Ryan Pulock – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Oilers address their goaltending need, a Ducks rookie continues to surprise, Sam Bennett is back on track, and veterans Brock Nelson and Steven Stamkos are finding the net, plus so much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 20:50:35 +0000

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the Oilers address their goaltending need, a Ducks rookie continues to surprise, Sam Bennett is back on track, and veterans Brock Nelson and Steven Stamkos are finding the net, plus so much more!

#1 The Edmonton Oilers have been dissatisfied with their goaltending and made a move to address it Friday, acquiring veteran netminder Tristan Jarry and prospect Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenceman Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick in 2029. Jarry is enjoying a bounce-back season with a .909 save percentage and gains fantasy value even by going to an Oilers team with a slightly worse record, because Edmonton should be able to provide more goal support and the Oilers are expected to have a better record than the Penguins. Skinner’s value is already at a low point, as his .891 save percentage wasn’t cutting it. He will likely share the crease with Arturs Silovs in Pittsburgh, as Jarry was, but that’s going to be a competition. Kulak has struggled this season but logged big minutes on the Oilers’ Stanley Cup runs the past two years, so if the Penguins want to flip him, they probably can. Poulin was a first-round pick in 2019 but hasn’t been able to crack the NHL lineup. He has two assists in 15 career games, but maybe he can get a fresh look in Edmonton.

#2 Anaheim Ducks right winger Beckett Sennecke has a tendency to sneak up on people. Even he was surprised when the Ducks drafted him third overall in 2024 and he didn’t enter this season with huge expectations. It seemed a positive sign that he made the team as a 19-year-old winger and if he could provide some secondary scoring, all the better. At this point, though, he has put up 14 points (4 G, 10 A) with 29 shots on goal in his past 13 games and his 26 points (10 G, 16 A) in 31 games leads all rookie scorers. Sennecke is working on a young and talented line with Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish.

#3 Florida Panthers playoff hero Sam Bennett struggled early in the season, managing five points (3 G, 2 A) through his first 18 games, but he has started to heat up since. In his past 12 games, Bennett has 15 points (6 G, 9 A) and 35 shots on goal, a huge contribution for a Panthers team that is missing Aleksander Barkov, so they desperately need Benett to play like he does in the postseason and, lately, that’s more like what the Panthers have been getting from him and he’s having success skating on a line with Carter Verhaeghe and Brad Marchand.

#4 When the Colorado Avalanche acquired centre Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders last season, they may not have loved the production they received, which included 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 19 regular season games before he added zero goals and four assists in seven playoff games. He started slowly this season, too, with five points (3 G, 2 A) and 24 shots on goal in his first 16 games. In his past 15 games, however, Nelson has put up 16 points (9 G, 7 A) with 28 shots on goal. That shot rate still has room for improvement, but Nelson is getting good results on a line with Gabriel Landeskog and Ross Colton.

#5 Moving to Nashville has not brought the best out of veteran sniper Steven Stamkos, but there are signs of life. He started this season with just two points (1 G, 1 A) and 30 shots on goal in 14 games. For a high-percentage finisher, he was obviously not going to keep scoring at a rate of one goal for every 30 shots on goal, but after scoring four goals against St. Louis on Thursday, he has 10 points (8 G, 2 A) with 25 shots on goal in his past eight games. He’s skating on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista, and they have helped the Predators to a 6-2 record in their past eight games.

#6 Utah Mammoth centre Logan Cooley suffered a lower-body injury that is going to keep him out for a couple of months, likely pushing his return until after the Olympic break. Cooley had 23 points (14 G, 9 A) in 29 games at the time of his injury, and now the Mammoth need to shuffle lines, so they have moved Nick Schmaltz into the top line centre role, while bumping J.J. Peterka up to play right wing on the No. 1 line.

#7 Ottawa Senators centre Shane Pinto is out for at least another week due to a lower-body injury suffered last week, knocking out a player who ranks third on the Senators with 12 goals this season. With Pinto out, Ridly Greig slides into the middle of the ice, and it creates room for David Perron to fill a top-nine role in the lineup.

#8 The Montreal Canadiens called up top goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler to make his NHL debut this week and, given the struggles of Samuel Montembeault this season, there could be opportunity knocking. A third-round pick in 2023, Fowler had a .932 save percentage in 74 games across two seasons at Boston College then finished last season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL. He started this season with a .919 save percentage in 15 games for the Rocket, earning his promotion, and Fowler stopped 36 of 38 shots to earn a 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh in his NHL debut. There is uncertainty in the Montreal crease right now, but Fowler might force his way into playing time.

#9 At 37 years old, he may not be peak Showtime anymore, but Detroit Red Wings right winger Patrick Kane can still play a valuable role for a team needing offence. Kane has 12 points (2 G, 10 A) and 31 shots on goal in his past 11 games, and he seems to have something good going with linemates Andrew Copp and Alex DeBrincat. Copp has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 11 shots on goal in his past five games, a relative burst of offence compared to how little he had been producing earlier in the season.

#10 The Pittsburgh Penguins have moved Tommy Novak to left wing on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, and the 28-year-old forward has produced eight points (2 G, 6 A) with 13 shots on goal in his past seven games. He had seven points (2 G, 5 A) and 29 shots on goal in 22 games before that, so it may not be easy to buy-in on Novak’s production, but if he’s getting a shot on Crosby’s wing, he’s at least worth considering as a short-term fix.

#11 New York Islanders captain Anders Lee had a four-point night in Thursday’s win over Anaheim, giving him seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past five games and while he’s not the same threat that he has been in years past – his 15:32 of ice time per game is his lowest average since 2015-2016 – he is skating on a line with Mathew Barzal and Jean-Gabriel Pageau at even strength, and that’s a decent spot. The Islanders may need to do some line shuffling, however, as Bo Horvat left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury.

#12 Staying with the Islanders, veteran defenceman Ryan Pulock is offering more value than he has in recent years. In his past eight games, Pulock has contributed seven points (1 G, 6 A) and 13 shots on goal, and he’s not really a power play factor, with only one of those points coming with the man advantage. He’s been renowned for his heavy shot from the point, ever since he arrived in the NHL, but topped out at 37 points in 82 games in 2017-2018, his second full season in the league. With 16 points in 32 games, Pulock is on pace for more this season.

#13 Veteran defenceman John Klingberg has a long track record of being able to provide offence, with six seasons of 40-plus points to his credit, but he has slowed down, in part due to injuries. However, he made progress in the playoffs with Edmonton last season and has a new opportunity with the San Jose Sharks this season and his offensive instincts work with San Jose’s aggressive approach. In his past nine games, Klingberg has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 12 shots on goal, averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game. He may not be a dream candidate for fantasy managers, but he is up to 12 points (5 G, 7 A) and 31 blocked shots in 23 games, which should generate some interest.

#14 There is a segment of the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base that is not entirely enamored with defenceman Morgan Rielly, and that’s fine, not everyone is going to like every player, but Rielly is a productive blueliner. He has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 13 shots on goal in his past seven games, giving him 23 points (5 G, 18 A) in 29 games this season. Only five of those 23 points are on the power play, though Rielly is on Toronto’s PP1 right now, so perhaps that is a path to continuing what is already solid offensive production.

#15 Philadelphia Flyers centre Christian Dvorak is getting an opportunity to play a bigger role with his new team and it’s starting to pay off for him. Dvorak has joined Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny on the Flyers’ top line, and has five points (1 G, 4 A) and seven shots on goal in his past three games. Dvorak’s career high is 38 points, set in 2019-2020 when he was with Arizona, but has 21 points (7 G, 14 A) in 29 games this season, so he’s on pace to go well past that total. His ice time is up 1:39 per game over last season and if he continues with skilled linemates, Dvorak will ride that offensive wave to more fantasy appeal.

#16 Trying to shake up their lineup, the Winnipeg Jets moved Gabriel Vilardi off the first line and to the second line with Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov. That movement shouldn’t be seen as an indictment of Vilardi’s play, however, as he has 13 points (8 G, 5 A) and 21 shots on goal in his past 11 games. He is scoring on 21.2 percent of his shots this season, which seems really high, except that in his previous two seasons with the Jets, his shooting percentage was 19.8 percent, so if there is going to be regression, it may not be by very much.

#17 Pittsburgh Penguins rookie centre Ben Kindel isn’t producing enough to have fantasy appeal just yet, with 10 points (7 G, 3 A) in 26 games but, with Evgeni Malkin out, Kindel is playing more than 18:30 per game over the past six contests and has a couple of goals but also has 28 shots on goal. That ability to generate shots at that rate makes Kindel very intriguing for the future and possibly even for later this season as he grows more comfortable playing in the best league in the world as an 18-year-old centre.

#18 Minnesota Wild right winger Mats Zuccarello is out with an upper-body injury, which is unfortunate since he missed the first month of the season with a lower-body injury. Zuccarello had 12 points (2 G, 10 A) and 29 shots on goal in 15 games before getting hurt and he joins Marco Rossi on the injured list, which means new linemates for Kirill Kaprizov. Right now, it’s rookie Danila Yurov and veteran Vladimir Tarasenko getting that chance. Yurov has five points (1 G, 4 A) in his past 10 games and Tarasenko has three points (1 G, 2 A) in his past two games, but that comes after a seven-game scoreless drought.

#19 New Jersey Devils winger Timo Meier is taking a leave from the team to deal with a family health matter. That is obviously not good news on a personal level, which is most important, and it does leave the Devils – already missing Jack Hughes – a little light up front. That creates a ripple effect in the Devils’ lineup, with Stefan Noesen moving to left wing on the top line and Paul Cotter to right wing on the second line. Noesen has just four points (1 G, 3 A) in 25 games this season but did have an assist and played a season-high 15:59 on Thursday as he is also getting time on New Jersey’s top power play unit.

#20 St. Louis Blues right winger Jordan Kyrou is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and he’s already been enduring a rough season. After scoring 36 goals and 70 points last season, Kyrou has eight goals and 16 points in 28 games this season. In his absence, Mathieu Joseph moves into St. Louis’ top six, but he gets there with two assists and seven shots on goal in his past dozen games, so Joseph needs to take advantage of the opportunity being afforded to him.

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW YORK ISLANDERS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 19:43:46 +0000

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 29: New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) warms up before the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders on December 29, 2024, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

With Patrick Roy behind the Islanders bench, the team managed a .500 points percentage, finishing with 82 points (35-35-12) in 82 games. The Islanders were a mid-range puck possession squad, ranking 18th in Corsi percentage (49.6) and 14th in expected goals percentage (50.6). Special teams was a large part of the Islanders’ undoing last season, ranking 31st with 4.14 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play and ranking 30th with 9.59 goals against per 60 minutes of four-on-five play. A mediocre possession team can’t overcome such terrible special teams, even with Ilya Sorokin as the starting goaltender. Semyon Varlamov was injured for much of the season, so Marcus Hogberg had the second-most appearances among Islanders goaltenders and that didn’t help matters.

What’s Changed?

The Islanders hired Mathieu Darche to be their new General Manager, taking over for Lou Lamoriello and he was relatively busy in the offseason, starting with the selection of defenceman Matthew Schaefer with the first pick in the 2025 Draft. The Isles signed left winger Jonathan Drouin from the Colorado Avalanche and plucked Maxim Shabanov from the KHL, where he had 67 points (23 G, 44 A) in 65 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk. More dramatically, the Islanders traded defenceman Noah Dobson to Montreal, acquiring forward Emil Heineman from the Canadiens as part of the return. The Islanders added David Rittich from the Los Angeles Kings to stabilize their goaltending, and enforcer Matt Martin skated off the ice and into the Isles’ front office.

What would success look like?

For a team with as many veterans as the islanders, the playoffs must be the objective. They don’t appear to have the high-end talent to compete with the very best teams in the league, though they made some deep playoff runs in 2020 and 2021 when it didn’t look like they had that kind of talent, either. The other priority should be to make sure that No. 1 pick Schaefer develops as much as possible. Shelter him if he needs sheltering, but make sure that he is going to be a fixture on this blueline for 15 years.

What could go wrong?

The Islanders have been dependent on excellent goaltending from Ilya Sorokin and that always presents a risk, that if the goaltending falls off that the rest of the team is not equipped to handle it. On one hand, it’s hard to imagine that the Islanders could duplicate such an awful special teams performance, but if they did, that would once again prevent them from reaching the playoffs. Just as success would be making the playoffs and developing Schaefer properly, the opposite end of the spectrum would be to miss the playoffs, but not by much so they don’t get a great shot at the lottery, and they botch the development of their No. 1 overall draft pick.

Top Breakout Candidate

As exciting as it would be to have a rookie defenceman like Schaefer take the league by storm, he is just 18 years old and that’s asking a lot. On the other hand, Russian forward Maxim Shabanov is 24 and coming off an outstanding season in the KHL, finishing third in league scoring. There’s no guarantee that the undersized Shabanov will make the transition to North America and fill the net, but the Islanders should be motivated to give him the chance, and he might even be able to help their pathetic power play.

FORWARDS

Mathew Barzal

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	16	40	56	0.86

A brilliant skater who adds an electrifying element to the Islanders attack, Barzal missed 52 games with injuries last season, finishing with just 20 points (6 G, 14 A) in 30 games. The scoring totals were somewhat deceptive because underlying numbers suggest that Barzal was as dangerous as ever. He had career-best rates for on-ice Corsi For and on-ice Expected Goals For during five-on-five play. He also had his individual highest rate of shot attempts per 60 minutes but scored on just 5.1 percent of his shots at five-on-five, a far cry from 10 percent or better, like he did in six of the previous seven seasons. All of these stats suggest that Barzal is still a difference-maker, and he is consistently the most dangerous forward on the Islanders roster, so if he is healthy this season, he will be expected to produce. He has shifted to playing the wing more often, in part because he’s terrible on faceoffs, winning 42.3 percent for his career, but given the Isles’ personnel after trading Brock Nelson last season, Barzal may need to spend more time down the middle of the ice in 2025-2026. He does have some injury history, so that creates a range on his possible outcomes. Expecting him to miss at least 15 games is probably fair, and if that’s the case, then 50-55 points is a reasonable expectation. If he’s healthy, maybe 65-70 is more on target.

