Islanders prospects daily: Oliver Wahlstrom now top prospect

1 of 3

New York Islanders propsect Reece Newkirk #12 sits on the boards after fist bumping Jake Gricius #14 of the Portland Winterhawks (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images) /

Here’s your daily recap of yesterday’s games, updates, and rankings for New York Islanders prospects and players within the system.

Welcome to your daily recap for New York Islanders prospects! You’ll find an update on stats from prospects in action yesterday, a round-up of who’s playing today, and I’ll tell you how some of those prospects in action yesterday are doing in my prospects rankings.

Prospect Update from Yesterday

Reece Newkirk (Winterhawks)
- Stats: 1G (PP), 1A, 4SOG
- Season stats: 2GP, 2G, 1A, 3Pts
Ruslan Iskhakov (TPS)
- Stats: 3SOG, 12:52TOI
- Season stats: 9G, 25A, 34Pts, 15:28 ATOI
Matias Rajaniemi (Pelicans)
- Stats: 1SOG, 16:09TOI
- Season stats: 3G, 6A, 9Pts, 15:37 ATOI

It’s been a strong start to the WHL season for Reece Newkirk. He picked up two points in his second game of the WHL season this year putting him at three in two games. It’s still early to see if that’s how he’ll perform all year long, but I wouldn’t suspect he slows down any time soon. He’s outgrown the WHL and is ready to go pro.

No point in a 4-3 win over Assat means no new scoring streak for Iskhakov. Not that it matters to him, his team won.

(Side note on the game, former Islanders prospect Linus Soderstrom was in net for Assat. He’s been ‘OK’ in Finland with a 2.73GAA and 0.904SV% on the year.)

Rajaniemi didn’t put up any points against Jukurut, but that’s fine. He’s not an offensive-first d-man. He’s more of a stay-at-home guy with some offensive upside. I keep harping on this (because I feel it’s important), he’s still very young. He only turns 19 in September.

PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 11: A view of center ice before the game between the Quinnipiac Bobcats and the St. Cloud State Huskies at Consol Energy Center on April 11, 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Prospects (and players in the system) in Action Today

Reece Newkirk (Winterhawks)
Frozen Four Selection

Back-to-back games for Newkirk. After sitting out so long I know he’s happy to be back and playing so frequently. His sights are firmly set on that pro-contract this year. He’s a big part of that Portland team. He probably can’t carry them to glory alone, but he can certainly be a leader on the ice and the scoresheet for them.

Today is Frozen Four Selection day for DIV 1 NCAA hockey. The selection committee will pick 16 teams to face off in single-elimination games to eventually work their way towards the frozen four and an NCAA title. (The selection show starts at 7PM ET on ESPNU.)

As the top-ranked team in the country, North Dakota U (Collin Adams) is expected to play and be a favorite for the tournament. NDU already took the NCHC regular-season title and the division’s tournament, they can, and are looking to complete the NCAA treble.

The only other team featuring a New York Islanders prospect with a chance of making the tournament is Boston University. Captained by Logan Cockerill, they finished second in Hockey East’s truncated regular season.

Mar 13, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New York Islanders right wing Oliver Wahlstrom (26) celebrates after scoring a goal against the New Jersey Devils during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Catalina Fragoso-USA TODAY Sports /

Prospects Rankings and Movement

Oliver Wahlstrom on top

Kieffer Bellows sat in the top spot of my prospects rankings for a while. That’s largely thanks to a strong AHL season last year and a strong points-per-game rate at the NHL level. But Oliver Wahlstrom has been chipping away at that lead for a while by scoring consistently at the NHL level.

With two helpers in a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, Wahlstrom is now at the pinnacle of the Islanders prospects system.

The rookie now has seven goals and 14 points on the year. That production has him sitting sixth in rookie scoring on the year in the NHL and third in terms of points per game behind Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild), Jason Robertson (Dallas Stars), and Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators).

At 0.56 points-per-game on the year, Wahlstrom is on pace to score 46 points in his rookie year. Outstanding.

Look, the Calder Trophy is Kaprizov’s to lose this year, but Wahlstrom is factoring in the rookie race (even if as a dark-horse). That alone is a huge step forward for Wahlstrom and the New York Islanders.

The Isles desperately needed goal support and to get production from players on cheap ELC deals. Wahlstrom provides both. Sure, he’s still playing sheltered minutes on the third line, but as we know Barry Trotz is all about building confidence, and by God, that’s what he’s doing with Wahlstrom.

And it’s working.

We all want Wahlstrom to get more ice-time, he seems to deserve it with not only his production but because of his play away from the puck as well. I doubt he gets it this year, which seems to be by design as Trotz builds the 20-year-old up to be the top-line talent he might very well be.

Home / Islanders Prospects