It's been a long time since the Islanders' prospect pool looked as good as it does now.
The farm system has been almost non-existent for the past few years, but finally, after a strong World Juniors campaign put an exclamation point on what has been a great year for farms so far. That seems to be changing. The club's recent draft candidates.
After going through the draft without a first-round pick for four straight years, and without a top prospect in the organization for most of that time, the Islanders suddenly looked as if they were made up of NHL player Danny Nelson. I got a group that looks like this. Cole Yzerman, Quinn Finley, Isiah George.
Everyone in that group is still in college, with the exception of George, who made his NHL debut this season and is currently performing without any issues aside from being sidelined with a suspected concussion. He will be away from the Islanders for at least a year. Not two.
But with NHL clubs missing out on the playoffs and looking at the possibility of rebuilding their teams, it's extremely unlikely that the Islanders will ultimately fill a hole in their organization or acquire a prospect that could provide high value in a trade. It's important.
Nelson, who earned an “A” in his second round at the World Juniors, showed off his two-way ability as a second-line center, scoring six points in seven games. He also played on both special teams, winning 56.78 percent of his matches.
“I was excited that they wouldn't play him in a checking role,” Jeff Jackson, Nelson's coach at Notre Dame, told the Post. “When you put him on the second line with two good wingers, he's a faceoff guy. He has a lot of very good tendencies as a centerman, especially being big, but he skates well. That's probably the most important part of him being a dominant player down low in both zones.
Yzerman, who was selected 20th overall last summer, won the gold medal with Nelson and was on the line for the opening round of the tournament.
Although he was subsequently demoted to the 13th forward role on Team USA, Yzerman still earned power play appearances and posted a high points per game percentage. The 18-year-old will likely return to the World Juniors next season and play on Team USA's top line, but Nelson will age out of the tournament.
“If you look at what we're asking him to do, he still finds a way to get on the scoresheet and impact the game,” Team USA coach David Karl said before the gold medal game. He told reporters about Yzerman. “He owns it and accepts that it's what's best for the team and I think his teammates recognize that too. It's not easy for him either. He recognizes it. . We talked about it, and it's his job to deal with it professionally, and he did it in a really positive way.”
That may be as important a development as the goals he scores, given that Yzerman's draft stock has declined in part due to the perception that he's an unselfish player.
Finley, a member of Team USA's gold-medal winning squad a year ago, did not qualify for the world juniors this season as a 20-year-old, but was on the verge of a breakout season at Wisconsin and was the NCAA's leading scorer. Shining. (16 goals), points scored (29).
None of this trio currently has an entry-level contract with the Islanders, but Finley and Nelson could be candidates to sign after the NCAA season.
George, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft that produced Finley in the third round, is the first of three years in the ELC and looks like a top-four defenseman on the left side in the long-term future.
There are also players within the organization who could eventually represent the Islanders in the NHL.
Prospects in the second tier are likely to include Jesse Nurmi, who played a decent role as the fourth line for Finland at the world juniors. Alex Jeffries has 21 points for AHL Bridgeport this season. And Calle Odelius, the club's second-rounder in 2022, had his development stunted by a broken ankle last season.