Bo Horvat

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	31	31	62	0.76

One of the features that made Horvat appealing to the Islanders when they acquired him from Vancouver was that he was reliably productive. In the past two seasons, he has scored 61 goals and the Islanders have outshot and outscored opponents consistently with him on the ice. He’s doing his part and, last season, it came with a variety of linemates. Anders Lee was his most common winger but with Barzal injured, Kyle Palmieri, Simon Holmstrom, Anthony Duclair and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each played more than 200 five-on-five minutes with Horvat. A physically strong player, Horvat wins puck battles and handled more than 20 minutes of ice time per game last season. One reason to be optimistic about his chances for the 2025-2026 season is that the Islanders power play was abysmal last season and Horvat’s production suffered. There were 136 players that played at least 150 minutes during five-on-four play last season and 132 of them had more points per 60 minutes than Horvat’s 1.65 per 60. He had scored 71 power play goals in the previous seven seasons, so he ought to bounce back. He is as reliable as anyone on the Isles’ roster and has missed a total of five games over the past three seasons, so Horvat should be able to contribute 30 goals and 60-plus points this season.

Jonathan Drouin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
62	13	30	43	0.69

A very talented player who has had an up-and-down career, Drouin had a good thing going in Colorado over the past two seasons, tallying 93 points (30 G, 63 A) in 122 games. Of course, one of the reasons that Drouin has had ups-and-downs in his career is that he has had difficulty staying healthy, and he played just 43 games for Colorado in 2024-2025. No matter who Drouin skates with on the Islanders roster in 2025-2026, it will be a downgrade from riding shotgun with Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado. Drouin scored on a career high 19.6 percent of his shots last season, so that is a number that is likely to regress, but Drouin is a creative offensive player and effective puck distributor and as much as he is a finesse player, he turned in better defensive results in his two seasons with Colorado and that would certainly enhance his value if he could bring a more reliable two-way game to the Islanders. The good news for Drouin is that, if he's healthy, he should play a big role for the Isles. Given his injury history, it’s entirely fair to expect Drouin to miss 15-20 games and, if that’s the case, he could still find a way to contribute 40 points.

Anders Lee

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	25	23	48	0.60

Going into last season, it was possible that the Islanders were ready to prepare their captain for a decreased role. He had played 15:34 per game on his way to contributing 37 points (20 G, 17 A) in 81 games in 2023-2024, the kind of numbers that suggested he was moving down the depth chart. Then, last season, Lee went out and earned his place in the lineup, finishing with 29 goals and 54 points, his highest totals in those categories since the 2017-2018 season. To get that kind of bounce back from a 34-year-old winger was unexpected, but Lee is an imposing physical presence and that doesn’t go away with age. He can still plant himself in front of the other team’s net and he generated 233 shots on goal last season, the high-water mark for his career! Lee has scored at least 20 goals in eight consecutive seasons, not counting the shortened 2020-2021 season, during which he was also injured but still delivered 12 goals in 27 games. The Islanders have outscored opponents with Lee on the ice during five-on-five play in six of the past seven seasons and last season the Isles outscored opponents 60-43 in those situations, the second-best differential of his career. Even if he’s in a complementary role, Lee still figures to get power play time and should be capable of scoring 25 goals and 45 points.

Simon Holmstrom

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	20	23	43	0.54

Drafted with the 19th pick in the 2019 Draft, Holmstrom took a while to reach the NHL and he has started to make positive contributions in the past couple of seasons, scoring 35 goals and 70 points in 150 games. Last season, he was shuffled around the lineup – his three most common linemates were centers Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Casey Cizikas, and Bo Horvat – and had a serious hot streak from November 1 through December 21, during which he recorded 19 points (9 G, 10 A) in 24 games. Holmstrom had just 34 shots on goal over that stretch, which was a good indication that his scoring surge was unsustainable, and it was. While Holmstrom appears to be more accomplished defensively, where he is closer to average, he has scored on 20.8 percent of his shots in the past two seasons, and that’s incredibly high, but he does contribute quite a bit in transition, where the percentages tend to be higher, and he does have a dangerous shot when given room to let it go. There is uncertainty over his role going into 2025-2026 because he was all over the lineup in 2024-2025, so consider 15 goals and 35 points a baseline for him, with room to move up if he ends up skating with more accomplished offensive players.

Kyle Palmieri

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	21	23	44	0.54

There were a few lean years on the back of Palmieri’s hockey card, from the end of his New Jersey tenure through his first couple of seasons with the Islanders, but he has sniped 54 goals in the past two seasons, so the 34-year-old winger has some life left in his game. He did tone down his physical play last season, recording just 54 hits in 82 games, his fewest hits in a season since he had 48 hits in 42 games as a rookie in 2012-2013. Even so, Palmieri has a nose for the net and will put his body in harm’s way if it means getting a chance to score. While he has returned to being an offensive threat, Palmieri’s defensive game has slipped in the past couple of seasons, with the Islanders surrendering more shots, goals, and expected goals against with Palmieri on the ice. Palmieri’s most common linemates last season were Brock Nelson, before he was traded, Maxim Tsyplakov, and Bo Horvat. There will be competition for quality ice time among the Islanders wingers and Palmieri isn’t assured of winning those battles, but 20-25 goals and 45 points is a reasonable expectation.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	12	26	38	0.47

Although he does not have imposing size, Pageau plays with an edge to his game and is a rare center who hits consistently. He has recorded at least 140 hits in four straight seasons, Those aren’t empty hits, either, as Pageau’s battles helped push the puck the right way when he was on the ice. It also helped that he spent some time on right wing on the top line when Barzal was injured because Pageau then ended up with more offensive zone starts and, ultimately, finished with a 52 percent Corsi, the best mark of his career. His 42 points (14 G, 28 A) tied for the second most of his career, and he won a career-high 59.6 percent of his faceoffs, so by all accounts the 2024-2025 season was a strong one for the veteran pivot. He is expected to fill the third-line center role this season, but it’s possible that he might see some time in the second center spot, especially if the Islanders use Barzal on the wing. In any case, Pageau could reasonably be expected to contribute a dozen goals and 35-40 points, with 140-plus hits in 2025-2026.

Maxim Tsyplakov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	12	26	38	0.49

Arriving in the NHL last season as a 26-year-old rookie out of Russia, Tsyplakov scored 31 goals in 65 games during his last season in the KHL, so that might have prompted his jump to the Islanders, but goal-scoring was not really his forte, either. The 6-foot-3 winger plays a hard physical game and recorded 140 hits in his first NHL season. While he is good at protecting and passing the puck, he did not show great finishing ability in his first season with the Islanders. At the same time, Tsyplakov was reliable defensively and not shy about using his size to create turnovers on the forecheck and then going hard to the front of the opponents’ net. There were 197 forwards to play at least 100 minutes at five-on-four last season and Tsyplakov ranked 190th with 1.53 points per 60 minutes with the man advantage. That may not fall entirely on him, as the Isles’ power play was awful, but he didn’t help. Like several Islanders forwards, Tsyplakov has the ability to move around the lineup. He plays with the grind of a checking forward but does have enough skill to his game that he can at least fit in a more offensive role, too. His most likely fit is somewhere in the middle six and, in his second season, it would seem fair to expect maybe a dozen goals and 35-40 points.

Anthony Duclair

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
55	14	12	26	0.47

There was real hope that having some security and re-uniting with Patrick Roy, who had coached him in junior hockey, would bring out the best in Duclair and that most definitely did not happen in 2024-2025. In fact, before the season was over, he had been sent away from the team for some personal time. It was an undeniably disastrous season, as he finished with a mere 11 points (7 G, 4 A) in 44 games and, even worse, his defensive play was a mess with the islanders out-scored 27-17 during five-on-five play with Duclair on the ice. His defensive impacts have been consistently poor and that’s the kind of thing that can cost a player his spot in the lineup. The Islanders are Duclair’s ninth team, so there have obviously been peaks and valleys to the man’s NHL career. He is a four-time 20-goal scorer, who uses his speed to create chances and is excellent at using dekes to finish on breakaways. The Islanders should be seriously motivated to get Duclair back on his game this season and he may be able to contribute 15 goals and 30 points, but his status is unreliable at this point, so it’s probably best to wait and see how it goes early in the season before looking to add Duclair to a fantasy roster.

DEFENCE

Tony DeAngelo

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
64	6	30	36	0.56

With the Islanders trading Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens, that leaves a huge opening for DeAngelo to be the top offensive defenceman on the roster since that is the one proven positive dimension to his game. His previous stops in the NHL have been tumultuous so he did not land an NHL contract at the start of last season and went to the KHL, where he was thriving on ice with 32 points (6 G, 26 A) in 34 games for SKA St. Petersburg, but he rankled teammates and coaching staff on the way to getting released. He signed with the Islanders, cleared waivers, and returned to the NHL in late January, getting an incredible 23:21 of ice time per game for the Islanders. It was the highest average time on ice of his career, and he contributed 19 points (4 G, 15 A) in 35 games. Eight of those 19 points came on the power play and that is, not surprisingly, where DeAngelo is most effective. He is a confident puck-handler who is ready to shoot and move the puck in the offensive zone. In the defensive zone, however, he is a clear liability. Of the 256 defencemen to play at least 200 five-on-five minutes last season, DeAngelo ranked 244th with 3.00 expected goals against per 60 minutes and the Islanders were outscored 30-27 with him on the ice. Whatever shortcomings he might have defensively, he is clearly the No. 1 offensive option on the Islanders blueline. Perhaps No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer will be ready to take on a big role during his rookie season, but that would be asking a lot of an 18-year-old, so that likely means a big role for DeAngelo. He has never played more than 70 games in an NHL season, so he is likely to miss some time, but if he plays 65-plus games, then DeAngelo should be able to contribute 35 points. There is a world in which it goes even better than that, as he has three seasons to his credit with more than 40 points, but the downside risk needs to be taken into account, too.

Alexander Romanov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	5	18	23	0.30

The Islanders leaned heavily on Romanov during the 2024-2025 season, as he averaged a career-high 22:18 of ice time per game. He finished with 20 points (4 G, 16 A) in 64 games, and while that is not earth-shattering offensive output, it was the third straight season in which he had recorded at least 20 points. Where Romanov does stand out is blocked shots (165) and hits (147) and those numbers make him a viable fantasy contributor in banger leagues or even deep leagues that include those peripheral stats. Looking ahead, Romanov will face a challenge of dealing with a new defence partner because his most common partner last season was Noah Dobson, who was traded to Montreal. With Dobson and Romanov on the ice, the Islanders controlled 54.7 percent of shot attempts and 53.2 percent of expected goals during five-on-five play. When Romanov played with other partners, the Islanders controlled 45.5 percent of shot attempts and expected goals, so that is going to be an issue to keep an eye on. There is still little reason to believe that Romanov is going to put up big point totals, so he will probably fall between 20 and 25 points. However, he should also be able to produce 160 hits and 160 blocked shots, which makes him surprisingly valuable for fantasy managers.

Ryan Pulock

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	5	16	21	0.27

When Pulock arrived in the NHL, his heavy shot from the point was his calling card and that has not disappeared, but it is no longer the main feature of his game. Prior to last season, he had turned into a reliable defender, capable of handling difficult top four minutes. Last season was different, though, as Pulock was on the wrong end of possession numbers, falling just below 46 percent Corsi and recording a career-low 46.2 percent expected goals percentage. Whether he was effective or not, Pulock still logged more than 21 minutes per game and finished the season with 23 points (5 G, 18 A), 100 hits and 155 blocked shots. None of those numbers really put him into the mix for fantasy managers, but he is worth tracking during the season because, depending on who else is available, he may get time on the power play. He only had a couple of points with the man advantage last season, so it’s hardly a big draw but, at best, he’s an in-season consideration in most leagues anyway. At this stage of his career, Pulock is likely to land between 20-25 points with maybe 120 hits and 140 blocked shots.

Adam Pelech

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
61	3	18	21	0.34

The Islanders’ best defenceman is not a significant offensive threat, and has battled injuries, but he is a terminally underrated shutdown defender and that makes his spot in the lineup as secure as anyone. Pelech has averaged at least 20 minutes of ice time per game for six straight seasons and that is without hardly any power play role. The unfortunate part is that Pelech has missed 67 games over the past three seasons, so it’s difficult to trust that he is going to suddenly play a full season now. He does have skills that should apply on the offensive end because he’s nimble on his blades and a confident puck-handler who generated a career-best 1.82 shots on goal per game last season. At this stage of his career, though, it’s unlikely that there is going to be a sudden offensive breakthrough. Taking into account that, based on recent precedent, Pelech is likely to miss 15-20 games, he can still be expected to chip in 20 points and might be able to push 100 blocked shots. That’s not terribly appealing from a fantasy perspective, but in real hockey terms, Pelech is a fantastic option on the Islanders’ blueline.

Goal

Ilya Sorokin

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
60	21	29	7	3	.906	2.95

It's a frustrating time to be a New York Islanders fan. While Ilya Sorokin isn't struggling as much as some of the league's other goaltenders thrust into sub-optimal workloads, the Russian-born starter lost his mentor in Semyon Varlamov to a knee injury midway through last season - and Marcus Hogberg, who was next up to bat when Varlamov went down, failed to fill in well enough to help the Islanders get over the hump and into the postseason when all was said and done. Varlamov is expected to be ready for the upcoming season, but at 37-years old with a lengthy injury history, it's hard to tell just how much he'll be able to contribute over the year. That leaves Sorokin with a new potential backup at his side; former Calgary Flames number two David Rittich, who struggled to replicate his strong results from the 2022-23 season last year in his second season with the Los Angeles Kings, will hope to bounce back and return to form in the instance that he's needed for a heavier workload. The Islanders aren't currently sitting in the prime of their window, so there's not as much of a sense of urgency to get their tandem right as there could be, but Sorokin runs the risk of playing his best hockey on a Wild Card team more and more with every passing year. The team will likely hope that Varlamov and Rittich can string together enough games to help the team out without leaving Sorokin to shoulder the entire workload himself once again.

