Daniel Sprong is the only player remaining from the 2013-14 roster, the original season of the rebranded Islanders franchise, while Paul Drew (goaltenders’ coach), Kevin Elliott (athletic therapist) and Andrew (Spider) MacNeill (equipment manager) remain on the staff.
Kielly, a Charlottetown native, has lived through the growing pains of a rebuilding franchise. He now sees the most talented roster the franchise has ever assembled following a trade period where general manager Jim Hulton and his staff traded future assets for veteran talent in hopes the players mesh into a cohesive and dangerous hockey club.
“Talent wise, it’s there on paper,” Kielly said before last weekend’s games.
“The organization, Jim and the owners, assembled a great team for us. It’s up to us now. I think the leadership group needs to come together. We’re still feeling each other out as teammates, and I think this next month and this road trip to Quebec are going to be crucial for us. I think there’s exciting things ahead.”
Kielly has had 100 teammates with the Islanders while Sprong has been the longest-serving member of the team. He was drafted on June 4, 2013, while Kielly was acquired in a trade on Aug. 19, 2013.
“We went through it together now for the last four years,” Sprong said. “My goal is to win this year, and that’s it.”
Kielly started his junior career as a 15-year-old forward with the Gatineau Olympiques after being a first-round pick at the 2012 draft. Tonight Kielly is back where his junior career began for his final regular season contest in Gatineau.
Game time is 8:30 p.m. Atlantic.
“It will be a fun game. It won’t be hard to get up for,” Kielly said Thursday while on the bus in Quebec.
He remembers being the fresh-faced rookie in Gatineau and then a sophomore in Charlottetown and hearing veterans telling him to enjoy the moments because a junior career goes by in the blink of an eye.
“It sounds cliché, but they’re right,” he said. “I’ve matured as a player, matured as a person and I think I’ve come a long way (towards) reaching my goals.”
Kielly said after last season he wanted to play for a winning team in his final season of junior and hoped it would happen in Charlottetown. While all players want to win, Kielly is the guy who will call the city home long after the rest of his teammates go their separate ways.
“My main focus is bringing a championship to Charlottetown,” the two-way forward said. “Not many people get the opportunity to win a championship in their hometown. Now it’s a process to get where we want to be. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re going to work on it.”
Kielly’s first season in Charlottetown saw the Islanders swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the defending Memorial Cup champion Halifax Mooseheads, a squad with UPEI Panthers Brent Andrews and Darcy Ashley as well as NHLers Jonathan Drouin and Nikolaj Ehlers.
“At Christmas, we traded away a ton. I kind of compare it to this year but in the opposite way,” Kielly said.
Now he is hoping to be a big part of the Islanders making a deep playoff run.
“I’m looking forward to the process and I’m all in,” Kielly said.
Daniel Sprong is the only player remaining from the 2013-14 roster, the original season of the rebranded Islanders franchise, while Paul Drew (goaltenders’ coach), Kevin Elliott (athletic therapist) and Andrew (Spider) MacNeill (equipment manager) remain on the staff.
Kielly, a Charlottetown native, has lived through the growing pains of a rebuilding franchise. He now sees the most talented roster the franchise has ever assembled following a trade period where general manager Jim Hulton and his staff traded future assets for veteran talent in hopes the players mesh into a cohesive and dangerous hockey club.
“Talent wise, it’s there on paper,” Kielly said before last weekend’s games.
“The organization, Jim and the owners, assembled a great team for us. It’s up to us now. I think the leadership group needs to come together. We’re still feeling each other out as teammates, and I think this next month and this road trip to Quebec are going to be crucial for us. I think there’s exciting things ahead.”
Kielly has had 100 teammates with the Islanders while Sprong has been the longest-serving member of the team. He was drafted on June 4, 2013, while Kielly was acquired in a trade on Aug. 19, 2013.
“We went through it together now for the last four years,” Sprong said. “My goal is to win this year, and that’s it.”
Kielly started his junior career as a 15-year-old forward with the Gatineau Olympiques after being a first-round pick at the 2012 draft. Tonight Kielly is back where his junior career began for his final regular season contest in Gatineau.
Game time is 8:30 p.m. Atlantic.
