Sansided
Eyes On Isles
Home/Editorials

New York Islanders Top 10 Prospects In the System in 2018

BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 24: Kieffer Bellows celebrates with the New York Islanders after being selected 19th during round one of the 2016 NHL Draft on June 24, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 24: Kieffer Bellows celebrates with the New York Islanders after being selected 19th during round one of the 2016 NHL Draft on June 24, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 11
Next
new york islanders
DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Oliver Wahlstrom poses after being selected eleventh overall by the New York Islanders during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Oliver Wahlstrom

The New York Islanders drafted in 2018 a player that models his game after Alex Ovechkin and Patrik Laine. Over the last two NHL seasons, Ovechkin and Laine are numbers one and two on the list of top goal scorers.

With 48 goals in 62 games for the USNDP and another 22 goals in 26 games for the USNDP junior team. That’s 70 goals in 88 games. Wahlstrom certainly has the stats to back up that inspiration. He’s a pure goal scorer.

And Wahlstrom isn’t just a good shot from the faceoff circle like Ovechkin and Laine are known for. The eleventh overall draft pick in 2018 has silky soft hands. Hands that were on full display at the Isles mini-camp in June.

You couldn’t ask for a better introduction to the fans after being selected just days earlier. If there was any doubt to the Islanders taking him eleventh overall and why he fell so far in the draft it was gone the second he put the puck in the net.

There’s no room for Oliver Wahlstrom on the team this year. But looking forward to 2019-20 Oliver Wahlstrom should be on the team. It’s a stretch but I can’t stop seeing Mathew Barzal teeing up Wahlstrom a-la Bastrom and Ovechkin.

facebooktwitterreddit