NHL: CULLEN – Laine making the most of his power play time, Schmaltz, Hertl and Nelson are hot, Jones thriving since returning to lineup, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 23:24:57 +0000

MONTREAL, QC - DECEMBER 07: Patrik Laine (92) of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the third period of the NHL game between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens on Dec 07 2024, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC(Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Patrik Laine has made the most of his power play time in Montreal, Nick Schmaltz, Tomas Hertl and Brock Nelson are hot, Seth Jones is thriving since returning to the Chicago lineup, and much more!

Here is this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points:

#1 It is not like the hockey world forgot what Patrik Laine could do when the puck hit his stick, but he has been playing sporadically in recent seasons, so the evidence wasn’t quite so evident. After joining the Montreal Canadiens, however, Laine has shown that he is still a lethal shooter. In 20 games with the Habs, Laine has 18 points (12 G, 6 A) with 54 shots on goal. He is scoring on 22.2 percent of his shots, which is a higher rate than he has finished in any previous season, but he is also quite specifically a power play threat, with 10 of his 12 goals coming with the man advantage. Laine has 10.35 goals per 60 minutes of power play time, which ranks first among players that have played at least 30 minutes on the power play this season. Victor Olofsson (6.48), Pavel Dorofeyev (5.76), Michael Bunting (5.22), and Brayden Point (4.82) round out the top five in power play goal-scoring efficiency.

#2 Veteran Utah Hockey Club right winger Nick Schmaltz has established his credentials as a quality point producing forward but had been off to a relatively slow start prior to embarking on what is now a seven-game point streak, during which he has nine points (3 G, 6 A). Schmaltz has consistently played alongside Clayton Keller, but the duo has recently added second-year centre Logan Cooley to the top line and Cooley has been cooking, putting up 30 points (12 G. 18 A) in his past 28 games.

#3 Barrett Hayton, who has played quite a bit with Schmaltz and Keller in recent seasons, has moved to a line with Matias Maccelli and Josh Doan and continues to have success, tallying seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past four games. Hayton’s ice time is down this season to 15:24 per game after playing more than 17 minutes per game in the previous two seasons, but he has also improved his work in the face-off circle, winning 54.2 percent of his draws. Given Cooley’s offensive upside, it probably makes more sense for Hayton to slot in as the No. 2 centre in Utah.

#4 Vegas Golden Knights centre Tomas Hertl had been relatively inconsistent early in the season, but he might be turning the corner. He is riding a seven-game point streak, putting up 11 points (6 G, 5 A) with 25 shots on goal in those seven games. That elevated shot rate is an important factor because Hertl was averaging 2.24 shots per game through the first 41 games of the season. Taking that up to 3.57 shots per game is a strong indicator for a player sustaining is production.

#5 New York Islanders centre Brock Nelson is finding his name in trade rumours as the Isles are sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division. He is helping to keep his value high, scoring seven points (3 G, 4 A) with 18 shots on goal while playing more than 20 minutes per game in his past six games. A 6-foot-4 centre who has scored more than 30 goals in three straight seasons, Nelson is obviously appealing for a team looking to boost its offense.

#6 Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Seth Jones is starting to heat up. He had missed five weeks with a foot injury, but has delivered 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in 14 games since getting back into the lineup. Jones has recorded 10 of his 20 points on the power play, and with 7.87 points per 60 minutes on the power play, he ranks third among defencemen, behind only Zach Werenski (8.11) and Neal Pionk (7.91).

#7 Seattle Kraken centre Chandler Stephenson had been on a good run before getting injured Thursday night. In his past 11 games, including Thursday, Stephenson has contributed 10 points (5 G, 5 A) but there is a bona fide concern with his low shot rate. He has 46 shots on goal in 48 games, which is a shockingly low amount for a player who logs more than 19 minutes of ice time per game. With Yanni Gourde also injured, Stephenson’s absence could create more playing time for Shane Wright, who is making progress. In his first 23 games of the season, Wright had seven points (4 G, 11 A), but in the next 23 games, he has contributed 15 points (4 G, 11 A).

#8 Looking for a buy-low winger? Consider Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings. In 11 games since the holiday break, Fiala has a modest five points (2 G, 3 A) but he also has 40 shots on goal. That shot rate is encouraging, but there is also the matter of Fiala’s low on-ice shooting percentage this season. During five-on-five play, the Kings are scoring on just 5.8 percent of their shots when Fiala is on the ice, which is his lowest since his rookie season in 2016-2017.

#9 Calgary Flames winger Blake Coleman can fly under the radar a bit but when he is contributing offensively, that makes his fantasy contribution quite strong. In his past 17 games, Coleman has 15 points (5 G, 10 A) but he also has 36 hits and that combination makes him quite appealing for fantasy managers. Coleman is unlikely to match last season’s career highs of 30 goals and 54 points, but already has 92 hits in 46 games, so if the point production continues, Coleman’s all-around contribution is solid.

#10 On a similar level, Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie has picked up his production a bit, with eight points (5 G, 3 A) in his past 10 games, but he also has 25 hits in those 10 games. Be a little wary, though, since Geekie only has 16 shots on goal in those 10 games, his goal-scoring has been dependent on a high shooting percentage (31.3 percent in the past 10 games).

#11 Carolina Hurricanes rookie right winger Jackson Blake has found his way to the top line, skating with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. Blake has played 15:27 per game over the past four, chipping in three points (1 G, 2 A) with nine shots on goal. It is probably too soon to jump on Blake in most fantasy leagues, but if he remains on that top line there is obvious scoring upside for a player who ranks third among rookies with 11 goals despite very limited ice time (12:02 ATOI). (Editors note – The Rantanen trade followed the publication of this article – the coach may want to spread the scoring around, but it is more likely Rantanen takes that spot on the top line)

#12 Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares is out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury and for all of the criticism that Tavares takes, he remains a high-end point producer, with 42 points (20 G, 22 A) in 44 games before getting hurt. The challenge for the Maple Leafs is to get contributions down the middle of the ice behind Auston Matthews because, with Tavares out, the second line centre is Pontus Holmberg and the third line centre is rookie Fraser Minten. Holmberg has zero goals and one assist in his past 11 games while Minten has zero points in his past eight NHL games after starting with four points in his first five games.

#13 With the New York Islanders’ season teetering on the brink, they got bad news that standout defenceman Noah Dobson is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Dobson’s production has fallen off the pace he set last season, when he had a career-high 70 points (10 G, 60 A) in 79 games, as he has 24 points (6 G, 18 A) in 46 games this season, but the Islanders don’t have great options to replace him on the power play. Ryan Pulock has handled the role before and is noted for his heavy shot from the point, but has one power play point this season.

#14 New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom has suffered a sprained MCL, which will keep him out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks. Markstrom has been exactly what the Devils needed between the pipes, with a .912 save percentage and 10.0 goals saved above expectations in 36 games. With Markstrom out, Jake Allen will need to handle the starter’s role. Allen has a .901 save percentage and 4.04 goals saved above expected in 15 games this season, so he is a capable starting goaltender for the next month plus.

#15 The Boston Bruins are in a tough battle for a playoff spot, for the first time in a while, but that is made even more challenging when goaltender Jeremy Swayman and No. 1 defenceman Charlie McAvoy are sidelined with injuries. Defenceman Hampus Lindholm was already injured, so the current version of the Bruins is without its top two defencemen and top goaltender, and that is going to make it even more difficult. Swayman’s injury does not seem serious, so Joonas Korpisalo may only have short term value, but McAvoy has landed on injured reserve, which will keep him out for at least a week. This defensive weakening does make the Bruins more vulnerable, potentially worth targeting as opposition while the Bruins are missing Lindholm and McAvoy.

#16 Bruins defenceman Mason Lohrei has been making the most of his opportunity to quarterback the power play. He has six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past seven games and is up to 10 power play points. With 6.85 points per 60 minutes on the power play, Lohrei is tied for 15th (with Chicago’s Alex Vlasic) among NHL defencemen.

#17 Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin is considered week to week with a lower-body injury, and that leaves a large hole for the Avalanche. In 21 games, Nichushkin has 17 points (11 G, 6 A). His absence keeps Ross Colton in Colorado’s top six and while Colton has been held scoreless in his past four games, he is worth keeping tabs on as a player with potential upside because he thrived earlier in the season when given a big opportunity due to injuries.

#18 Ottawa Senators centre Josh Norris is out with an upper-body injury. Given his history with shoulder woes, Norris’ health is an area of concern, yet the thing is that he can still produce when healthy. In 47 games this season, Norris has produced 17 goals and 27 points. The Sens do get David Perron back in the lineup, so that should theoretically help alleviate Norris’ absence, but Perron has failed to record a point in 10 games this season, so expectations should be kept in check. Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson is out of the lineup with a lower-body injury, which elevates Thomas Chabot to the first power play unit.

#19 Norris’ absence from the Senators’ lineup should also open the door for Shane Pinto to step up. While Pinto has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 18 shots on goal in the past eight games, he is also averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game in that time, so it would be a prime opportunity for Pinto to lift his offensive production because with 16 points (8 G, 8 A) in 40 games, he has underachieved offensively.

#20 Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Darren Raddysh has elevated his game recently, producing six points (2 G, 4 A) with 13 shots on goal in the past five games, averaging 21:50 time on ice per game. With J.J. Moser and Erik Cernak injured, the Lightning certainly need Raddysh to take on more responsibility. In his first 18 games this season, Raddysh averaged 15:30 time on ice per game and in 20 games since then, has averaged 20:04 per game.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW YORK ISLANDERS – Team Preview

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 16:00:19 +0000

_{RALEIGH, NC - APRIL 25: New York Islanders Goalie Ilya Sorokin (30) prepares for a faceoff during game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes on April 25, 2023 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire})

The Islanders replaced Lane Lambert with Patrick Roy around midseason and Roy led them to a 20-12-5 record, earning them 94 points (39-27-16) overall, which was good enough to get into the playoffs, where they lost in five games to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Isles ranked 25th in Corsi, at 47.3%, but 18th in expected goals percentage at just under 50%. Those percentages were better under Roy (48.7% Corsi, 51.3% expected goals). The Islanders power play ranked 17th with 7.56 goals per 60 minutes and ranked dead last in penalty killing with 10.78 goals against per 60 minutes. That they made the playoffs with such terrible penalty killing is a credit to the rest of their game, but a 94-point season could easily miss the playoffs in another season.

What’s Changed? It appears that the Islanders have moved on from veteran fourth liners Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, a duo that logged a lot of minutes and threw a lot of hits in an Islanders uniform over the years. Defenceman Sebastian Aho signed as a free agent in Pittsburgh, but otherwise, the Islanders did not lose a lot. They signed winger Anthony Duclair, reuniting him with Roy, who coached Duclair in junior hockey. The Islanders also signed Russian winger Maxim Tsyplakov, who had 47 points in 65 KHL games last season, with hopes that he could fill a role in their middle six.

What would success look like? This Islanders team has had some relative success, reaching the final four in both 2020 and 2021, even when it might not have looked like the most likely outcome, and this version is similar. They should be able to compete for a playoff spot and the goaltending tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov is strong enough to make a difference in that pursuit, but they do not appear to have the high-end talent that tends to take over the deeper a team goes into the playoffs. Maybe Mathew Barzal, who had his highest point total since his rookie season, can keep elevating his production and he will be the game-breaker that the Isles need to not just make the playoffs but to go on a deeper run.

What could go wrong? The Islanders’ playoff positioning seems precarious, so it wouldn’t necessarily take a lot for things to go wrong. If the goaltending isn’t quite as good as it has been, if guys on the north side of 30 like Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, Brock Nelson, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, see their production start to slip, then that could be enough for the Islanders to miss the playoffs. When a team makes the playoffs with 94 points, it is dependent on the other playoff contenders delivering mediocre seasons, too. The Islanders have reached the postseason with 94 points and 93 points in the past two seasons. In 2017, they finished with 94 points and missed the playoffs, so the challenge for the Islanders is to find a way to escape the playoff bubble so that they have a more secure chance to advance in the playoffs.

Top Breakout Candidate: For an Islanders team that does not have much by way of prospects knocking down the door, finding a breakout candidate requires some creativity, so take a look at 29-year-old winger Anthony Duclair. He is a four-time 20-goal scorer and has established his ability to score in the NHL. However, there is a higher upside for Duclair if he does indeed end up skating on the Islanders’ top line alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. Duclair has exceeded 50 points just once in his career and if he plays on the Islanders’ top line, he should be able to do it again.

Forwards

Mathew Barzal

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	24	24	78	0.98

The Islanders wisely moved Barzal to right wing and it allowed him to use his dynamic skating to make plays in transition, without having to worry about faceoffs or down-low defensive responsibilities. Last season, Barzal played a career-high 20:08 per game and scored a career-high 23 goals. He finished with 80 points, his highest total since his rookie season of 2017-2018. He also averaged 3.00 shots on goal per game, a career-high mark and an increase of 0.60 shots per game from the previous season. The speedy forward is unlike anyone else on the Islanders roster, with his ability to generate chances largely with his own impressive skating skills. Not only does Barzal have straight away speed, but he is also shifty on his edges and once he puts a defender off balance, he can accelerate and leave them behind. The Islanders have always fared better with Barzal on the ice, consistently outshooting and outscoring opponents. While the Islanders could use more top-tier scorers to compete at the highest level, he is the closest that they have right now, so they are dependent on his production to make this team a contender. Looking ahead to the 2024-2025 season, Barzal should be counted on for 20 goals and 70-75 points, with the understanding that he has potential to go for more, if he stays healthy and gets better quality support.