“It will be a fun game. It won’t be hard to get up for,” Kielly said Thursday while on the bus in Quebec.
He remembers being the fresh-faced rookie in Gatineau and then a sophomore in Charlottetown and hearing veterans telling him to enjoy the moments because a junior career goes by in the blink of an eye.
“It sounds cliché, but they’re right,” he said. “I’ve matured as a player, matured as a person and I think I’ve come a long way (towards) reaching my goals.”
Kielly said after last season he wanted to play for a winning team in his final season of junior and hoped it would happen in Charlottetown. While all players want to win, Kielly is the guy who will call the city home long after the rest of his teammates go their separate ways.
“My main focus is bringing a championship to Charlottetown,” the two-way forward said. “Not many people get the opportunity to win a championship in their hometown. Now it’s a process to get where we want to be. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re going to work on it.”
Kielly’s first season in Charlottetown saw the Islanders swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the defending Memorial Cup champion Halifax Mooseheads, a squad with UPEI Panthers Brent Andrews and Darcy Ashley as well as NHLers Jonathan Drouin and Nikolaj Ehlers.
“At Christmas, we traded away a ton. I kind of compare it to this year but in the opposite way,” Kielly said.
Now he is hoping to be a big part of the Islanders making a deep playoff run.
“I’m looking forward to the process and I’m all in,” Kielly said.
Making his mark
Here is a look at where Kameron Kielly stands in the Charlottetown Islanders franchise record book. The franchise dates back to 1999 in Montreal.
Games
13th with 222. Pierre-Andre Bureau leads with 346.
Goals
Tied for 17th with Chris Montgomery at 62. Ben Duffy leads at 139.
Assists
12th with 103. Duffy leads with 202.
Points
14th with 165. Duffy leads with 341.
Source – www.lhjmq-records.qc.ca
Looking back
Kameron Kielly has had 100 different teammates since joining the Charlottetown Islanders in 2013.
2016-17
Francois Beauchemin
Filip Chlapik
Carl Neil
Alex Dostie
Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Nicolas Meloche
Chris Chaddock
Guillaume Brisebois
Pascal Aquin
Keith Getson
Gregor MacLeod
Matthew Grouchy
Adam Marsh
William Bower
Saku Vesterinen
Dillon Boucher
Jean-Sebastien Taillefer
Sam King
Daniel Sprong
Tyler MacArthur
Drew Hunter
Matthew Welsh
Ian MacKinnon
Mark Grametbauer
Evan Gallant
Austin Taylor
Zach Thususka
Dominic Hachey
Cody Donaghey
Jake Coughler
Mitchell Balmas
Shawn Boudrias
Jake Barter
Will Thompson
Carl Gervais
Blade Mann-Dixon
Marc-Olivier Alain
Andrew Murphy
2015-16
Samuel Blais
Bradley Kennedy
Oliver Cooper
Filip Rydstrom
Luc Deschenes
Alexis Vanier
Dexter Weber
Nicolas Leblond
Guillaume Beaudry
Quinn O’Brien
Alexander McQuaid
Johnny Foley
Jonathan Duchesne
Mason McDonald
David Comeau
Andrew Smith
Jacob Drobczyk
Daniel Vautour
Guillaume Briand-Briere
Elio Di Meo
Ian Drysdale
Josh Shatford
Alexandre Goulet
David Henley
Daryl MacCallum
2014-15
Ryan MacKinnon
Spenser Cobbold
Ross Johnston
Guillaume Rioux-Legault
Samuel Guilbault
Zach McFadden
Nathan Yetman
Malik Johnson
Kyler Carter
Julien Avon
2013-14
Anthony Cortese
Troy Vance
Robert Pelletier
Kevin Laliberte
Vladislav Lysenko
Craig MacLauchlan
Mike DiPaolo
Zach Beaton
Marco Sedlar
Matthew Cusson
Thomas Stavert
Liam Alcalde
Cole Hutchinson
Eric Brassard
Samuel Jutras
Vincent Roy
Travis Howe
Curtis Scales
Jack Nevins
Matej Beran
Yan-Pavel Laplante
Alexis Pepin
Julien Leduc
Ryan Graves
Matthew Bursey
Deverick Ottereyes
Antoine Bibeau
