DETROIT — There are still at least 10 days before the Islanders need to make a decision on Isaiah George, with the initial timeline for Adam Pelech’s return from a presumed broken jaw set at four to six weeks from Pelech taking a shot to the face Nov. 1.
Pelech, as of earlier this week, had yet to begin skating on his own, so there is plenty of time for the situation to change regarding the young defenseman.
But the first clue as to how the Islanders will handle what amounts to a choice between taking George or Dennis Cholowski out of the lineup when Pelech returns came Tuesday night in Calgary.
With Alexander Romanov back in the fold, George was no longer needed on the top pair but still saw 22:16 of ice time to Cholowski’s 14:04, and that is even with Cholowski leading the team in power-play ice time at 2:10 in the Isles’ 2-1 loss to the Flames.
Advantage to the young guy.
“I thought it went good. We were good together,” George said of his first game alongside Ryan Pulock. “Great partner out there, so it was good.”
The advanced numbers weren’t pretty for the two, and much of the night was indeed spent in the defensive zone for the Islanders as a whole.
But George displayed the same traits that have made his first NHL stint so eye-opening, skating his way out of trouble and getting the puck up ice with ease.
The 20-year-old’s unflappability has been the most impressive thing about his game.
He doesn’t play like someone with fewer than 10 games under his belt at this level.
“I think for the most part, guys around me, coaches and all that, have done a good job supporting me,” George told The Post before the Isles finished their five-game road trip against the Red Wings on Thursday. “Be prepared and be ready. I feel confident out there and ready to go. Obviously, there’s little things you just learn as you go, but overall, I feel like I’m prepared.”
With Mike Reilly coming off heart surgery this week, it appears either George or Cholowski will be the team’s third-pair defenseman on the left side for the foreseeable future once Pelech returns.
It’s not quite as simple as assuming George will get the job because he’s getting more minutes, though.
Cholowski is getting strong reviews from coach Patrick Roy, as well, and the power-play minutes are a real question, with Roy saying the team didn’t want to overtax Pulock — who likely would replace Cholowski at five-on-four if he became a healthy scratch — by having him on that unit, as well as playing heavy five-on-five and penalty-kill minutes.
“I feel like he’s got a good sniff around when to go into the rush and what I like about him is, he finds ways to throw pucks at the net and hit the net,” Roy said of Cholowski. “And he’s defending well enough. I’m very happy with him.”
An argument also could be made that George’s development could benefit more from playing top-pair minutes in Bridgeport than on the third pair with the Islanders, but that might be a stretch given how comfortable George has looked in the NHL.
On Thursday, he framed the jump from juniors to Bridgeport — where he played just four games before being called up — as a bigger adjustment than going from there to the NHL.
That is not what you usually hear, but it tracks with how he’s played as an Islander.
“Obviously, it was a big change for me, just being in junior for the last three to four years. You get used to your routine and everything,” George said. “Then move pro, everything’s different again. It’s that adjustment. But it’s been good.”