Reflecting on the New York Islanders 2014 First-Round Draft Picks

The New York Islanders truly missed the boat in the 2014 draft. They had impact players are their disposal, but failed to land one of them.

This reflection started with the news of Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year contract extension. Reading the news pieces on the deal, one of them mentioned that Draisaitl was the third overall pick in the 2014 Draft.

So, my mind started wandering. A question quickly emerged: Who was selected ahead of Draisaitl that year?

The answer was at my fingertips. NHL.com shows Aaron Ekblad went first overall to the Florida Panthers while Sam Reinhart went second to the Buffalo Sabres. Both players won a Cup last year in Florida. So, we can say they turned out all right.

Then, Draisaitl went third to the Oilers while Sam Bennett, yes that Sam Bennett, went fourth to the Calgary Flames. Coincidentally, Bennett was also on last year’s Panthers championship team.

That situation brings us to the fifth overall pick. The New York Islanders selected Michael Dal Colle. By all accounts, Dal Colle was a bust. If you count top-five picks as major busts, Dal Colle would qualify as one. Dal Colle played in parts of five seasons with the Isles, totaling 112 games and 21 points.

He was gone by 2022 and has not made it back to the NHL since.

Then, the New York Islanders had another first-round pick. At 28th overall, the Isles took Joshua Ho-Sang. I really liked Ho-Sang. He looked like he could’ve done something big in the NHL. However, he lasted parts of three seasons, playing in 53 games and totaling 24 points.

Another sad bust. The last I heard of Ho-Sang, he got a PTO from the Toronto Maple Leafs, landing with the team’s AHL affiliate Marlies.

So, with two first-round picks and two busts, who could have the Isles selected instead? Let's go down that painful road.

Players the New York Islanders Could Have Selected in the 2014 NHL Draft

Let’s go back to the fifth overall pick. Following Dal Colle, the Vancouver Canucks took Jake Virtanen sixth while the Carolina Hurricanes took Haydn Fleury seventh. Looks like those two clubs also missed the mark.

But then, the Toronto Maple Leafs of all teams took William Nylander eighth. Yikes. The Winnipeg Jets took Nikolaj Ehlers next, while the Nashville Predators picked up Kevin Fiala eleventh. If you really want to rub it in, the Detroit Red Wings took Dylan Larkin at 15th.

Now, let’s look at the 28th pick. Well, the Los Angeles Kings to Adrian Kempe at 29th. The Vancouver Canucks took Thatcher Demko at 36th.

All right, well, the Isles took Ilya Sorokin in the third round of that draft, so it’s not worth going there. But isn’t the thought of a Sorokin-Demko tandem mind-boggling?

All in all, the New York Islanders really dropped the ball with this draft. The most notable outcome was Sorokin. The Isles also drafted Devon Toews, but we’ll chalk him up as one of those who got away.

Beyond that 2014, could go down as one of the most regrettable drafts for the Isles. Let’s thank Leon Draisaitl for reminding us of that.