New York Islanders Make Both Round 2 Selections

The New York Islanders surprised again in round two, using both their selections on players instead of making a trade.

Heading into day two of the NHL Draft, Lou Lamoriello, and the New York Islanders had two picks in the second round. With similar expectations to day one, many believed a trade would take place before the Islanders made their selections.

For the second day in a row, Lou Lamoriello fooled us and decided to use both selections on players in the draft rather than taking his chance on the trade market.

Round 2 Pick 42: Bode Wilde

With their first pick in the second round, the Islanders selected Bode Wilde. Wilde is a right-handed shooting defenseman who is six-foot-four 198 pounds, he’s a big boy. Wilde can also be categorized as a steal in the second round.

He was ranked as high as 12th by Future Considerations and was a lock to go in round one. Well, Lou found another gem and pulled the trigger on Wilde.

In 61 games in the USDP, he had 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists). According to ISS Hockey Wilde is “a two-way defenseman, has size and strength while having good offensive instincts.” This seems like a smart pick for today’s NHL.

Round 2 Pick 43: Ruslan Iskhakov

Based on the Islanders past history with Russian’s coming over to play I was initially worried about this selection. Don’t fret, Iskhakov will be playing for UCONN next year in the NCAA so they already won half the battle by getting him over to the US.

Iskhakov is small, like really small. He’s five-foot-eight 152 pounds. His size is definitely a concern whether or not he’ll be able to play in the league, but don’t forget Johnny Gaudreau is a pretty darn good NHL player at five-foot-nine 157 pounds.

The Iskhakov pick is the first of Lamoriello’s that I really questioned. The first three made total sense but again, Lou gets the benefit of the doubt here because of his history.

Next: Islanders go for future in round-one

The Islanders still need to address their goalie situation, it just might have to come in free agency rather than a trade.