Bo Horvat

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	31	34	65	0.80

A strong two-way centre, Horvat has emerged as a more consistent offensive threat in recent seasons, recording more than 30 goals in three straight seasons, including 33 goals in 2023-2024. He also accumulated a career-high 35 assists, thriving in an offensive role with Barzal his most frequent linemate. With a playmaker like Barzal on his wing, Horvat finished last season with 3.06 shots on goal per game, the highest rate of his career. When that duo was on the ice during five-on-five play, the Islanders outscored the opposition 51-35 and controlled 56.2 percent of expected goals. Horvat has a sturdy build and uses his strength effectively to win puck battles, but he is not an especially physical player overall. He has recorded 81 hits in 111 games since the Islanders acquired him from Vancouver. Horvat is strong on faceoffs, winning 55.2 percent since joining the Islanders, and remains a consistent finishing threat on the power play. In the past six seasons, he has accrued 61 power play goals, which is tied with Nathan MacKinnon for 14th in the NHL over that span. Horvat’s situation with the Islanders is positive because he gets playing time like a first-line centre, with more offensive zone starts compared to what he was getting earlier in his career, and frequently skates with the team’s most dangerous playmaker, Barzal. It is reasonable, then, to expect another 30-goal, 65-point campaign.

Brock Nelson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	32	33	65	0.79

A veteran centre who was a consistent offensive contributor early in his career, Nelson has turned into a first-rate goal scorer. In the past three seasons, Nelson has scored 107 goals, which ranks 21st in the National Hockey League, ahead of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Elias Pettersson. Nelson finished last season with 34 goals while averaging a career-high 3.05 shots on goal per game. That is excellent production from a second line centre. Nelson uses his size very effectively to protect the puck and around the opposition net to get rebounds and deflections. Moreover, he has a quick, accurate release that allows him to score from a distance. He is not particularly adept at the faceoff dot, winning 45.2 percent of his draws last season – his lowest success rate since 2016-2017. Despite being 6-foot-4, Nelson is also not a physical player, finishing with fewer than 40 hits in three of the past four seasons. There are aspects of his game that could be better but it’s difficult to argue with the production, especially on a team that does not score a lot. Having Nelson and Horvat down the middle might not give the Islanders the highest-scoring pair of top two centres, but they can both finish and that should not be discounted. Nelson will turn 33 early in the 2024-2025 season but should be able to continue scoring at similar rates, so 30-35 goals and 65 points would appear to be reasonable expectations.

Kyle Palmieri

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	23	22	45	0.56

After a couple of down seasons, including being limited to 55 games by an upper-body injury in 2022-2023, Palmieri delivered a strong 2023-2024 campaign for the Islanders. The 33-year-old winger tied his career high with 30 goals and his 54 points was his highest total since 2016-2017. While Palmieri isn’t huge, he is sturdy and plays an aggressive game, consistently going hard to the net, where he is an opportunist. Of his 30 goals last season, 11 were scored directly off rebounds and that is not a skill that is likely to go away. It’s much more about his willingness to go to the hard areas and having linemates that can generate scoring chances. An increased shot rate helped him get back on the right goal scoring track. He had 2.66 shots on goal per game last season, his highest per-game rate since 2018-2019. Palmieri’s most common linemates last season were Nelson and Pierre Engvall, and the trio was on the right side of the ledger when it came to shots, goals, and expected goals during five-on-five play. At his age, it is probably optimistic to expect another 30-goal season out of Palmieri. Even so, he should be able to contribute 20-25 goals and 45 points, which is decent second-line production.

Anthony Duclair

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	26	24	50	0.65

Maybe, just maybe, the chance to reunite with Patrick Roy, his junior hockey coach, will help Duclair remain in place for a while. The Islanders are going to be the ninth team of the 29-year-old’s career. He has played more than 100 games for just two franchises – Arizona (172 GP) and Florida (137 GP). It is a strange pattern because Duclair does plenty of things well, notably he has excellent speed and is a four-time 20-goal scorer. Although he has a sniper’s release that helps him score in transition, when Duclair gets in alone on a goaltender, he has a strong forehand deke that works rather effectively. He recovered from an Achilles injury that limited him to 20 games in 2022-2023 and thrived late in the season when he was traded from San Jose to Tampa Bay, tallying eight goals and 15 points in 17 games for the Lightning. Duclair will surely have a chance to skate in the Islanders’ top six but could conceivably get a chance on the top line alongside Horvat and Barzal. If he gets that kind of opportunity, this could be the best chance to reach his offensive potential. A reasonable expectation would be 25 goals and 50 points, but that could tick a little higher if Duclair sticks at the top of the depth chart.

Anders Lee

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	21	20	41	0.50

The Islanders captain did hit the 20-goal plateau for the eighth time in his career in 2023-2024, but 37 points in 81 games was his lowest points per game (0.46) since 2015-2016. That was the last season in which Lee averaged less time on ice than he did last season (15:34), so this could very well be a case of Father Time continuing his unbeaten streak. Lee is a 34-year-old winger who has made a home planted in front of opposing goaltenders and that can take a toll on a guy. He also had career-highs of 176 hits and 68 PIM last season so it’s not like he’s fading quietly into the background. Whether his role is diminishing or not, Lee continues to push the puck in the right direction when he is on the ice, as always. The Islanders have outscored opponents with Lee on the ice during five-on-five play in five of the past six seasons. Given the Islanders’ moves in the offseason, it looks like Lee will be expected to play more of a supporting role in the middle six than he did during his prime years. Still, it would be entirely reasonable to expect 20 goals and 40 points from the power forward who has scored 210 goals since 2016-2017, leaving him tied for 32nd in that time with the now-retired Joe Pavelski.

Pierre Engvall

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
76	12	20	32	0.42

A lanky 6-foot-5 winger, Engvall managed a modest 28 points in his first full season with the Islanders, but that happened while he scored on just 7.8 percent of his shots on goal and had an on-ice shooting percentage of 6.6 percent. Those are relatively low numbers that could very easily swing in the other direction next season. Engvall is an excellent skater who uses his size to help control the puck so that he can wait for the opportunity to make the right play. Oddly enough, Engvall was an effective penalty killer in Toronto, yet has barely seen the ice when the Islanders are shorthanded, so that is an area for potential growth, though one that seems to be more in the hands of the coaching staff than Engvall himself. While he is not the most gifted finisher, he does put himself in position to score and he could have an even bigger impact if he consistently used his size to play a more physical game. He had just 28 hits last season and, considering that he is now 28-years old, it seems unlikely that he will suddenly become a thundering physical presence. Nevertheless, Engvall can capably fill a middle six role for the Islanders, and that might give him the chance to deliver 10-15 goals and 30-35 points.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	21	31	0.38

A veteran centre who plays a hard-nosed game, despite his lack of size, Pageau has been getting buried in the Islanders’ zone over the past couple of seasons, starting the vast majority of his shifts in the defensive zone and then struggling to turn the tide under those difficult circumstances. This despite winning better than 55 percent of his faceoffs in each of the past four seasons. Pageau is also a consistent physical presence and while some can take issue with the veracity of the counts on Islanders hits, he did finish with a career-high 196 hits in 2023-2024. That gives him surprising value in fantasy leagues. One area of concern is that he managed just 1.23 shots on goal per game, his lowest per-game rate since he was a rookie in 2013-2014 and that makes it difficult to consistently generate offence. Pageau’s upside tends to be limited by his role – he has hit the 40-point plateau three times in his career. He is not likely to experience a major renaissance at this stage of his career, so when it comes to 2024-2025, he could be expected to provide 10-15 goals and 30-35 points, which is generally not going to have fantasy appeal, but Pageau’s hit totals can offer more value for fantasy managers.

Simon Holmstrom

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	12	11	23	0.33

It took some time for the 2019 first-round pick to establish his place in the NHL, but he broke through in his second season, tallying 15 goals, including five while shorthanded. There is little indication, however, that there is greater offensive upside lurking beneath the surface. Holmstrom has not scored much in the American Hockey League, compiling 70 points in 154 games, and scored on 20.8 percent of his shots with the Islanders last season, so he is a prime candidate for regression just based on his shooting percentage. Even if he does have good hands and showed the ability to create chances off the rush, there is also the reality that Holmstrom is on the lower end of the Islanders’ depth chart, and while he does have value as a penalty killer, he could get surpassed by younger players who are pushing for playing time. That uncertainty, coupled with the possibility of his shooting percentage declining makes it reasonable to expect maybe a dozen goals and 20 points for Holmstrom in 2024-2025, which leaves him as a low-end fantasy option, though in leagues that count shorthanded goals or points, he could potentially offer more value.

DEFENCE

Noah Dobson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	12	20	32	0.42

There is a whole lot to like about a 24-year-old, 6-foot-4, right-shot defenceman who can quarterback the power play and is coming off a season in which he scored a career-high 70 points. That is what the Islanders have in Dobson, who had shown significant potential in the previous two seasons, but he erupted in 2023-2024 and ended up finishing eighth in Norris Trophy voting. As he has become more comfortable in the league, Dobson has been able to make more aggressive offensive plays. He is not afraid to make a move to beat a defender and with his reach, he can be difficult to contain. While he can step into a blast from the point, he is even more dangerous when he is attacking the net, putting the opposing defence on its heels. The Islanders recognized that Dobson was ready for his breakthrough last season, increasing his ice time to 24:31 per game, a jump of more than four minutes from the previous season. While there is little doubt that he is the offensive cornerstone on the Islanders’ blueline, the team’s lack of firepower could put a ceiling on his offensive expectations for 2024-2025. It’s possible that Dobson will continue to produce like he did last season, but it’s also a lot to ask for a player to duplicate a career-best season. For that reason, it would be fair to expect a dozen goals and 60-65 points from the Islanders’ No. 1 blueliner.

Ryan Pulock

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	8	17	25	0.38

Although the veteran defenceman has a booming shot from the point, it has not provided a consistent source of points, especially with Dobson running the point on the Islanders power play. Pulock averaged a career-high 22:33 of ice time per game last season, while starting more of his shifts in the defensive zone, so he offers more than just the big shot from the point. He missed 24 games with a lower-body injury last season, which obviously affected his total production. Pulock has had four seasons with more than 130 blocked shots and two seasons with at least 140 hits, so he has the peripheral stats production that tends to provide value for fantasy managers, and he is perhaps a better all-around defenceman than he was touted to be when his calling card coming into the league was his powerful shot. Pulock still has some upside as the No. 2 option on the Islanders blueline to quarterback the power play, which gives him regular time with the man advantage, but also makes him the first option should Dobson not be available. Provided he stays reasonably healthy, Pulock should be able to deliver 25 points and there are possible scenarios where his total goes higher than that.

Alexander Romanov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	5	18	23	0.29

The 24-year-old left shot blueliner is coming off back-to-back 22-point seasons, which offers limited fantasy value, but Romanov accumulates hits and blocked shots to a degree that sets him apart from a run-of-the-mill fringe fantasy defenceman. Across the past three seasons, only the Rangers’ Jacob Trouba has surpassed Romanov’s totals in hits (582) and blocked shots (444). In his prime years, there is room for Romanov to move into a bigger role on the Islanders blueline, and he did play a career-high 20:50 per game last season, skating primarily with Dobson on the Islanders’ top pair. While the Islanders did not hold a big edge in terms of shots or expected goals with the duo on the ice, the Isles did outscore opponents 35-20 with Romanov and Dobson working as a pair during five-on-five situations. Getting to share the ice with Dobson certainly helps matters, but even if Romanov can skate well in addition to shooting and handling the puck, without power play time or any substantial changes otherwise, he should be expected to fall between 20 and 25 points during the 2024-2025 season. There might be a higher offensive potential for him, but it does not appear that it is going to be uncovered with the Islanders.

Adam Pelech

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
61	1	8	9	0.16

Even though Pelech is not a major offensive contributor and has missed 45 games across the past two seasons, he is still an excellent defender whose production can make him a consideration in deep leagues. The injuries have not helped as Pelech was one of the game’s premier shut-down blueliners just a few years ago. Even if Pelech is a strong defender, he is not in the same class as he was in 2020-2021 when he was receiving Norris Trophy votes. Pelech is such a smooth skater and confident puckhandler that he could conceivably add more offence to his game, but considering the recent injuries, the 30-year-old is not likely to expand too far beyond what he has already established in his career. Provided that he can stay relatively healthy, and that does come with some doubt, it is still fair to expect 20-25 points from Pelech, and his blocked shot totals could bring more fantasy value, since he has 221 blocked shots in 119 games across the past two seasons. That leaves him as a low-end fantasy option, but the Islanders are not home to a lot of great alternatives on the blueline.

GOAL

Ilya Sorokin

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
57	27	22	8	4	0.915	2.98

It was a turtle race to the Wild Card spot for the New York Islanders and the rest of the Metropolitan Division this past year - but for all the faults the Long Island-based hockey club may have had on the ice, their goaltending presence certainly wasn't one of them. The Russian Goaltending Tandem Machine, it seems, never breaks; even as the Islanders went through a volatile year performance-wise, starter Ilya Sorokin and veteran backup Semyon Varlamov continued to chug along as a quality, above-average pair.

Like Sorokin's fellow Russian counterpart across the East River, Igor Shesterkin, the younger starter put up what some fans considered to be a regression-heavy year in 2023. Even with a lower raw save percentage, though, Sorokin's underlying numbers remained remarkably formidable. He continued to show off one of the most consistent games in the NHL, posting quality starts in over sixty percent of his appearances in net even with a massive workload. The Islanders struggled to suppress shots all year, allowing nearly 33 pucks to land on target per game against Sorokin over the course of his 56-game workload. His fatigue started to show by the end of the year, with some of his positioning getting sloppy and some of his angles getting overly aggressive in situations where he needed to keep his options open. His ability to bounce back from a bad goal, though, should continue to serve the Islanders well as they fight to become more of a postseason contender - and with Varlamov back for another year of serving as his number two, expect more of the same from one of the league's most trustworthy tandems.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW YORK ISLANDERS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 18:47:45 +0000

RALEIGH, NC - APRIL 25: New York Islanders Goalie Ilya Sorokin (30) prepares for a faceoff during game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes on April 25, 2023 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire)

Review: Since John Tavares departed in the summer of 2018, the Islanders have stayed competitive through a goaltending-first approach. It can’t even really be called a defense-first approach, given the Islanders ranked 22nd in 5-on-5 expected goals against (181.77) and 24^th in all situations (184) in 2022-23, indicating that their defense separated from their goaltending was unimpressive. Ilya Sorokin overcame that subpar defense though, posting a 31-22-7 record, 2.34 GAA and .924 save percentage in 62 contests en route to finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting. If not for Sorokin, the Islanders would have had a miserable year because not only did New York struggle defensively, but they also finished 22nd in the league with 2.95 goals per game. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello tried to bolster the offense by acquiring Bo Horvat from Vancouver, who had 31 goals and 54 points in 49 contests at the time of the move, but he struggled with the Islanders, recording just 16 points in 30 outings. To make matters worse, Mathew Barzal suffered a lower-body injury shortly after the Horvat trade, preventing the duo from developing chemistry. Even with all that, the Islanders squeaked into the playoffs with a 42-31-9 record before losing in the first round to Carolina.

