NY Islanders 2023 draft pick signs an OHL scholarship an development agreement

2023 fourth-round selection Jesse Nurmi signed a three-year entry level contract with the New York Islanders earlier this summer. This week, he signed a different type of a deal.

The 19-year-old winger signed an OHL (Ontario Hockey League) Scholarship and Development Agreement with the London Knights, the team that drafted him with their first-round selection in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft on July 3rd. Nurmi will join the Knights, the defending OHL champions for the 2024-25 season.

Players who sign OHL contracts receive off-the-ice benefits. The league offers educational development services to help its young athletes achieve goals and accomplishments away from the hockey rink. Each OHL player is eligible for scholarships from their respective team, and the minimum scholarship for graduating players is tuition, books, and other fees toward an undergraduate degree for each season that they played in the OHL. Some scholarships even cover room and board.

Despite being a fourth-round selection, the Finnish forward, who played a shortened season (19 games) with KooKoo of Liiga in 2023-24, projects as a player with a shot at making the NHL. Nurmi was a point-per-game player in the U20 league. He also missed four months due to injury and spent most of the year rehabbing a lower-body injury.

"Nurmi's game is all about the hustle and the energy," says the 2023 Elite Prospects Draft Guide. "He brings it on the forecheck. He gets on opponents and makes them lose the puck and he consistently drives the middle in possession. Has good off-puck instincts, mostly when he is driving the weak side to the net, spacing and timing so that he could become a cross-ice passing option at the right time."

By signing Nurmi to his entry-level contract at this stage, the Islanders avoid a situation where the team could lose the player's rights if they are unable to sign him by a future date. Given his age, his ELC is also likely to slide one year to start during the 2025-26 season. The three-year ELC carries a $870K cap hit, an NHL salary of $775K, and a signing bonus of $95K. There is also a games-played bonus and a minor salary for each season.