New York Islanders Future Core Players Are Here Now

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 30: (l-r) Mathew Barzal #13, Anthony Beauvillier #72, Jordan Eberle #7 and Dennis Seidenberg #4 of the New York Islanders celebrate a first period goal by Beauvillier at the Barclays Center on March 30, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

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Mathew Barzal

Mathew Barzal is going to win the Calder Trophy as the leagues top rookie this season. Brock Boeser out in Vancouver was giving Barzal a good run for his money around January, but that’s when Barzal’s dominance took over.

At the time of writing Barzal leads all rookies in scoring by a margin of 16 points with 79 points in 79 games played. Next on the list is Arizona’s Clayton Keller with 69 points.

Barzal has 18 games with at least two points, eight games with at least three, and three with four points or more this season.

When on the ice he completely takes over the game. You can see it with your own eyes on plays like this where Barzal is dragging not only his team into creating chances, but he’s dragging the opposition around the ice.

But you can also just look at how he compares to some of the other rookies in his class.

*p/60, CF% and CF% QOC: Taken from Corsica.Hockey
*CF% QOC: is “The weighted average CF% of a player’s opponents faced” from Cosica Glossary.

Without John Tavares, the future for the New York Islanders starts with Mathew Barzal. Even if John Tavares stays for the next eight years, the future of the Islanders starts with Mathew Barzal.