What’s Changed? The Islanders made no significant changes, but they did lock up Scott Mayfield and Pierre Engvall to seven-year deals, backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov to a four-year contract and, most importantly, Sorokin to an eight-year, $66 million deal. So, even if there wasn’t any meaningful turnover, Lamoriello stayed busy over the summer.

What would success look like? Sorokin needs to stay dominant to continue to mask the Islanders’ defensive issues, but if New York really wants to rise above mediocrity, they need more than just him. They need Horvat to adapt to his new team, which will be a far easier task if he gets to play alongside a healthy Barzal. If those two have a good year, the Islanders might end up average offensively, which would be enough for Sorokin to deliver the W on most nights.

What could go wrong? A long-term injury to Sorokin would of course be devastating given the Islanders’ reliance on him. To be fair, they do at least have Varlamov as a solid Plan B, but he’s 35 now and would be a significant downgrade from Sorokin. There’s also no guarantee that Horvat will be a great offensive leader. He was likely overperforming before the acquisition, as evidenced by his unusually high pre-trade 21.7 shooting percentage (his career average is 13.7). Horvat should at least be fine regardless, but they need more than a merely solid performance given his $8.5 million cap hit, and the team’s limited scoring threats.

Top Breakout Candidate: The Islanders don’t have any great breakout candidates, but one to keep an eye on is Simon Holmstrom. He had just six goals and nine points in 50 contests with the Islanders last year, but he was averaging only 11:06 of ice time. Taken with the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Holmstrom has upside, and it’s clear the Islanders are hungry for offensive weapons, but he might still need more time to develop and may start the campaign in the AHL.

Forwards

Mathew Barzal

An electrifying skater who can carry the puck from the defensive zone to the offensive zone at an elite level, Barzal is a sensational play driver who has the potential to be a serious scoring threat, but that offensive breakthrough hasn’t quite materialized either. He scored 85 points as a rookie in 2017-2018 and has gone five straight seasons with 62 points or less. Barzal finished with 51 points (14 G, 37 A) in 58 games last season, which is fine, but it is still not making the most of his significant skills. He opened last season with 25 points in his first 22 games, but that included just two goals. While he is ostensibly a center, his inability to win faceoffs does make him a candidate to shift to the wing. He has won 42.3% of his faceoffs for his career but won a miserable 35.6% last season. With the Islanders relatively deep down the middle, they could consider turning Barzal loose on the wing. The Islanders’ tendency to play a grinding style has not brought out the best in Barzal’s production but the 26-year-old has the skills required to be a point per game scorer. While there is a world in which Barzal gets to that level again, it would be more reasonable to expect, say, 65 points while recognizing that there remains untapped potential when it comes to his offensive output.

Brock Nelson

After tallying 36 goals last season, and 37 the year before, Nelson is one of those 30 players to have scored at least 30 goals in each of the past two seasons. While Nelson is not a dominant play driver, the results have typically gone well for the Islanders with him on the ice. During five-on-five play, the Islanders have outscored the opposition with Nelson on the ice in eight of the past nine seasons. Last season, it was to the tune of 71 goals for and 45 goals against. He opened the season with 33 points (15 G, 18 A) and 96 shots on goal in his first 32 games. He could not maintain that scoring pace, in part because he could no longer generate three shots on goal per game. At 6’ 4”, Nelson has excellent size but is not a notable physical presence. He can use his reach, however, to gain space near the opposing goal and he is excellent at reading the play and making himself available in shooting position when the opportunity to score arises. Scoring 75 points last season was the first time in his career than Nelson surpassed 60 points. It would be reasonable enough this season to expect Nelson to record his third consecutive 30-goal campaign and 60 points.

Bo Horvat

Even though he opened last season with 31 goals in 49 games for Vancouver, while scoring on 21.7% of his shots, Horvat managed seven goals in 30 games with the Islanders, scoring on 8.1% of his shots. Regression can be a beast. He still finished with 38 goals, which put him in good company as one of 30 players to record 30 goals in each of the past two seasons. He effectively priced himself out of Vancouver by scoring 28 goals in 37 games and even if he was not going to maintain that pace, that production changed what Horvat could command on his next contract. Horvat is a sturdy forward who does not play a particularly physical game but does use that strength to get himself into shooting position and he had success playing the bumper position on the Canucks power play, scoring 25 power play goals in the past two seasons. After signing a big-ticket contract with the Islanders, Horvat will face massive expectations. Even if he does not match last season’s career-best output, Horvat could tally 30 goals and 60 points, quality production from a first-line center.

Anders Lee

An enormous physical presence, Lee has scored 28 goals in back-to-back seasons, a threshold he has hit five times in his career. He is not terribly fleet afoot, but plays to his strengths, carving out space around the net and daring the defense to do something about it. He is an excellent net front presence on the power play but at even strength, he still attacks the goal and gets comfortable at the top of the crease. As a result, Lee ranked first in individual high danger shot attempts and fourth in expected goals per 60 minutes during five-on-five play last season. He started strong, with 18 points (8 G, 10 A) in 19 games to open the season, but faded down the stretch, managing just four points (2 G, 2 A) in his last 15 games. His shot rate declined as the season progressed, too, which explains at least some of the reason behind his scoring dip. Lee should still be able to do damage in front of the opposition net, possibly challenging for 30 goals. He does tend to finish more than he sets up, however, so it would be reasonable to expect Lee to match last season’s total of 50 points.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Although he managed just 13 goals last season, his lowest total since 2016-2017, Pageau remains a strong two-way presence for the Islanders, which includes starting many more of his shifts in the defensive zone, finishing with an offensive zone start rate of 27.9% last season, freeing up the Islanders’ other centers for more offensive zone starts. While not especially big, Pageau plays a relentless physical style and recorded a career high 175 hits in 70 games in 2022-2023. He is also an ace in the faceoff dot and won a career best 57.9% of his draws. Pageau’s possession numbers tell an interesting story. He had a 46.3% Corsi percentage, worst among Islanders regulars. He also had an expected goals percentage of 51.5%, which suggests that Pageau was generating higher quality chances while suppressing higher quality chances in the defensive zone. Pageau did have a strong finish last season. Returning from an upper-body injury, Pageau had 11 points (3 G, 8 A) in his last 14 regular-season games, though he only mustered a single assist in six playoff games. Pageau has been consistent in terms of his offensive production with the Islanders, so it is fair to anticipate that he could produce another 40-point season in 2023-2024.

Kyle Palmieri

Following a couple of seasons with a lower shooting percentage, Palmieri started to find the mark again last season and finished with 16 goals in 55 games. After a slow start, Palmieri returned from an upper-body injury in mid-January and picked up his production from that point. In his last 34 games, Palmieri produced 24 points (10 G, 14 A) with 83 shots on goal while playing 17:44 per game. He then added five points (2 G, 3 A) in six playoff games. At his peak, Palmieri had a five-year stretch during which he scored at least 24 goals in each season. He is not at that level now, but the 32-year-old winger is still capable of providing secondary scoring if given the chance. While Palmieri did have 33 points in 55 games last season, that also came with an on-ice shooting percentage of 11.9%, which was his highest in more than a decade. Thus, Palmieri could be expected to contribute 35-40 points for the Islanders this season.

Pierre Engvall

Acquired from the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline, Engvall saw more ice time with the Islanders and finished the season with a career high 17 goals. A 6’ 5” left winger, who can also play some center, Engvall does not use his size to maximum effectiveness, but he was a consistent play driver in Toronto and that continued after moving to New York. In 18 games with the Islanders, Engvall had a Corsi percentage of 56.9% and expected goals percentage of 55.4%, both of which were best among Islanders that played more than a handful of games. A solid third line forward, Engvall can contribute in a secondary role on both the power play and penalty kill. There is an opportunity awaiting him with the Islanders, a chance to play more than he did in Toronto and that could give the lanky 27-year-old forward a chance at the best production of his career. In the 21 games that Engvall played more than 15 minutes last season, he produced 14 points (8 G, 6 A). That could be a chicken-and-the-egg situation, where he was getting more ice time because he had contributed offensively, but there is some indication that Engvall could have some untapped offensive potential. If Engvall produces 35 points, that would match his career high, but if he receives notably more ice time with the Islanders, that ceiling could climb higher, perhaps into the 40-to-45-point range.

Oliver Wahlstrom

The 11^th pick in the 2018 Draft, Wahlstrom has not yet lived up to expectations, but he has shown flashes of the potential that made him a high pick. Although the Islanders have been very conservative with Wahlstrom, not playing him much more than 12 minutes per game, he has shown an ability to generate shots, a willingness to play the body, and a competent level of defensive play. He suffered a knee injury against Pittsburgh on December 27th, ending his season so that hindered Wahlstrom’s development, but there should still be a chance for him to earn a regular spot among the Islanders’ top nine forwards, where the 23-year-old can prove that he has 20-goal upside. There is a wide range of potential outcomes for Wahlstrom. If he continues to play fourth-line minutes, he can be productive in that limited role, but if he gets a real opportunity to play higher up the depth chart, Wahlstrom has the potential to deliver 20 goals and 40 points, maybe even more.

Defense

Noah Dobson

Taken with the pick after Oliver Wahlstrom in 2018, Dobson has emerged as the top scoring option on the Islanders defense, producing 49 points (13 G, 36 A) last season after putting up 51 points the year before. His offensive impact is what helps Dobson stand out, though his play away from the puck could use some shoring up if he is going to reach his full potential. There is naturally a lot to like about a 6’ 4”, right shot defenseman who is 23 and has put up a total of 100 points in the past two seasons, but Dobson has more room to grow. He finished the season with 11 points (1 G, 10 A) in the last 13 games, but his ice time was down during that stretch, below 19 minutes per game when he had played over 20 minutes per game previously. In any event, Dobson is the most dangerous offensive threat on the Islanders blueline. He has had back-to-back 13-goal seasons and should be expected to hit 50 points, maybe more if the Islanders can generate more offense as a team.

Ryan Pulock

Known primarily for his booming shot when he came into the league, Pulock had become a sound defender but his play without the puck has dipped in the past couple of seasons and the Islanders allowed 2.91 expected goals against per 60 minutes of five-on-five play with Pulock on the ice last season, the highest rate of his career. The Islanders have invested heavily in Pulock, too, but he could use a rebound season to give the club more confidence in his role as a cornerstone piece moving forward. He was one of 22 defensemen to record at least 125 hits and 125 blocked shots last season. Pulock does not have the same kind of role on the power play that he had earlier in his career and that inhibits his offensive output. He had 26 points last season and is likely going to be in the range of 25-30 points in 2023-2024.

Adam Pelech

A premier defensive defenseman who does not get enough recognition because he does not contribute much offensively, the 28-year-old blueliner is elite when it comes to suppressing scoring chances. Among the 99 defensemen that have logged 3,000 five-on-five minutes in the past three seasons, Pelech ranks 11^th in high danger shot attempts against per 60 minutes and fifth in high danger goals against per 60. While Pelech does not get nearly the recognition that he deserves, the Islanders have signed him through the 2028-2029 season, an indication that his shutdown defensive play is not going unnoticed with his own team. As outstanding as Pelech is defensively, he is not a big point producer. Based on recent seasons, 25 points if a fair expectation for Pelech, even if it does not represent his real value to the club.

Scott Mayfield

After scoring a career-high 24 points (5 G, 19 A) while playing a career-high 21:02 per game last season, Mayfield was headed for unrestricted free agency, but then the Islanders locked him up with a seven-year contract, which seems like a big commitment for a defenseman who will turn 31 early in the 2023-2024 season, but with a cap hit of $3.5 million per season, it’s a pretty reasonable price to pay. Mayfield is 6’ 5” and 220 pounds and while he can play a physical game, it is not an overwhelming part of his contribution. He is a capable top-four defenseman with some offensive limitations, but it’s not hard to understand why the Islanders want to keep him around. A strong finish last season, which included seven points (1 G, 6 A) in the last 12 games, propelled Mayfield to 24 points, the high-water mark for his career. Barring a sudden and unexpected change in role, he should fall in the range of 20-25 points again.

Alexander Romanov

Acquired from the Montreal Canadiens last summer, Romanov’s first season with the Islanders saw him finish with a modest career high of 22 points (2 G, 20 A) but Romanov continued to provide blocked shots (129) and hits (198), which is fine, but his overall play left room for improvement. The 23-year-old has the physical tools, but it remains to be seen if he can put it all together and thrive in a top-four role. He faces some quality competition on the Islanders blueline, so Romanov will have to earn his way into more minutes, but he does give the Islanders insurance if some of their top four options falter. Romanov may not be a big scorer, but he is on a defense corps with few offensive options, too. Beyond Dobson, most of the Islanders defenders can be expected to score 20-plus points and Romanov fits into that group, too.

Goaltending

Ilya Sorokin

If the 2021-22 season with Igor Shesterkin’s coming-out party, the 2022-23 campaign was the league’s welcoming celebration for Ilya Sorokin across the East River. Sorokin’s arrival in North America was almost overshadowed by Shesterkin’s own dazzling debut – but thanks to a heroic season that pushed the New York Islanders back into the playoffs, Sorokin was given his due in the form of a second-place Vezina voting finish and one of the league’s best statistical performances of the year. Sorokin put up an almost laughably consistent display with his third NHL season, bringing his career save percentage through his first 136 NHL games to a mind-boggling .924 in all situations.

