Anthony Beauvillier doesn’t quite know how it will feel on Thursday when he steps onto the ice at UBS Arena wearing a Canucks jersey. The Islanders, surely, will honor him with a tribute video. Islanders fans, surely, will be glad to see him. And Beauvillier, surely, will feel a wave of emotions and memories flooding back to him.

“My head’s not there yet,” Beauvillier said following Canucks practice at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. “It’ll definitely be something different. I never really had that before. It’ll be good to see everyone and kinda turn the page on Thursday for sure. So many great memories with these guys and with this organization.”

By luck and happenstance, the Canucks are returning from the All-Star break to three games in the New York metropolitan area. Beauvillier, whom the Islanders sent to Vancouver as part of their trade package for Bo Horvat, made his debut with the Canucks on Monday against the Devils. They faced the Rangers on Wednesday, then bused to Long Island to play the Islanders on Thursday.

Unlike Horvat, who might have been surprised by the timing, but likely knew he would be dealt at some point, Beauvillier had no idea this was coming. He was on vacation when Lou Lamoriello’s name came up on his phone, and he could surmise from there that something was coming.