Can Oliver Wahsltrom force his way into the NY Islanders lineup?

PLUS

Undeniably Wahlstrom's greatest attribute is his shot. Capable of beating goaltenders with power and accuracy, his numbers haven't portrayed what was seen from his while playing with the USNTDP.

Wahlstrom showed promise that he was about to emerge as a goal scorer the Islanders were looking for during his first good look with the Islanders in 20210-21. Playing 44 games, Wally scored 12 goals in 44 games, putting him on pace for nearly 25 goals across a full season. But the next year, when he did receive a much longer look, Wahlstrom scored just 13 times in 73 games.

On a team that has struggled on the man-advantage over the last few seasons, Wahlstrom does provide a scoring option from the circle to the right of the goaltender.

While the Islanders haven't had high-end players at the point capable of putting the puck into Wahlstrom's wheelhouse, he hasn't shown much of what made him such a highly-touted prospect.

If his shot isn't where it needs to be, Wahlstrom doesn't have much of a B-game to fall back on, making it difficult to leave him in the lineup.

MINUS

As the game is becoming faster seemingly every season, Wahltrom has lacked the speed and skating to keep up with play. While his shot may be deadly, it's rendered ineffective if he's not in a position to pull the trigger.

Like Kieffer Bellows before him, the game is not built for players who struggle with their feet. And at 24 years old, it doesn't seem he's going to all of a sudden show much improvement.

Not helping his case was Wahlstom's torn ACL during the 2022-23 season. Playing his last game on December 27, he missed nearly 10 months of action before playing in another meaningful game. With this type of injury, like Anders Lee, for example, hockey players aren't typically comfortable on their skates for two years. Skating for a year now since his injury, there will be no more excuses for Wahlstrom, as his footwork should have been his top priority during the off-season.

While he's spent time playing in the bottom-6, Wahlstrom's game doesn't translate well to those roles. He's a top-6 type of player but doesn't seem to be anywhere near capable of playing in that role. Because of this, his options are limited.

The Verdict

It's hard to imagine Wahlstrom continuing his career with the Islanders. Like the Vancouver Canucks recently did trading former first-round pick Vasily Podkolzin to the Edmonton Oilers, it's time for the Islanders to cut the losses and recoup what they can.