Sorokin quieted any doubters who worried that the Islanders weren’t in it to win it with his third straight year topping a .700 quality start percentage, proving that he’s here to stay – and here to win. And while he still looks like he’s added some control to a game that always seemed to serve as a more high-flying foil to the more controlled Shesterkin’s game while the pair competed over in Russia, Sorokin showed this past year that he’s willing to have a little fun with things, too; now that he’s really come into his own, he’s started to add some flair to his tendency to remain constantly in motion and his inclination to make the big save when a smaller one would do. His tracking remains as sharp as ever, and he did continue to show enough structure and positioning to suggest that he could be the Marc-Andre Fleury to Shesterkin’s Lundqvist; he’s a lot of fun to watch, and he’s more than willing to show that he knows it, too.

Projected starts: 55-60

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW YORK ISLANDERS – NHL Player Profiles

Scott Cullen – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 20:23:05 +0000

BOSTON, MA - MAY 31: New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson (8) plays a pass along the blue line on the power play during Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round between the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders on May 31, 2021, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.(Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

FORWARDS

Mathew Barzal

A dynamic skater who can be an electrifying presence on the ice, Barzal has not been able to duplicate his 85-point rookie season in 2017-2018 and last season he finished with 59 points in 73 games. Barzal is exceptional when it comes to transporting the puck from his defensive zone into the offensive zone – his skating ability allows him to dart and dodge his way through neutral ice. He is far and away the most dangerous offensive performer on the team, but his defensive work was suspect last season, so that limits the value of his overall impact. He also won a career-best 46.3% of his faceoffs last season, so there is still room to improve on the dot. Barzal is 25, so he is in his prime, and given his rare ability to carry the puck from one end of the ice to the other, he remains a valuable player. It’s up to the Islanders to find the right pieces that will fit around him. 65 points is an entirely reasonable forecast for Barzal, but it also feels like underselling him. There is potential for more, but he might not have the supporting cast to help him get back to scoring more than a point per game. Maybe a new coach behind the Islanders bench will help open things up for the Isles and if that is the case, Barzal could benefit as much as anyone.

Brock Nelson

Coming off a season in which he tallied a career-high 37 goals and 59 points, Nelson has been a productive second-line center who has surpassed 50 points three times in the past four seasons. A six-time 20-goal scorer who also scored 18 goals in 56 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season, Nelson has a track record of proven performance. With solid defensive play as part of his contribution, Nelson has been quite effective. He has been an above-average finisher throughout his career, owning a shooting percentage of 14.2%, but he will not likely duplicate last season when he scored on 21.6% of his shots. Even if 37 goals are an aberration, Nelson has shown that he can score, so 25-30 goals and 55 points is in line with Nelson’s past performance.

Anders Lee

The Islanders’ captain is a 6-foot-3, 235-pound power forward who returned from a torn ACL to score 28 goals last season, the sixth time in his career that he buried at least 20 goals. Since 2016-2017, Lee has scored 162 goals, ranking 22^nd in the league over that time. While his offensive production was back to typical levels, his defensive play was not as strong, so that is an area of some concern given that Lee is 32 years old and maybe not moving quite as well as he did during his peak years. Nevertheless, he is an established and proven scorer who has thrived on Barzal’s wing and that should continue in 2022-2023. That should bring Lee 25-plus goals and 45 points, which is fine, but may not necessarily elevate the attack enough in the way that the Islanders need.

Anthony Beauvillier

A 25-year-old winger who has flashed potential at various times through his six NHL seasons, Beauvillier is coming off what may be the worst season of his career. He finished the season with 12 goals and 34 points, his fewest goals since his rookie season. He has yet to hit 40 points in a single NHL season, so when his defensive play slipped last season, the overall results were poor. While some of those results would be better by simply scoring on his career shooting percentage, 11.9% of his shots instead of last season’s 7.8% shooting percentage, the play away from the puck needs to be improved if Beauvillier is going to remain secure in a top-six role. 15-20 goals and his first 40-point season is still an achievable target for Beauvillier.

Josh Bailey

Heading into his 15^th season with the Islanders, Bailey has been a capable second line forward that can contribute offensively, and last season was the fifth time in the past six seasons that he surpassed 40 points. He is a smart player and good passer but his ability to drive play has faded in recent seasons and Bailey is a reluctant shooter – his 1.18 shots on goal per game last season was his lowest rate since his rookie season. With his game in decline, it might be natural for the Islanders to elevate others ahead of him on the depth chart, but Bailey has been resilient and maintained a second line role. If he stays in that spot, another 45-point season should be expected.

Kyle Palmieri

A consistent scoring threat earlier in his career, which included five straight seasons with more than 20 goals, the 31-year-old winger has not had that kind of productivity for the Islanders and last season’s 15 goals and 33 points was his lowest in a full season since 2014-2015. Percentages play a part in that decreased production. While he is not generating shots at the same rate as he did during his peak seasons, Palmieri has scored on 9.1% of his shots in 86 games with the Islanders after scoring on 13.2% of his shots in 397 games for the New Jersey Devils. He has not been a major factor on the Islanders power play, which naturally hurts his overall numbers, but it is notable that even with lower scoring totals, Palmieri’s ability to drive play has been relatively strong with the Isles, which makes him a solid top-six winger, but maybe the production could return to a higher level with an increased power play role. With declining production in recent seasons, he might be a lot to ask for 20 goals or 40 points out of Palmieri, but that should still be in his sights if he can get a special teams boost.

Zach Parise

Now 38, Parise had a bit of a bounce-back season in 2021-2022, at least relative to the previous season in Minnesota. 15 goals and 35 points is a long way from Parise’s best production in the league, but he generated enough to be a competent middle six winger and getting that on a league-minimum contract is an obvious net positive for the Islanders. He also managed 1.68 shots on goal per game, his lowest since his rookie season in 2005-2006, so there are signs of decline that are to be expected for a player in his late thirties. How much Parise produces will be tied to ice time that could easily decline, but if he stays in a top-nine role for the Islanders, he should be able to contribute 30-35 points.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau

A reliable third line center, the 29-year-old played 17:40 per game last season, falling behind only Mathew Barzal (18:01 ATOI) and, just barely, Brock Nelson (17:41 ATOI), so the Islanders are comfortable with Pageau playing a significant role, though he is probably limited to some degree by the quality of his linemates. Nevertheless, Pageau is a solid contributor who had 39 points last season and has surpassed 40 points a couple of times in his career. He plays a sound defensive game, too, making him an enviable third line center. If he produces 40 points, that could offer some value. If he adds to that with another 170-hit season, Pageau would have very specific category appeal. He has also won 55.8% of his draws since joining the Islanders, so Pageau does have a knack for doing those little things that can help a team win.

Oliver Wahlstrom

A 22-year-old winger who can really fire the puck, Wahlstrom has been eased into his NHL role, logging 12 minutes per game for a couple of years, but he could be ready to handle more responsibility because not only can he shoot the puck, but Wahlstrom has been able to play a sound defensive game in his limited role. With more ice time and a shooting percentage likely to improve on last season’s 8.3%, there is a reasonable path to Wahlstrom scoring 20 goals in the near future, possibly even this season. Without knowing that he will have an increased role with more ice time, though, Wahlstrom should probably be looked at for 15 goals and 25-30 points. An opportunity waits with Barzal and Lee on the top line representing tempting upside but use caution where you pick him.

DEFENSE

Noah Dobson

Emerging as a first-rate puck-moving defenseman, the 22-year-old erupted for 51 points in his third NHL season. After playing a depth role in his first two seasons, Dobson saw his ice time spike to more than 21 minutes per game as he became the quarterback for the Islanders power play, scoring 22 of his 51 points with the man advantage, which was tied for eighth among defensemen. On a team with a lot of veteran talent, Dobson is still young enough to be on the ascent of his career, so if he can continue to develop, he could become a major factor on the Islanders blueline. Since Dobson’s percentages weren’t wildly inflated last season, looking for another 50-point season is not unreasonable. Maybe a bit optimistic, but he is a young player that is certainly trending up in his career.

Ryan Pulock

Earlier in his career, the 27-year-old looked like he would be a power play threat because of his booming shot, but that was not enough to really handle the job, and that’s okay. He has rounded into a steady top-four role, playing more than 21 minutes per game for four straight seasons. He has blocked more than 100 shots in four straight seasons and has registered more than 1.50 hits per game for each of the past five seasons, yet Pulock plays an exceptionally clean game. In the past two seasons, he has played that physical style for 112 games and has a total of 10 penalty minutes, the fewest of any defenseman to appear in at least 100 games over the past two seasons. It should not be overlooked how much value exists in a defenseman that does not take penalties. Pulock is still capable of producing 30 points, but his offensive ceiling is lowered because his power play contributions have been getting smaller.

Adam Pelech

A standout defensive performer, in the classical sense because Pelech finished with a career high 28 points last season, but he is a first-pairing beast who has excelled in a shutdown role. He is a strong skater and while he is 6-foot-3 and will get involved physically, Pelech is not a punishing hitter. He is smart and responsible and massively underrated by many because he does not have gaudy point totals. Nevertheless, Pelech is a dominant play-driving defenseman who not only handles the toughest matchups, but excels in those matchups, so he should not be some hidden gem of a player, rather he should be getting more Norris Trophy votes if the 28-year-old continues to play as well as he has in recent years. The Islanders have outscored opponents 106-75 with Pelech on the ice in 5-on-5 situations in the past two seasons, 25 points is a fair expectation for Pelech but it barely scratches the surface when trying to represent his value to the Islanders.

Alexander Romanov

Acquired from Montreal in a blockbuster draft day trade, Romanov showed some potential through his first two seasons with Montreal, especially as a physical presence last season when he recorded 227 hits. He was one of 11 defensemen to finish with more than 140 hits and 140 blocked shots last season. The question is whether the 22-year-old can develop and display more skill because his offensive contributions have been very limited while he has had more of an impact defensively. He does not have to turn into an offensive star, but some improvement over his first two seasons with the Canadiens could help Romanov establish his credentials as a top pair defenseman. If he could score 20 points this season that would be a win, but Romanov is also likely to record rare hit and blocked shot totals, enough that he might still have fantasy appeal despite his lack of scoring.

GOALTENDING

Ilya Sorokin

It’s almost a little unfair that Ilya Sorokin has come into the league at the same time as Igor Shesterkin; one might wonder what sort of buzz he’d be producing if he had been the first one to arrive in the NHL, and just how much better his finish would have been in Vezina voting in the process. As it stands, he finished his 2021-22 campaign with a .925 save percentage and a .712 quality start percentage, posting 37 quality starts and a whopping seven shutouts over his 52-game campaign for the New York Islanders. And despite that performance – which in some years would have been a clear-cut Vezina Finalist performance – he still finished sixth in voting for the league’s most prestigious goaltending award; he barely made buzz in comparison to the hype happening on the other side of the city for the rival New York team, which is hard to consider anything but disappointing.

Luckily, the Islanders are set to watch him succeed for a long time yet. Even though the team has been the butt of too many jokes this past summer thanks to an antiquated general manager and a disappointing lack of free agent signings, the team should still be set up to help Sorokin establish himself as one of the most powerful netminders in the Metropolitan Division. In an era when most teams are struggling to figure out who to tandem and when a replacement for the mid-2000’s goaltending giants will emerge from their prospect pools, Sorokin’s smooth skating – combined with a willingness to temper some of his energy and structure his positioning a bit more for the North American game – will keep him thriving in the league for as long as he wants to play.

Projected starts: 55-60

EASTERN DIVISION PLAYOFF REVIEW: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Islanders – Two Half Seasons, Two Different Teams

Corey Sznajder — Fri, 14 May 2021 17:00:36 +0000

UNIONDALE, NY - FEBRUARY 27: Pittsburgh Penguins Center Sidney Crosby (87) and New York Islanders Left Wing Anthony Beauavillier (18) battle for the puck during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders on February 27, 2021, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

Pittsburgh vs. New York – A Tale of Two Halfs

Prior to the Anders Lee injury, the Islanders looked like they were on a collision course for first place in the East. They’ve been one of the best defensive teams in the league since they hired Barry Trotz in 2018 and this year, they were finally getting the offensive production to back it up, both from a play-driving and goal-scoring standpoint. Since Lee went down, their foundation has crumbled. They’ve been middle of the pack team in terms of Expected Goal Differential in their last 25 games and have had a devil of a time scoring goals. They finished the year with a thud, winning three of their last 10 and winning only six out of their last 20 games in regulation. Their playoff spot was never in jeopardy, but they went from first to fourth in the matter of a month.

Compare that to Pittsburgh’s recent output, who have lost only eight games in regulation since the beginning of March, and this series looks like a mismatch. It’s tough to predict if recent play has any impact on the playoffs, especially with the Islanders having their ticket punched since Valentine’s Day, but it’s hard to have much confidence in them right now. Can they flip the switch, or is this just a bad matchup for them?

There are a couple ways to look at this. Everyone remembers how good the Isles were in the bubble last year and knows how they can turn any game into a 2-1 coinflip where it turns into a challenge of who can stay the most disciplined (and who has the better goalie). Most hockey fans also might remember what happened to Pittsburgh in their last two trips to the playoffs, especially two years ago where the Islanders swept them. Things are a little different now. Rosters have changed, the Islanders aren’t at full health and there’s been a bit of a role reversal with how these two teams play.

What we’re looking at here is how often each team enters the offensive zone with possession compared to how often they allow a controlled entry when they have a defender guarding their blue line. The Islanders are slightly worse defensively than one might think while the Penguins are one of the top teams in the league. Part of that is expected. The Islanders are a team comfortable playing in their own zone & waiting for their chances. Pittsburgh’s improvement here is something worth discussing, though.

