Islanders: Who are their stars in waiting Barry Trotz mentioned?

Oliver Wahlstrom | Right-Wing

The Islanders drafted Oliver Wahlstrom eleventh overall in 2018 for a reason. Wahlstrom has a remarkable talent for finding the back of the net.

At 19-years-old he already possesses an NHL level release and a sense of where to be in order to create scoring opportunities.

While he may not have put up a point with the Islanders in a nine-game stint at the start of the 2019-20 season, we all saw his potential. We saw him ring the crossbar against the Blue Jackets and then there was this near highlight-reel effort against the Winnipeg Jets.

The start to his first professional season in the AHL was slow, but as the year went on Wahlstrom started putting up points on a more consistent basis for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Through 44 games with Bridgeport, Wahlstrom has 22 points. But over his last ten games, before the AHL season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wahlstrom put up four goals and three helpers for seven points.

He’ll probably play the entirety of the 2020-21 season with Bridgeport before making the jump to the NHL full-time in 2021-22. (Maybe with injuries he gets a call up here and there.) But when he does make the jump to the NHL full-time, lookout.

Wahlstrom is incredibly skilled with the puck and has been since he was a child. Having the tactical side of the game drilled into him for a few years under the umbrella of the Islanders should give him the missing edge to find a spot in Barry Trotz’s system. Once there watch him excel and become a star.