NY Islanders sign first round pick Malte Gustafsson to entry-level deal

The New York Islanders wasted little time getting one of the cornerstones of their 2026 draft class under contract.

The organization announced Tuesday that first-round pick Malte Gustafsson has signed his three-year entry-level contract, officially beginning what the Islanders hope is the next step toward becoming a fixture on their blue line.

"What made him an attractive pick for us, you know, the good draft teams around the league, the strategy is always take the best player available," Islanders GM Mathieu Darche said after the draft. "Malte is actually 6-foot-4 and a half, if not 6-foot-5, over 200 pounds, very strong skater for his size, moves the puck, plays physical, hard to play against."

Selected 13th overall in June, Gustafsson isn't your typical teenage defenseman. At 6-foot-4, he already possesses NHL size, but it's his mobility and maturity that made him one of the fastest-rising prospects in the draft. Rather than dominating junior hockey, the Swedish blueliner spent most of last season playing against grown men in the Swedish Hockey League with HV71, recording three assists in 27 games as a 17-year-old.

The SHL is one of the toughest professional leagues outside the NHL, and simply earning regular minutes at Gustafsson's age speaks volumes about how highly he's regarded. When he did suit up for HV71's Under-20 club, he showed the offensive upside Islanders fans have been hearing about, posting 12 points in 19 games.

Gustafsson served as an alternate captain while helping Sweden capture gold at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, finishing with five points in six games and earning a spot on the tournament's All-Star Team. He also wore an "A" at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where Sweden won silver, and has collected medals at multiple international tournaments over the last three seasons.

He joins Isaiah George and Kashawn Aitcheson as young defenseman the Islanders hope to be on the team's blueline for years to come.

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