By most metrics, Pittsburgh is a middle of the road team defensively, although they’ve moved into the top-half of the league in their last 25 games in terms of limiting chances. The one thing they have going for them is they’ve been excellent at limiting controlled entries and looks off the rush. Basically, they win the battle in the neutral zone more times than not and can control the game when things are structured, which is how the Islanders like to play. When the structure breaks, they’re prone to giving up breakaways &turnovers in their own zone, which happened a lot early in the season. Now? They’ve been in control of most of their games & haven’t spent much time defending. The Islanders, on the other hand, haven’t been as sound defensively with defending the rush as they usually are. They have one of the best defense pairs in the league in Adam Pelech & Ryan Pulock, but the bottom two pairs are something Pittsburgh might be able to exploit.

PITTSBURGH, PA - FEBRUARY 20: New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) tends net during the third period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders on February 20, 2021, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

Varlamov An Equalizer

Similar to the Bruins/Caps series, most of the stats point in favor of the team that is currently on a hot streak. The difference is that the Caps are a good team playing a better team while the Islanders would have been the better team if this series was being played a month ago. It really depends on if they can flip the switch and if the season series between these two teams was a fluke or not (Pens took six out of eight). New York’s biggest equalizer is obviously in net with Semyon Varlamov, who finished with a save percentage just shy of .930 going up against Tristan Jarry, who is just as likely to pitch as a shutout as he is to end up on the bench by the third period. Sometimes that’s all you need in a short series, but the number of things that have gone against the Isles since Lee went down is a little jarring.

Is what they get from Mat Barzal going to be enough going up against Crosby? Everyone knows he is one of the league’s gamebreakers who can even the playing field quicker than anyone else. He is still one of the top players in the league at breaking apart even the best of defensive systems & while they’re still struggling to find a replacement for Lee, they have options. Palmieri is a better player than he has shown so far & Oliver Wahlstrom has been one of the better players in the league at creating rebounds, which could play a difference if these are going to be 2-1 games. Brock Nelson & Jean-Gabriel Pageau can also level the playing field by creating shorthanded, which is the easiest way to throw someone’s game plan off-script.

Return of Malkin

The problem for the Islanders is that it all comes back to them getting back to things we know they can do versus what they actually have been doing for the past month. That and Pittsburgh also has a lot of good players who are currently firing on all cylinders. Sidney Crosby might not create in volume like Barzal does, but he is still arguably the best player in the league at creating sustained zone time & finding open guys in front of the net. Factor in that they’ve been playing most of the season without Evgeni Malkin & things start to look bleak for the Islanders. This isn’t to say that the Pens don’t have their concerns, though.

After all, the Islanders are arguably the deeper team down the middle. Are we expecting Jeff Carter to keep shooting at 24-percent like he has the past month? Pageau is a capable two-way forward & can likely win that matchup. Malkin coming back is very intimidating, but Jason Zucker & Kasperi Kapanen on the wings isn’t as threatening as it looks on paper. Zucker is similar to Palmieri where he’s in the middle of a tough season and Kapanen is a feast-or-famine type player where he’s needs to be the one leading the rush to be effective. These seem like perfect players for Malkin to elevate, as he’s taken on more of a playmaking/point guard type of role as he got older, especially with the little passes in the neutral zone. Doing that might be tough against New York at full strength because of how well they clog up the middle of the ice, but the Penguins did find their way around this plenty of times during the regular season.

The word “structure” gets thrown around a lot in hockey and while there is something to having all of your players staying disciplined and doing their assignments, opportunities will present themselves during a long game. In the example above you have the Penguins getting a rush off a missed shot & a broken play off an entry where the defenseman arguably did his job. Malkin & Kapanen just made a quick read& it ended up in the back of the net. Those are going to happen. Just go through the season series & you’ll find countless examples of the Penguins breaking the Islanders structure. Of course, this can change in a playoff series where the teams are more familiar with eachother & have time to adjust. We saw the impact that had in their last playoff series.

The Islanders from the first two months of the season are a team that can handle Pittsburgh even with how well they’ve been playing lately. The Islanders since mid-March, however, look poised for a first round exit. Which team will show up on Sunday afternoon?

So Long Island, T – New York Islanders 2018-19 Season Preview

Robert Howard — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 18:04:21 +0000

REVIEW/STATE OF PLAY - For the second year in a row they missed the playoffs finishing seventh in their division. It was the first season for coach Doug Weight who took over after six seasons from Jack Capuano that culminated in back to back 100-point seasons before a stumble in 2016-17 that led to change.

The dominating story of the Islanders off-season was whether they would re-sign John Tavares. They elected not to trade him at the deadline for what would have been a rich return of pieces and prospects. The team made wholesale change hiring Lou Lamoreillo as president who then promptly removed long time GM Garth Snow - naming himself to the position. He very quickly signed reigning Stanley Cup champ coach Barry Trotz to a healthy contract after Washington low-balled him with a replacement in place. The hope that a commitment to strong management would be a deciding factor for Tavares, who ultimately could not resist playing in his hometown, and Lamoriello’s former employer.

Lou is left to pick up the pieces. He was quick to point out that the pieces he must play with are good and is not looking at a tear down. Indeed, he has been active and quick to sign veteran free agents, Leo Komarov and Valterri Filppula, as well as 28-year-old Jan Kovar out of the KHL and 26-year-old Tom Kuhnhackl out of the Penguins organization. Perhaps pacifying words and actions, but the team did have some bright spots last season.

Jordan Eberle

BLAZING BARZAL - None brighter that Matthew Barzal, NHL rookie of the year, leading the team in scoring with 85 points, one more than departed Tavares. He and recent signing Jordan Eberle along with 21-year-old Anthony Beauvillier formed a dynamic trio that was strongest down the stretch. They were put together as a group after 40 games and Beauvillier had 17 goals in 40 games and 29 points –while Eberle had 30 points in 40 games and Barzal had 48 points, including an astonishing 39 assists, in 42 games.

Tavares lined up with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey primarily, both of whom had career years. 28-year-old Bailey shattered last season career high with 71 points, leading the team with 31 power play points. Teamed with Tavares over 70% of 5v5 time and 80% on the power play 28-year-old Lee also topped a prior year best of 34 goals and breaking the 40-goal barrier – giving him 51 goals at even strength over the last two seasons. Whether they can even come close to those performances after replacing Tavares with either Brock Nelson or Valteri Filppula remains to be seen.

Brock Nelson was a disappointment after three straight 20-goal seasons. He is signed to a one-year deal with something to prove. The addition of two veteran centers in Kovar and Filpulla will challenge push him, perhaps to the wing. Both Filppula and Kovar are also on one -year contracts and will be motivated.

EXPENSIVE BOTTOM OF ROSTER - Filling out the third line with Komarov, 31-years-old and signed for three seasons at $3 million AAV along with Ladd and likely Filppula. Once considered the NHL’s best fourth line, the combo of Casey Cizikas (27), Cal Clutterbuck (30) and Matt Martin (29) are re-united after Martin was acquired from the Maple Leafs. This leaves the Islanders invested in the bottom half of their line-up with over $20 million in cap space. It is only possible with Beauvillier and Barzal on the top line on entry level contracts. The bet is they are competitive most nights and the kids develop, but hardly seems like a rebuilding structure.

They are similarly locked in on defense with Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk and Thomas Hickey all signed for four years representing $14 million in cap space. Leddy had an off year but has been a solid contributor, led the team in ice time and should rebound. They have offensive threat Ryan Pulock signed for the next two years and he had an effective rookie season despite time in the press box early scoring 32 points in 68 games, highlighting his offensive promise. He received only 1:40 of power play time a game and is due for more. His partner Hickey also had to assert himself into the line-up after being a healthy scratch early in the season, before establishing himself as a regular and scoring 20 points in the final 42 games. His 25 even strength points were second only to Leddy. Trotz will want to build on that chemistry with Pulock.

In net they defaulted to Thomas Greiss at 32-years-old and added Robin Lehner to a one-year contract for $1.5 million as either a trade chip, or a surprise that can challenge for the starting role.

OUTLOOK - There are a lot of questions – Can Barzal keep forward momentum through a sophomore season in which he is the number one center? Who fills the role on a second line and how badly do Lee and Bailey miss JT? The Islanders remain in search of a game plan, the future or now, but expect a regression in the coming season.

New York Islanders – System Overview

Ryan Wagman — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 20:21:25 +0000

In a series of trades, a Canadian blogger named Kyle MacDonald went from being the proud owner of a single red paperclip to being the owner of a house. In a parallel series of trades, an American NHL General Manager named Garth Snow has gone from entering the draft with next to nothing, to walking away with some of the best young talent the New York Islanders have to offer.

For example, in 2014, Snow was getting angsty towards the end of the first round. A few talented players were still in the board for longer than they likely should have been. Sensing an opportunity, he struck a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders received the number 28 pick from Tampa, in exchange for the two second rounders that they were holding. The two second rounders were used on lower upside blueliners, a reasonable proxy for what Snow could have done with those picks. Instead, he was in a position to select Joshua Ho-Sang, a highlight reel forward who can rub traditionalists the wrong way, but does so while creating reams of offense.

Pleased with the results of this approach, Snow literally doubled down in 2015. Going into the 2015 draft, not only did the Islanders not have a first round pick in hand, they also were without a second rounder. Both picks had been traded to Buffalo 18 months previously as part of the package that sent Thomas Vanek to Long Island for a regrettable stay.

Not one to simply drift, Snow began to roll. First, he decided that 2013 fourth overall pick Griffin Reinhart was not going to pan out as he had hoped two years ago, and shipped him to Edmonton for the 16th overall pick. Still not done piling up, he sent a second and third round pick to Tampa Bay (it pays to know your audience) in exchange for the 28th overall pick.

Wrapping up a two-year plan of audacity, Snow traded Griffin Reinhart and picks that turned into Dominik Masin, Jonathan Macleod, Mitchell Stephens and Anthony Cirelli for three picks that were used on Joshua Ho-Sang, Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier. With all due respect to the four young man currently trying to work their respective ways up through the Tampa Bay organization, and Reinhart, who did not pan out in Edmonton and has since been drafted by Vegas in the recent expansion draft, when it comes to draft day trading, Garth Snow has basically been turning paper clips into houses.

The downside to this strategy is that it is not sustainable. In 2016, the Islanders entered draft day without picks in the second or third round due to earlier trades and were not able to acquire any, limiting the organization from growth. The situation was even direr this year, as the team did not have a first rounder, forced to trade it away, along with a solid blueline prospect in Jake Bischoff, to Vegas in order to coerce the expansion team not to select some of their prized young NHL players.

So while Snow has been wily in pulling off two neat tricks to pick up a trio of exciting young forwards, he has also found that entering the draft without his full complement of selections will just as often (if not more often) leave you empty-handed.

New York Islanders prospect Mathew Barzal (13) (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

1 Mathew Barzal – Among the handful of players in the discussion for top prospect, Barzal has been allowed to develop in the WHL after threatening to make the NHL in each of the last two seasons. Instead of sulking, he was among the top scorers in the WHL both seasons by rate and finished his junior career winning a playoff MVP, by guiding Seattle to the Memorial Cup. He is an incredible skater with the best hands of any prospect. He can carry the puck through the neutral zone as if he is in a pylon drill. He should be a top six NHL scorer in short order.

2 Joshua Ho-Sang – Although dogged by off-ice criticism wherever he has gone, from questioning coaching decisions, to his choice of uniform number 66 to an unfortunate sleeping-in incident, Ho-Sang is an incredibly exciting talent offensively. A very skilled skater who oozes puck skills, he can be absolutely electric to watch. Will have a chance to make the NHL roster out of camp on potential alone, but needs to show he can be more calculated with his risk taking.

New York Islanders Defenceman Ryan Pulock (6) (Photo by Your Dennis Schneidler/Icon Sportswire)

3 Ryan Pulock – Although not the fastest skater out there, Pulock has one of the hardest point shots outside of the NHL. When he can step into one, defenders quite literally turn around, hoping it does not hit them in an unpadded area. When he carries the puck over the blueline, he likes to fake a windup and then skate around defenders who flinch. Strong, if not bone-crunchingly physical. Has nothing left to prove in the AHL.

4 Ilya Sorokin - One of the top goalies in the KHL for two years running, Sorokin just signed a three year extension with CSKA and bringing his projections to fruition will have to wait. He is an incredibly athletic netminder who grades out as above average in every category worth scouting a goalie on. Strong technical play allows him to cover the entire net. While he is not perfect (he is, after all, a goalie) there are no easy areas for opponents to exploit.

5 Michael Dal Colle – One of the most frustrating prospects in the game. Blessed with great size and the ability to create offense from nothing with his great hands and nose for the net, he is unfortunately cursed with a complete lack of aggression. All too often is outworked for the puck by smaller, less gifted opponents. It is not even that he coasts in his own zone, as he does show commitment there on occasion. It is that his intensity levels will waver to extremes. Not too late to be a star, but needs to bring it more often.

6 Linus Soderstrom – His SHL numbers explode from the page. No goalie in the SHL had a better GAA and only one netminder stopped a greater percentage of shots faced. An aggressive goalie who is extremely technically competent, he also brings plus athleticism and play reading to the ice, minimizing second chances. Would be the clear goalie of the future in most systems. Although signed to an ELC, the Isles have already loaned him back to HV71 for the season.

June 24, 2016: Keiffer Bellows dons his Islanders sweater after he was selected as the 19th pick in the first round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, NY (Photo by John Crouch/Icon Sportswire.)

7 Kieffer Bellows – At his best, Bellows is an active winger, causing disruption in the neutral zone and a threat to score every time he gets space in the slot to unleash a very hard wrist or snap shot. At his worst, he is hot-headed and selfish, taking himself out of the play due to a gripe of some kind, or being called for unnecessary penalties. He is a solid skater with good puck skills. The type of player who would be best served playing more games, he is leaving Boston University for Portland of the WHL.

