Islanders prospects daily: Iskhakov and Newkirk weekend update

It’s been a slow weekend for New York Islanders prospects. That happens when there are only two of them playing at the moment. So instead of a little update here and there, I waited for the weekend to finish to go over how both did.

Ruslan Iskhakov (TPS)

Game played: 2
Points: 0
Shots: 9
ATOI: 15:23

Not a great weekend for Ruslan Iskhakov and TPS as a whole. After taking a 1-0 lead in the series with a strong 4-1 win in Game 1 they dropped the next two games by a combined score of 7-1. The only goal scored by TPS over the last two legs came at 19:51 of the third period in Game 3.

Iskhakov didn’t register a point but was still generating chances for his team. But it’s clear if you can try to shut down Iskahkov you do a good job of shutting down TPS as a whole.

Which is both a good thing and a bad thing I guess. It’s not great for TPS who are a game away from being the runner-up rather than the champion. But from an Islanders perspective, this is good news. One of their prospects is such an offensive force that his opponent has to shut him down to win a game and a championship.

New York Islanders prospect update (10/5/21)

Reece Newkirk (Winterhawks)

Game played: 2
Points: 4
Shots: 5
FOW%: 52.9

Portland played twice over the weekend and both games were big wins for the Winterhawks. The Winterhawks held a +12 goal differential with wins against the Spokane Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans the Winterhawks.

Reece Newkirk picked up four points in the two-game weekend. Three helpers in a 5-1 win over the Chiefs and a single helper in a 9-1 thumping of the Americans.

Newkirk has a single game left on the season and that’s a date against those Tri-City Americans on May 11. There will be no playoffs for the WHL this year.