The New York Islanders’ bromance with Cole Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik, teammates and Boston University commits, brought back memories of the team’s 2015 NHL Draft, when they selected Mat Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier, best friends, with their first two picks before they matured into potent NHL forwards. While this is not to say that Eiserman and Bednarik will necessarily become the same as Barzal and Beauvillier, it is amusing to draw comparisons between the two “bromances” because they have a lot in common.
Barzal and Beauvillier’s friendship rose in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) after they became roommates at Team Canada’s Under-18 development camp and Beauvillier helped Barzal pack his suitcase after an injury. The two spoke with NHL.com’s Cory Wright in 2018 about their friendship, which blossomed into a partnership, and how they were selected by the Islanders in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft, with Beauvillier picking at number 28.
In the summer of 2015, Barzal and Beauvillier went to their first NHL camps together. The following season, at the age of 18, they were selected for Team Canada for the 2016 World Juniors. The next year, Barzal rejoined the Seattle Thunderbirds, and Beauvillier was added to the NHL squad. But they were only apart for a short while.