8 Devon Toews – A dynamic defenseman, Toews had an excellent rookie pro season with Bridgeport. Although his offensive game is his calling card, he is feisty without the puck, keeps solid gaps and is trustworthy on the penalty kill. He has very quick hands and is a strong skater. The type of blueliner that looks natural when joining or leading a rush. On a team with a shallower pool of defenders in front of him, Toews would already be knocking on the door of the NHL.

9 Scott Mayfield – A big, big defenseman, Mayfield is on this list because he was not called up early enough last year to lose his prospect eligibility. The Isles value him highly enough to use one their protection slots on him, fearful that Vegas would grab him otherwise. Not without a modicum of offensive skill, his game is most notable for the heaviness he brings to the play. He makes life tough on opponents, with and without his gloves.

10 Parker Wotherspoon – A strong offensive defenseman, Wotherspoon has improved his offensive output each year across his four WHL seasons. Often overlooked in a usually uncompetitive Tri-City squad, he lacks any one outstanding tool, but grades as average or better across the board. Solid positionally, he is slightly better when his team has the puck than without, but plays enough of a two-way game to inspire an open-mind when it comes to his future projection.

11 Ben Mirageas – It was easy to ignore Mirageas when he played for a moribund Bloomington team, but upon his trade to eventual Clark Cup champion Chicago, his game took off. A very intelligent defender in the stay-at-home tradition, he has great instincts for when to close the gap and take out the body facing him. A very mobile backwards skater, his offensive upside is limited, but he minimizes mistakes with and without the puck and there are worse ways to use a slot on a third pairing.

12 Anatoli Golyshev – A great shooter with enough speed and agility that allows him to avoid putting his tiny body in harms’ way, Golyshev is either generally showcasing his dynamic offensive capabilities, or completely disappears from the proceedings. Had a down year overall for Yekaterinburg in the KHL, but has already proven that he could be a high-end, if very inconsistent goal scorer. Whether or not he will come to North America (and when) is an open question.

13 Robin Salo – The Islanders top draft pick this year, Salo is a bit plodding, a relative rarity for a modern blueliner, Salo earns praise for a heavy and accurate slapshot as well as above average ability to read the play, both contributing to a notably mature overall game. A decent puck mover, he also plays a more physical game than his measurements would indicate. His upside is not as high as you want from your top draft pick, but only a slight uptick in his skating would allow him to achieve bottom pairing potential.

14 Mitchell Vande Sompel – An offensive catalyst from the blueline for a Memorial Cup winner in his draft year, Vande Sompel has been unable to build upon his early successes in the two subsequent seasons. He was actually showing prolific goal scoring ability in the first half of last season before being traded from Oshawa to London, but he enters pro hockey having made quieter strides in his defensive game. Also showing more patience before taking his shot.

15 David Quenneville – Small by undersized defenseman standards, Quenneville, whose older brother John is a top prospect in the New Jersey system, missed over a third of last season with a broken leg suffered in blocking a shot. When he was on the ice, he was among the most dynamic offensive blueliners in the WHL with well over one point-per-game. Not as fleet of foot as other small defenders, Quenneville’s greatest attribute is easily his plus puck skills.

16 Eamon McAdam – Although McAdam had an up-and-down rookie pro season split between the AHL and ECHL, he still flashed some of the potential that convinced Islanders’ scouts to select him in the third round in 2013. He has quick reflexes and a strong glove hand. Fairly steady in the crease, his movements are controlled and he has the ability to read the shooter and the puck mover. The future Islanders crease is crowded, but McAdam should not be counted out.

17 Sebastian Aho – After being passed over at the draft three times, the Islanders finally put a claim in on “The Other Sebastian Aho.” In truth, he likely should have been drafted years ago. He is certainly very small and slight with a non-existent physical game, but all of the tools are there. He is an excellent skater, who grades out well with his shot and puck skills. With nothing left to prove in the SHL, Aho is going to be in the AHL this year.

18 Kyle Burroughs – A brawny and intelligent blueliner, Burroughs lacks much in the way of upside, but has come a long way and has established himself as at least a top four defenseman in the AHL. Not a great puck carrier, he at least is capable of moving it around in the offensive zone. Likewise, his point shot lacks much zip, so he should not be viewed as a potential power play contributor. That said, he is a willing shot blocker and lane clogger and could be groomed as a third pairing penalty killer.

19 Arnaud Durandeau – A shifty, undersized skills player, Durandeau found himself in the spotlight by spending much of his draft year on a line with first overall pick Nico Hischier. A strong playmaker and plus skater, he plays an agitating game, but to ill effect as he lacks the size to be a physical force. Has the hockey IQ to play in a variety of situations and will be tested this year as his top linemate will likely have moved on to the NHL.

20 Otto Koivula – Despite being a pretty poor skater, Koivula managed to put together a strong rookie season in Liiga, on the back of his heavy and accurate wrist shot in tandem with impressive puck control that allows him to generate offense in tight spaces. While he plays a clean game, he has a very heavy frame and is tough to play against along the boards and in the corners. If he can improve his skating by even half a grade, he has middle six NHL potential. Easier said than done.

In spite of their handful of high end prospects at the top of this list, the Islanders overall prospect pool is disappointingly shallow. For a team that has found success at the NHL level (as measured in postseason success) very hard to come by, they tend to trade away picks and other young assets at an alarmingly high rate. Looking at the big picture, they might realize that those two things are strongly correlated.

NHL Prospect Watch: New York Islanders

Ryan Wagman — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 15:49:13 +0000

As with the already previewed Carolina Hurricanes, the New York Islanders prospect pool is full to bursting with promising netminders. Looking at their 2012 draft, in which all seven selections were used on defencemen, one might think that the system strength lies along the blueline. Others might look at the four first rounders in the past two seasons all used on high end forwards from the CHL and assume that the team’s future strength is offensive. All of those onlookers would be correct. The fact is that the Brooklyn team has an astounding pipeline, and was ranked third behind only Winnipeg and Edmonton by Hockey Prospectus last summer.

For this article, we will not focus on forwards as we try to avoid the Canadian junior leagues which are already covered so thoroughly. The defenseman are not as strong as might at first appear, with Adam Pelech likely the only player taken in 2012 who might have a real future with the Islanders. We may touch on some other defensive prospects later, but goalies, seeing as how they have come from a wide variety of sources are fascinating and will make up the core of this article.

15 March 2016: New York Islanders goalie Jean-Francois Berube (30) makes a save during the third period. The Pittsburgh Penguins won 2-1 in a shootout against the New York Islanders at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

One of the prospects actually spent the majority of the season up in the NHL. JF Berube was acquired off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings a few days before the opening night of the current season, but managed to play in only five games for the Islanders as the top two spots on the depth chart were occupied by Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss. While Berube was stellar in those five games - four starts - with three counting as quality, his .960 save percentage in five games in the AHL were just as important to maintaining his prospect standing. Berube, a former fourth round pick, was very strong in leading Manchester to the Calder Cup championship last season. He has quick and controlled movements and will stack the pads when he needs to slide across his crease to play a puck that has crossed the royal road. While he plays somewhat deep in his crease and isn’t the type to challenge the shooter too often, he puts in the work to fight through screens. Berube profiles as an above average backup at the NHL level, an impression that is helped by his strong results this year despite rarely seeing the ice in game situations. Berube is an RFA this summer.

Christopher Gibson, G (Trade: Tor. Sep. 17, 2015, originally, LA: 49, 2011)

Gibson is living proof that the development path of goaltenders is almost never linear. As a draft elgible netminder playing the QMJHL, he was good enough with Chicoutimi that the Kings used a second round pick on him in 2011. Unfortunately for Gibson and the Kings, the following two seasons were less impressive including a poor showing for Finland (yes, Chris Gibson is Finnish) at the 2012 WJC, that they did not bother offering him a contract, instead preferring to let him become a free agent. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed him shortly thereafter, and Gibson spent two years in their system, stopping 92% of shots faced in parts of two seasons in the AHL. Shortly before the start of this season, and the acquisition of Berube, Gibson was traded to the Islanders as one of five young players in exchange for penalty killing winger Michael Grabner. With the exception of a 29 minute cameo in early January for the Islanders – his NHL debut – this season was his third at the AHL level. His Bridgeport numbers were not as good as those from his time with the Marlies. Gibson is quick and agile enough to play goalie at the highest level, but his ability to read the play and subpar rebound control will likely prevent him from being much more than a decent third goalie waiting in the wings. Like Berube, Gibson is an RFA this summer.

Stephon Williams, G (106^th overall, 2013)

Williams had an up and down three year career at Minnesota State-Mankato, with his junior (and final) year resulting in a 1.65 GAA and .925 save percentage as he led his team to a #1 seed in the 2015 NCAA hockey tournament. His first full professional season saw him occupy the second string role in AHL Bridgeport and put up mediocre numbers (2.70 GAA, .904 save percentage). The fact that starter Gibson had near-equal numbers at least suggests that the team play in front of the crease shares the blame. According to McKeen’s contributor Daniel Friedman, Williams seems to show the tools, including strong movements and a good blocker and glove hand, but has been very inconsistent, allowing far too many soft goals for the Sound Tigers, often a result of poor positioning. If these are simply developmental hurdles and he can return to what he showed as a junior, with strong play reading and a high compete level, his ceiling is far higher than Gibson’s and he will compete with Berube for a spot with the Islanders. If not, then he is simply a less consistent version of Gibson.

Eamon McAdam, G (70^th overall, 2013)

Drafted out of Waterloo in the USHL, McAdam recently signed his ELC with the Islanders upon the completion of his junior season with Penn State. His save percentage numbers, generally solid as a sophomore and junior take on some added luster when acknowledging that as a new entry to the NCAA, Penn State’s talent pool was a fair bit below the standard of their opponents. McAdam has very quick lateral movements and is a very good scrambler when the need arises. I question his ability to read the play, which may be coachable, but between his high level of athleticism, strong rebound control, above average quickness and high compete level, he has the makings of a good NHL backup with the potential for more if he learns to read the flow of the game better, becoming less vulnerable to backside passes.

Linus Soderstrom, G (95^th overall, 2014)

The starting netminder for Sweden’s WJC entry for the past two seasons, Soderstrom was named the goalie of the tournament this year, stopping nearly 95% of shots for an otherwise disappointing Sweden squad. Back in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second highest rung, Soderstrom finished fifth in the circuit with a .927 save percentage, a phenomenal accomplishment for any 19 year old, much less one diagnosed with Asperberger syndrome . Soderstrom shows great focus on the puck, even when under heavy duress. He is very calm in the crease and rarely overcommits, keeping his neck loose to watch the puck being passed around his zone. Even when he drops to his knees, he stays tall and is very hard to beat from down low. Soderstrom is still very young but has done nothing to suggest that his upside is anything less than that of a good starting goalie in the NHL.

Ilya Sorokin, G (78^th overall, 2014)

If we were having fun before, wait until you see how well Sorokin stopped pucks in the KHL as a 20 year old this season. In 28 games for powerhouse CSKA Moscow, he stopped a mind altering 95.3% of shots with a 1.06 GAA. He was also one of the only two regular netminders (along with Capitals prospect Ilya Samsonov) in the league who had yet to reach his 21^st birthday. According to Hockey Prospectus correspondent Alessandro Seren Rosso, Sorokin is a butterfly netminder who rarely drops too early and who is very difficult to beat down low. His blocking style prevents him from allowing too many second chance shots. He is very fast from post to post and is very consistent from game to game (with the aforementioned numbers, he could not have had too many multi-goal nights). He is not perfect yet, with limited experience fighting through the types of screens that are common in North America and his puck handling is not a strength, but most concerning for the Islanders brass and the team’s fans is his contract status. Sorokin is signed with CSKA through the end of the 2017-18 season. While he will still have youth on his side if he can be convinced to come to North America at that time, with the sheer volume of talented netminders already in the system, he may be in for a battle to establish himself as a starter in Brooklyn. Like Soderstrom, he profiles as a good starter.

Enough about goalies...anyways, I think we covered them all already! Before closing the book on the Islanders, I wanted to bring attention to a trio of young blueliners in the system who should be on everyone’s radars.

March 14, 2016 New York Islanders Defenceman Ryan Pulock (6) [9983] makes a move around Florida Panthers Defenceman Erik Gudbranson (44) [8385] during the NY Islanders game versus the Florida Panthers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. (Photo by Your Dennis Schneidler/Icon Sportswire)

Ryan Pulock, D (15^th overall, 2013)

Ranked 34^th overall among all prospects by Hockey Prospectus last summer, Pulock, while roughly repeating his production this year, has disappointed to the extent that he has not seemed to progress. That said, what he is, is still worthy of playing in the NHL. He made his NHL debut on February 28, and should not be going back down to Bridgeport. Pulock is not more than an average skater, but his point shot is a howitzer. It can and will hurt people. The Manitoba native is comfortable carrying the puck and is more than just a fancy shot. He is responsible in his own end, not overcommitting to opponents and is a passable penalty killer. There are rough edges to his game that need smoothing out, such as a propensity for screening his own netminder, but he is very close to being a solild second pairing defender at the highest level.

Devon Toews, D (108^th overall, 2014)

Toews is a mainstay for one of college hockey’s best defensive teams, Quinnipiac. He fits the mold of the modern puck moving, mobile blueliner. While physically unprepossessing, he does not shy from contact. His specialty is in carrying the puck up the ice. Toews sees the ice very well, does not hesitate to join the rush whether leading the charge or as a supporting player. His passes are accurate and sharp and he has a solid slapshot that he keeps low. Having improved his numbers every year in NCAA, the Islanders may consider trying to convince him to forego his senior season with the Bobcats after their tournament run ends.

Jake Bischoff, D (185^th overall, 2012)

Like Toews, Bischoff is a smart and mobile puck moving defender. On the power play with the Golden Gophers, he is a clear cut quarterback, scanning the ice and picking out the best passing options. His shot is above average, but he is most effective setting up his teammates. He is a very good skater and is responsible in his own end as well. He was one of the brighter spots on a subpar Minnesota squad this year. He has one more year of college eligibility remaining. Bischoff’s upside may be slightly south of Toews’, but the toolset is there to be a solid professional.