the fourth line center on Saturday night, even though he spent all of his ice time on the blue line. With a healthy Barzal, Watson, and Gropp back in the lineup, the T-Birds will be able to ice four consistent groups that should only help them get better in every situation.

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