New York Islanders Re-Drafting 2011 NHL Entry Draft

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TAMPA, FL – APRIL 30: Ryan Strome #18 of the New York Islanders skates in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on April 30, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Iskowitz/Getty Images) /

Round One – 5th Overall Pick

NYI Pick: Ryan Strome
Pick they should have made: Mark Scheifele (7th overall WPG)

Ryan Strome’s 2010-11 season for the Niagara IceDogs was what you could call “a good one”. In 65 games he put up 106 points for the Ice Dogs. It was a massif leap from the 27 he put up the previous season. Maybe that should have been the key for the Islanders. Inconsistency.

Mark Scheifele with his 75 points for the Barrie Colts was, statistically speaking, inferior. But then again it was his first year of junior hockey. Taking him at number five, over the seventh pick he was eventually drafted as wouldn’t have been such a shock.

And when you play revisionist history and look at the trajectory both have taken in the NHL, it’s clear. The New York Islanders should have drafted Mark Scheifele over Ryan Strome.

Scheifele has played 26 games more than Ryan Strome in the NHL and has scored 127 more points. Including two point-per-game seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Scheifele is now the Winnipeg Jets number one center.

Behind John Tavares, in that second line center position, Scheifele would have completely changed the New York Islanders. Continue down that rabbit hole and the Islanders could have had a center depth of: John Tavares, Mark Scheifele, Frans Nielsen, and Casey Cizikas.

That’s some incredible depth down the middle. But then, if we never picked Ryan Strome then the New York Islanders could have never traded him for Jordan Eberle to the Edmonton Oiler one-for-one