New York Islanders: How Are USA Prospects in the 2019 Showcase Doing?

The New York Islanders currently have or had five prospects from their 2018 draft class playing in the 2019 World Juniors Summer Showcase for the United States Team. Let’s take a look at how they’ve done so far.

The New York Islanders had an overall strong draft back in 2018 and this can be seen with the play of some of their prospects that are participating in the 2019 Juniors Showcase that started on July 26th.

Five of the New York Islanders 2018 draftees have either played or are playing for Team USA in the Showcase.

These prospects include defensemen Bode Wilde (2nd round, 41st overall) and Christian Krygier (7th round, 196th overall), and forwards Oliver Wahlstrom (1st round, 11th overall), Jacob Pivonka (4th round, 103rd overall), and Blade Jenkins (5th round, 134th overall).

So far Team USA has played three games, of which the first two were scrimmages where players were split up into two teams – Team USA Blue and Team USA White – each team played two scrimmages.

Team USA White consisted of Jenkins, Pivonka, Wilde, and Wahlstrom. Team USA Blue only had Krygier. Disappointingly, Jenkins was sent home after the second scrimmage game.

Now that you’re familiar with what prospects are playing or played, let’s take a look at how they’re doing or did.

How are the prospects doing?

Blade Jenkins, LW/C

Since Jenkins didn’t last longer than the scrimmages, I’m going to start with him.

The 18-year-old, 6-foot-1, 194-pound forward was unable to make anything happen during his time playing at the 2019 Showcase.

In the two scrimmage games that Jenkins played for Team USA White, he didn’t record a point and only managed three shots on goal.

It probably wasn’t hard for the coaches of Team USA to cut Jenkins when the team was being cut down to 31 players.

Jacob Pivonka, C

So far, the 19-year-old, 5-foot-11, 198-pound center has only played in the two scrimmage games.

In those two games, Pivonka hasn’t done much. He’s only managed three shots on goal and has taken two penalties, for a total of four penalty minutes.

Hopefully, we can see more of Pivonka today in Team USA’s game against Sweden and he can put up a point or two.

Christian Krygier, D

The 19-year-old, 6-foot-2, 192-pound defenseman has done quite well so far in the showcase.

Krygier played in both of Team USA Blue’s scrimmage games, putting up three assists in their second game and only taking a minor penalty in their first game.

However, the defenseman didn’t do much in Team USA’s first actual game, putting up just a lone shot on goal.

Maybe we’ll see more of Krygier in Team USA’s game against Sweden scheduled for today at four.

Bode Wilde, D

As the Islanders second-round pick in 2018, Wilde is one of the better-known New York Islanders prospects.

As of the time of writing, the 19-year-old defenseman has played in just Team USA White’s two scrimmage games. In those games, he managed a powerplay assist and three shots on goal. Along with this, Wilde took two minor penalties.

With the 6-foot-2, 192-pound defenseman getting scratched for Team USA’s first game, I’m assuming and hoping he’ll be dressed for their second game.

Oliver Wahlstrom, RW

Being the Islanders 2018 first-round pick, the 19-year-old right wing is certainly the most recognized Isles prospect in this showcase.

So far this showcase, Wahlstrom has shown that he isn’t afraid to shoot the puck. In Team USA White’s two scrimmage games, Wahlstrom recorded eight shots on goal – scoring on one of them.

It seems as the 6-foot-1, 205-pound right wing will be continuing this trend in Team USA’s regular games as well, as he had three shots on goal in their first game.

This is a great sign, as the Isles need another forward that isn’t afraid to open fire on the opposing goalie.

The Rest of the 2019 Showcase Team USA Schedule

If you want to watch the rest of Team USA’s games for the 2019 Showcase here’s their schedule.

vs Sweden: Today, Wednesday, July 31st at 4 P.M. EST

vs Finland: Friday, August 2nd at 4 P.M. EST

vs Canada: Saturday, August 3rd at 4 P.M. EST