The NY Islanders select goaltender Marcus Gidlof 147th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft

The NY Islanders have made it a point of emphasis to improve their goaltending depth within the organization, selecting their second netminder of the 2024 NHL Draft, taking Marcus Gidlof of Leksands IF 147th overall.

As the league is trending towards massive goaltenders, the Islanders get one who stands 6'6" to go along with current prospect Henrik Tikanen, who's 6'8".

Playing in Sweden's J20 last year, Gidlof posted a .923 SV% while allowing 2.22 goals per game. He appeared in one SHL game with Leksands but was lit up for 8 goals on 13 shots.

At 18 years old, Gidlof is still extremely raw in his development, but with his size has the world at his hands.

"His biggest strength is his ability to track pucks through traffic and after rebounds," says David Phillips of FCHockey. " He consistently uses his height to get sightlines and can track the puck off his pads to find a rebound."

Not only does Gidlof have the height, but he has some mass to him, unlike many other goalies. At 212 lbs, he's called a behemoth in net, allowing the shooter very few options of where to shoot.

For those who followed Day 2 of the NHL Draft on NHL Network and saw this pick, Jason Bukala of Sporstent says you need to allow many of these young goaltending prospects 6-7 years before they're ready to make an impact in the NHL. Of course, some prospects make it much earlier, but there are plenty more who we never hear of.

Selecting two goaltenders in this year's draft, the Islanders have solidified their goaltending depth, with Gidlof and Gamzin joining Tikanen and Tristan Lennox.

Taking two netminders may seem a bit odd, but the Islanders needed to improve all aspects of their prospect pool including between the pipes.