Islanders rookie camp, which opens Friday to sound the unofficial starting gun of hockey season, will be the first for Victor Eklund and must be the last for Isaiah George. 

The two attendees most firmly on the 23-man roster bubble are reporting to camp with opposite reasons leading to the same need for urgency. This will be the fifth rookie camp for the 22-year-old George; he is two years removed from a 33-game stint with the Islanders and in the final season of his entry-level deal. Not only is there a clear pathway to making the roster, but coach Pete DeBoer also praised George enough after July development camp to make you believe the door is open for him to knock Scott Mayfield out of an everyday job on the blue line. 

“Our system’s based around skating and closing on people. Your defensemen in that type of system have to be able to move, and [George’s] best assets are his feet and his speed and ability to support the rush and get back on pucks and make breakout plays. So I think it fits with his toolbox,” DeBoer said then. “I’m excited to work with him. We had him at the end [of last season] there for a couple games, but he’s done it the right way. 

“He came up as a prospect. He paid his dues. He played some games, he went back down again, he didn’t pout about it. And now it looks like he’s knocking on the door to be a full-time NHLer for a long time.” 

George, indeed, has been as loyal a soldier as the Islanders could ask, never outwardly displaying frustration last season when injuries and circumstances conspired against him getting a serious NHL chance while the club spent the season searching for defensemen. 

At a certain point, though, it needs to become clear for George and for the Islanders alike what his future is here. This training camp, and this season, seem to be that point, with George set to hit restricted free agency next summer. 

With Matthew Schaefer and Cal Ritchie having graduated rookie camp, there is little reason for George not to be the best player on the ice over the next week, as DeBoer said he was in a July intrasquad scrimmage. That would make a good start. 

As for Eklund, a strong camp now might make him the most interesting player on the ice when veterans join the party next week. 

The 19-year-old Swede, who made his NHL debut in Game 82 last season, is in a similar spot to Ritchie a year ago. The chance is there for him to play in the NHL, but he will need to force the issue at every opportunity to convert it. 

Much as fans will want to see Eklund in blue and orange on opening night, the roster situation is such that the Islanders have 16 forwards with NHL experience reporting for what is likely 14 spots. At every turn, general manager Mathieu Darche has preached caution regarding prospects, not wanting to give them too much, too soon. 

It is close to a fait accompli that Eklund — barring injury — will get an NHL chance at some point this season. It is far from guaranteed that the chance will come in Toronto on Sept. 29. 

“Those guys need time also,” Darche told reporters last week. “So that’s why you don’t want to rush it because the goal is not for them to play quickly in the NHL, it’s for them to play a long time in the NHL. Some of them might come to camp and show us they belong right away. And if not, hey, maybe it’s halfway.” 

Eklund’s direct competition for a roster spot — Kyle MacLean, Ondrej Palat, Anthony Duclair, Pierre Engvall and Mitchell Chaffee — won’t be on the ice until main camp. 

That makes it all the more imperative for Eklund to separate himself from his age group now.