Heading to the NHL Draft, the New York Islanders made two notable moves within the past 72 hours, hiring Pascal Dupuis as the organization’s new director of player development and signing defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a new contract.

The Islanders revealed a new addition to their executive team by hiring two-time Stanley Cup champion Pascal Dupuis as director of player development.

A native of Laval, Quebec, Dupuis joins the Islanders after six seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. There, he served as a part-owner and held positions as assistant general manager, assistant coach, and assistant director of player operations. Dupuis will remain a part-owner of Shawinigan.

During Dupuis’s time with Shawinigan, the team secured the 2022 QMJHL Championship and narrowly missed reaching the Memorial Cup Final, falling to the Hamilton Bulldogs in overtime during the semifinals.

Dupuis was a 16-year veteran with 871 games from 2000 to 2017, with the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and Pittsburgh Penguins and won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and 2016 with Pittsburgh.

Expectations were non-existent for Pascal Dupuis in Pittsburgh. (Dan4th/wikimedia)

On June 26, the Islanders signed defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a new two-year deal, keeping the Sewell, New Jersey native in Long Island through 2028.

DeAngelo played a career-high 76 games last season, while tallying five goals for 35 points with the Islanders.

DeAngelo, a skilled offensive defenseman, was picked 19th overall in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, coming from the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League. After stints with the Lightning, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Philadelphia Flyers, he joined the Islanders in 2024 following a season with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).  

With well-travelled hockey experience and knowledge as a player and executive, Dupuis was a smart hire by the Islanders, as Dupuis will be a key link between the development of the prospect pipeline and the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Hamilton Hammers and ECHL’s Trenton Ironhawks. 

DeAngelo’s return to the Islanders is a good move, given the veteran presence and another voice in the locker room for the young team that is looking to take the next step in the coming season.