Show Stoppers: Dylan Reese

The following article featuring former Harvard standout Dylan Reese appeared June 7 on the New York Islanders Web site.

By Alex Silverman

You had a pretty crazy trade deadline.  Take us through the moment you found out you were traded to the Islanders, to when you stepped out onto the ice in Atlanta for your first NHL game.

It was a pretty crazy couple of days.  “Whirlwind” was what everyone used to describe it.  I got traded on a Monday night at around 4 p.m.  I was just minding my own business at home when I got the call.  It was a pretty interesting feeling.  I had never gotten traded before so I had mixed feelings about it.  Obviously it’s good to go somewhere where you know they want you in the organization, but at the same time I had some great teammates and I never really had a chance to say good-bye to them.  I left that night a couple hours after I as traded and reported to Bridgeport and we had a game the next night against Hershey.  I got in pretty late and then I was up early for physicals, keeping me from the pregame skate unfortunately. I played that night on not much sleep, but a lot of adrenaline and emotion because I wanted to make a good impression with the organization and my new teammates.  We were playing Hershey, the best team in the league.  We played pretty well but lost 6-3.  That next morning I went to practice in Bridgeport, which was really the first time I was getting to sit back and talk to some of the guys and become part of the team because the night before I basically showed up right before the game and hadn’t met any of the guys.  I went to practice and felt more comfortable.  I was just trying to get through practice, go back to the hotel, and get some sleep but got a call from Coach Capuano at about one in the afternoon.  He said there had been a trade and there was an injury on the Island and that I should stay by my phone because I could get called up.  It was an incredible feeling.  I called my dad and told him I might be brought up, but at the same time it was just so shocking to me.  I had been there for a day and a half and circumstances had just worked out in my favor.  He called me back an hour later and said ‘you have to hustle to the rink, grab your sticks and your gear, and you need to drive to Farmingdale airport on Long Island.’  I left my car there and took a town car to LaGuardia and took a commercial flight and met the team down in Atlanta.  It was a rush.  I made my flight by a matter of minutes, so it was pretty close.  It was just an unbelievable three days.  It couldn’t have been better for me and it was just really exciting the whole way.

What was the dynamic like walking into an NHL dressing room where you really didn’t know the guys?

Oddly enough I knew a few guys on the Islanders.  I trained with Richard Park the last five or six summers, so I was very comfortable with him.  I knew Rob Schremp and Freddy Meyer, who I played a stint with in San Antonio.  The guys on the Island couldn’t have been more welcoming and I mean that with a hundred percent sincerity.  It’s one of the best teams I’ve ever played on.  There’s a lot of youth and enthusiasm and energy every night.  There wasn’t a bump in the road.  The moment I walked in I felt like I was part of the team and obviously the longer I stayed, the more comfortable I felt.  We had some incredible ties and it’s a great mixture of veterans and youth.  They made my stay there so much more enjoyable.

Complete article can be accessed via the Islanders Web site by clicking here.