Islanders three most improved prospects in the system

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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) /

With the end of the 2020-21 season here for most New York Islanders prospects here are there three that rose up the rankings the most in 2021.

As you know I’ve spent most of the year tracking and ranking prospects within the New York Islanders system. On a nearly daily basis, I provide reports and recaps for their games and I provide semi-frequent rankings for all the players that I consider prospects within the Islanders system.

Now that the season is essentially over* for most of these prospects I thought about looking over their respective seasons to see who rose up the depth charts the most.

*Only Ruslan Iskhakov (TPS) and Reece Newkirk (Portland Winterhawks) are still in action right now. Unless they decide to turn into Connor McDavid for the rest of their short seasons, they won’t rise up the rankings more than a spot or two.

So, after going through their respective years here are the three players who rose the most along with how many spots they jumped up from the start of the year till now:

Alex Jefferies: 11 spots
Samuel Bolduc: 8 spots
Oliver Wahlstrom: 6 spots

Over the next few slides, I’ll break down why each player moved up as much as they did by going over where they were (and what they did there) before this year and then detailing how this season went and why they jumped as high as they did in the rankings.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 25: <> at Nassau Coliseum on February 25, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Alex Jefferies | Merrimack University

Starting Rank: 24
Ending Rank: 13

Where they were (and what they did)

Jefferies was drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 draft by the Islanders. He was a product of The Gunnery, a prep school in Connecticut. There, Jefferies put up an incredible 69 points(33G, 36A) in 32 games.

Add to that 49 points at the AAA level in 29 games and Jefferies ended the 2019-20 year with 118 points in 61 games. A staggering 1.93 points per game.

Look, he wasn’t the top-scoring player in prep school, but he finished a respectable 12th. The kid showed speed, poise, and some great hockey IQ at the prep level. Which is why Merrimack wanted him and why the Islanders took him in the fourth round.

Why they jumped as high as they did

Jefferies excelled in his first season at the NCAA level. He only played 12 games before injury took the rest of his season. But in those 12 games, Jefferies put up ten points playing in Merrimack’s top-six.

Not only that but he played on the power play and the penalty kill for Merrimack. Remember he’s a freshman. They don’t usually get that type of ice-time.

When I spoke to his coach Scott Borek just before the New Year he told me that Alex was one of the smartest players in the league. There’s still a lot for Jefferies to work on, but Borek is very high on his freshman winger.

Keep your eye on Merrimack next season. Jefferies, a Hobey Baker nominee in 2021, will be a big factor for them in 21-22.

Samuel Bolduc | Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Starting Rank: 14
Ending Rank: 6

Where they were (and what they did)

The Islanders drafted him in the second round of the2019 draft. Bolduc was one of the picks the Isles got up from the Calgary Flames for Travis Hamonic

He had an incredible 2019-20 season with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and the Sherbrooke Phoenix. In 61 games he put up 43 points. He was nearly a point-per-game player with Phoenix who acquired him via trade from the Armada.

Sherbrooke was the top-ranked team in the QMJHL in 19-20 with 106 points. Unfortunately, there were no playoffs that year so the Phoenix and Bolduc had to content themselves with a single trophy, the Jean Rougeau, as the regular season champs.

Why they jumped as high as they did

Samuel Bolduc wasn’t a new name to the organization. He turned heads at the 2019 training camp. Still too young for the AHL he went back to the QMJHL after camp. This year was different. Sort of.

He turned heads at camp once again. At the conclusion of camp, Trotz said Bolduc and fellow prospect Bode Wilde could be John Carlson types. This time though, Bolduc could meet the AHL’s age requirement. He’d go pro. And he excelled.

Only Cole Bardreau had more production than Bolduc for the Sound Tigers this season. In his first year as a pro, Bolduc put up six goals and 14 points. An impressive run in his first year as a pro.

Bolduc was an important player for the Sound Tigers this year. We don’t have TOI to measure that but from the games I watched, he was easily a top-four defenseman. TOI might show he’s a top pair guy. Again, in year one.

Next year is going to be an interesting one for Bolduc. Will he get an NHL spot? Or is it back to the AHL where he’ll probably dominate? I would imagine it’s the latter but it’s easy to see the former happening.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 30: Oliver Wahlstrom #26 of the New York Islanders looks on during a time out in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on January 30, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Oliver Wahlstrom | New York Islanders

Starting Rank: 8
Ending Rank: 2

Where they were (and what they did)

Look, it seems wild that Wahlstrom was as low as eighth going into this season, but honestly, he didn’t have a particularly impressive 2019-20 season.

The first-round pick in 2018 played his first full season as a pro for the Sound Tigers and registered 22 points in 45 games. To be fair, he was sent to the AHL to work on his game away from the puck and not necessarily his offensive skills. He had offensive skills in spades, he needed to learn the team game first.

But still, that production isn’t what you’d expect from an eleventh overall pick. Someone of his caliber should be dominating the AHL. The fact that he wasn’t was worrisome.

Why they jumped as high as they did

Before the North American hockey season began he was sent out on loan to the Swedish Allsvenskan. That’s the second tier of Swedish hockey. He did well with eight points in ten games, but the same critiques were made of his game from the season prior.

His defensive game needed work. His coach with AIK indicated that Wahlstrom had “trouble understanding the game we wanted to play”.

But Wahlstrom earned a spot on the team out of camp and has run with the opportunity putting up eleven goals and seven helpers for 0.44 points per game. That’s a 36 point player over 82 games. For a rookie in a Barry Trotz system that’s great.

His defensive game will never be perfect but his offensive skills more than compensate for that. Not to mention he has the right attitude often saying he’s “fallen in love with his game away from the puck.”

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