Isles Day to Day: Sbisa Agrees to PTO

Luca Sbisa will attend training camp on a professional tryout (PTO). Sbisa parlayed a PTO into a one-year deal with the Islanders last season, appearing in nine games and recording one assist. Sbisa is the only player at Islanders Training Camp on a PTO.

"I'm ready to go," Clutterbuck said. "Before I went in there were some questions, but I knew if the surgery was successful I'd be ready to go."
The issues began to bother Clutterbuck in February, but started to pile up as the season wore on.

"I went through three stages. February was kind of annoying, middle of March through the beginning of April kind of sucked and then once the playoffs started, it was one of those things where I was putting a lot of work in just to get out on the ice," Clutterbuck said. "Now when I get out of bed I stand up and don't think twice about it, but it was a long enough time where I just got used to feeling that way."
Barry Trotz's training camps are physically taxing, especially early on. Clutterbuck resumed skating seven weeks into his recovery and has spent the last six weeks gearing up for a grueling camp.
"I had a good six weeks to [prepare] coming into camp," Clutterbuck said. "We'll see how I feel, take it day by day and if something comes up we'll deal with it then."

LADD STILL RECOVERYING FROM ACL INJURY:

While Clutterbuck returns, Andrew Ladd isn't quite ready to join the Islanders group for the first day of training camp.
The veteran winger is still recovering from a torn right ACL, which he suffered on March 26, and will continue to skate on his own while the team hits the ice for practice on Friday. Head Coach Barry Trotz said there's "no timeframe" for Ladd's return - President and GM Lou Lamoriello said Ladd will start on IR until he's fully healthy - as the team plans to take a slow approach so Ladd returns at 100 percent.
"Right now Andrew is still in the rehab process," Trotz said. "He's had two substantial injuries that he's coming back from. If we get him two weeks earlier, or get him two weeks later, or even a month, whatever it is, we need him to be as free as he can and trusting everything. I've seen him work, he's worked hard and he's very diligent in using all the avenues to be as good as he can be. I give him some credit there."
Ladd had previously injured his left knee last season, which kept him out from Nov. 13 to Feb. 26. All in all, it was a frustrating season for Ladd, who was limited to 26 total games, and while he laments having to miss the start of camp, he's on board with the slow approach.

"Ideally you'd like to be able to go into camp and participate because that's what's going to get you ready for the year, but it's also not the situation I'm in," Ladd said. "Right from the get-go I knew what I was dealing with and want to take my time and make sure I come back at 100 percent so I'm ready to help when I do get back."
Ladd had 11 points (3G, 8A) in 26 games last season and impressed Trotz during that time. The coach won't rush Ladd back, but he's looking forward to adding the veteran to the mix when the time is right.
"Right before both times he got hurt, he was playing probably as well as I'd seen Andrew play," Trotz said. "Andrew was playing with a bit of a junkyard mentality and he's got a really good skill set, especially his small-area game. He's got a sneaky-good release and I really liked the way he was playing right before he got hurt."