Islanders Core of the Four Anders Kallur: Swedish Army Knife

Time After Isles

After retiring from the NHL, Kallur went back to Europe. He became a coach in Italy and France before taking a job as Director of Player Development for Swedish team Falu IF.

By 1989, Kallur was back under the umbrella of the Islanders. This time as a European scout. He’d fill that role for the Isles from 1989 to 2013.

Leading up to the 1996 draft, Kallur convinced the Islanders to draft Czech defenseman Zdeno Chara. The Isles would take the big man in the third round with the 56th overall.

Here he is discussing the pick with the Globe and Mail back in 2003:

"The Islanders acquired film of Chara and watched it on the wall in a team office. New York scout Anders Kallur said it was enough to convince the Islanders to draft Chara in the third round. “He played hard, he played smart, he played with passion,” Kallur said. “He had good mobility for a man of any size. People called him raw, or a project, because of his size. But he was no more a project than any 18-year-old.”"

Kallur would leave the Isles in 2013 and join the Rangers as a European scout until 2016-17 when he retired.

At the 2017 draft, Kallur pointed the Rangers towards picks Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson. While Andersson still hasn’t been a factor in the NHL for the Rangers, Chytil is clearly an NHL caliber player with back to back 23 point seasons.

Thinking of the 17 players that formed the “Core of the Four” Anders Kallur is one of the names that typically gets forgotten. He didn’t have the same production as the big names, but he was a vital part of the Isles dynasty.