Islanders prospects daily: Ljungkrantz makes Sweden mini-camp team

Prospects (and players in the system) in Action Today

• Ruslan Iskhakov (TPS)
• Matias Rajaniemi (Pelicans)
• Henrik Tikkanen (IPK)*
• Reece Newkirk (Portland)

It’s another matchup against Lukko, the top team in Finland for Ruslan Iskhakov and his TPS team. The last time out, TPS lost 2-1 and fell back a bit more. TPS holds a 1.82 Pts/Game while Lukko is at 2.05.

Iskhakov was held off the scoresheet the last time out. He hasn’t been held scoreless in back-to-back games since February 20th. I bet he finds a way to have some sort of impact today.

Matias Rajaniemi hasn’t been on the ice since his Pelicans side players Iskhakov’s TPS. As the season goes through the final stretch, Rajaniemi is finding a spot in the press box more frequently now.

It’s not great for his development, at his age he should be playing every day. His squad has won back-to-back games so it’s not as if his team’s decision to rotate the squad hasn’t worked out.

Henrik Tikkanen is back with IPK down in the Mestis league. His GM Anssi Laine warned me this could happen. It’s not due to performance. In seven games with KalPa, he averaged a 1.94GAA and 0.921SV% with a 2-3-2 record. He’s down in the Mestis to get playing time.

Laine indicated that getting Henrik consistent playing time was priority number one. With goalies coming back from injury it makes sense to send him down on a loan for the rest of the year. Today he plays backup.