New York Islanders Prospect Bode Wilde Signs with Saginaw Spirit

New York Islanders second-round pick from the 2018 NHL draft has just signed with the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.

Bode Wilde entered the 2018 NHL draft as a potential first-round pick. He would eventually fall to the New York Islanders in the second round with the 41st overall pick.

NHL Central Scouting had Bode Wilde as the 17th ranked North American skater in the draft. That was up five spots from his mid-term rank of 22nd ranked North American skater. So how did he fall all the way to the second round?

Who knows exactly, but it could have something to do with

de-committing from Harvard and then from University of Michigan

in the days leading up to the 2018 NHL draft. Instead of playing in the NCAA, Wilde will now play in the OHL. And that perfectly suits the Islanders.

Steps to NHL

Last season the Isles first-round pick in the 2017 NHL draft Kieffer Bellows de-committed from Boston College in order to play with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. The advantage is clear. In the WHlL they play 72 game season, while the NCAA is a maximum of 34 games long.

Bellows used that extra game time to hone his craft and become a better player. And it worked. In 56 games with the Winterhawks Bellows had 74 points. That’s 1.32 points-per-game.

Wilde is hoping for the same type of growth. By joining the Saginaw Spirit, Wilde gets more playing time to improve his game.

The self-labeled big, mobile, and offensive-defenseman is already an incredible prospect. Remember, he was the 17th ranked skater in the draft this June. In 61 games for the USNDP, he scored 41 points from the blueline. The 6’4″ 192lbs defender should better that stat line with the Spirit.

Wilde will be hyper-motivated to show the New York Islanders that he’s ready. We already know that his first-round snub in 2018 lit a fire inside of him.

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The New York Islanders defensive pipelines is one of the best in the NHL. With Noah Dobson, Bode Wilde, Devon Toews, David Quenneville, and Mitch Vande Sompel, the Islanders have great options on the blueline going forward.