Islanders prospects daily: Ljungkrantz makes Sweden mini-camp team

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EAST MEADOW, NEW YORK – JANUARY 04: Dmytro Timashov #41 of the New York Islanders practices during training camp at Northwell Health Ice Center at Eisenhower Park on January 04, 2021 in East Meadow, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/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

Bridgeport Sound Tigers
- Kyle MacLean
  - Stats: 1G, 3SOG
  - Season stats: 13GP, 2G, 1A, 3Pts
- Dmytro Timashov
  - Stats: 2PIM, 5SOG
  - Season stats: 12GP, 2G, 4A, 6Pts

Another loss for the Sound Tigers over the Providence Bruins. This time by a score of 2-1.

Ken Appleby was solid enough in nets for the Sound Tigers, stopping 23 of 25 shots. The first goal he “allowed” was on a scramble in front of the net that should have been dealt with by the d-men in front of him.

Kyle MacLean, an undrafted player signed out of juniors scored his second goal of the year. Which was the only scoring done by the Sound Tigers on the day. Timashov brought in via trade with the Detroit Red Wings, had a number of looks but couldn’t bury one.

When I’ve seen him play I can see a speedy winger who can find space out there but his decision-making is subject at times. He’ll often opt for a low percentage shot rather than kick the puck to an open teammate.

Note: Alex Ljungkrantz was selected for Sweden’s Team 19 (U19) mini camp sqaud. He’s one of 10 forwards on the team. The camp will run from April 12 to April 18. His inclusion in the squad means Sweden’s World Juniors coach Tomas Monten still has his eye on the Islanders prospect from the 2022 tournament.

New York Islanders prospect Henrik Tikkanen Used by permission from KalPa Hockey Oy /

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.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 22: Samuel Bolduc poses after being selected 57th overall by the New York Islanders during the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 22, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /

Prospects Rankings and Movement

I haven’t done this in a little while. With so few games over this stretch, there wasn’t too much movement. But with about a week of games, there’s a bit of jockeying in my prospect rankings. Here are some of the playings moving up and down.

Samuel Bolduc ↓ no.7:

The rookie-pro has dropped three spots in my rankings. That’s due to a few games without production at the AHL level. I’d still have him easily in my top 5 where I to also consider development, something my rankings don’t account for.

One of the players that leapfrogged Bolduc is Bode Wilde. Is having a tougher time at the AHL level but his stellar production at the OHL level bumps him up in my rankings. The OHL is rated considerably higher than the QMJHL.

Mitchell Vande Sompel ↑ no.4:

Vande Sompel has three points over his last four games. After missing last season due to injury the 2015 third-round pick is having an alright year. He’s nowhere near the 0.5 points/game he had three seasons ago (his first year as a pro).

He’s an AHL veteran now, he’s in what should be his fourth year of pro hockey. I’m not sure he’d crack an NHL squad for another organization, but the 5’10” puck-mover has some skill and could very well make an OK bottom pair guy on a team in need of talent on the blue line.

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