Catching Up with Thomas Greiss

While most of the Islanders returned to their hometowns to spend their quarantines, Thomas Greiss was one of the few players that stuck around the Island for the duration of the unexpected hiatus.

During the monotonous period, the Isles netminder, who hails from Fussen, Germany, catalogued his life in quarantine via his social media channels. His posts ranged from his creative workouts, to his generous support towards the Long Island community and precious time spent with his family, and their three dogs.

Instagram from @thomasgreiss1: Day 18 no sports? My wife got tired of seeing my face- Wofie volunteered.

With no access to ice at the time, Greiss highlighted his exercise routines that ranged from his passion for mountain and trail biking, to his toilsome core workouts with an exercise ball, and even swapping out a dumbbell to complete arm day in exchange for his German Shepard Wolf-mix, fittingly named Wolfie.

"That was always stuff I do pretty regularly, especially the [exercise ball workouts]," Greiss said to reporters on Friday afternoon. "Most of the [exercises] were pretty normal for me. The dog stuff was just fun stuff because he's always around and likes working out with me. So, I just put him in the video too."

Like many of his teammates, Greiss has been back on the ice for a few weeks now and astutely readied himself for training camp. Now, Greiss and his teammates are continuing that diligent preparation for their Qualifying Series against the Florida Panthers beginning on August 1.

Instagram from @thomasgreiss1: Day 19 no sports. Entering the circus to pass the time.

Instagram from @thomasgreiss1: Day 18 no sports? My wife got tired of seeing my face- Wofie volunteered.

Greiss noted that he felt strong regarding his skating condition and transition into training camp, but like any player, there's an acclimation period to try and perfect proper timing and establish a comfortable rhythm needed come game time.

"It's always difficult," Greiss said of playing after an extended break. "Even if you play summer hockey and are just screwing around with the guys on the ice and the coaches. Then, you transition to real practices [that are] higher speed. It's always very different. Then, you transition to a real game with all of the timing and the reads and it's a totally different game again.

The critical component in the coming weeks for Greiss and his counterpart, Semyon Varlamov, is to maximize the amount and quality of game-like action they receive and make a case for themselves as the coaching staff assess the tandem in order to choose a No. 1 starter.

"There's always little adjustments here and there," Greiss said. "But Varly and I have been through plenty of camps. I'm sure we'll be fine."

No matter who gets the starting nod, Greiss and Varlamov are each other's biggest supporters and are both just eager to back on the ice in pursuit of a Stanley Cup.