NY Islanders prospects Eiserman and Nelson make Team USA World Juniors roster

The New York Islanders will have two of their top prospects as part of the U.S. 2025 World Juniors. 2023 2nd-round pick (49th overall) Danny Nelson and 2024 1st-round selection Cole Eiserman (20th overall) are each part of the 25-man roster officially announced by USA Hockey on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Nelson is a sophomore at Notre Dame, where he leads the Fighting Irish in goals with eight and is third in points with 13. He's been on a tear lately, posting a career-long eight-game point streak, with nine points (5G, 4A) over that stretch. Meanwhile, Eiserman has had a strong freshman campaign at Boston University, leading the Terriers in goals with nine.

Eiserman, who has worked on rounding out his game under head coach Jay Pandolfo at BU is widely considered the Islanders' top prospect and was ranked as the 13th NHL prospect to watch at the 2025 World Juniors by The Athletic. "Eiserman is NTDP's all-time leading goal scorer and one of the most prolific pure shooters in this year's tournament," the breakdown from Scott Wheeler and Cory Pronman wrote. "Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault will be Team USA's top two wingers, but Eiserman should do some damage in the middle six and on the power play. He's a one-shot game-breaker."

Early lineup projections have Eiserman and Nelson playing together with Trevor Connelly of Providence College. Long Island's James Hagens, projected by many to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft is expected to be the top line center.

The Islanders will have four prospects participating in the World Juniors. 19-year-old winger Jesse Nurmi, a 2023 fourth-round pick currently playing for the London Knights of the OHL, will represent Finland. Meanwhile, 2025 fifth-rounder G Marcus Gildof will play for Sweden.