Recapping the NY Islanders A+ Draft Class

Draft Grade: A+

The New York Islanders made nine selections during the NHL Draft, including three in the first round. In the process, they dramatically improved their prospect depth, giving them a top-ten pool in the whole league.

Round 1

The Islanders receive an A+ grade from me based on Day 1 itself. Just hours before the start, Mathieu Darche traded Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens for picks 16 & 17, and Emil Heineman. Instead of only having the No. 1 pick, they added two more.

With the first selection, the Islanders drafted Matthew Schaefer; it was a no-brainer. Aside from his on-ice abilities, Schaefer is praised for his maturity and positive character. He is easy to root for, regardless of which team you support.

I do not doubt that Schaefer will one day wear a letter on his jersey. He is a natural leader and the future star for the Islanders. His elite skating ability, high IQ, and ability to adapt to every situation set him up to be the perfect player to succeed. He has drawn comparisons to Miro Heiskanen, Jake Sanderson, and, according to TSN's Craig Button, Drew Doughty.

At pick No.16, Victor Eklund was called up. A projected top-ten pick fell into the Islanders' hands, making it an easy selection to take the best player available. Being undersized at 5'11", 161lbs, he is known for being a tenacious forechecker with a high motor.

He played for Djurgården IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan alongside Chicago's no.3 pick, Anton Frondell. Eklund led the team in goals with 19 and totaled 31 points. According to ESPN's coverage, his playing style is compared to Jesper Bratt, maybe even Brad Marchand. One day, he could slide nicely into the Islanders' middle 6 unit.

The following pick, No.17, the Islanders selected the Barrie Colts' Kashawn Aitcheson. The hard-hitting defenseman is known to be tough to play against, but has a scoring touch; he was 3rd among OHL defenseman with 26 goals. He was just under a point-per-game but led all Barrie players with 59 points. His NHL comparison is Darnell Nurse, but his hitting reminds me of Niklas Kronwall.

Aitcheson is known as an 'old school' defenseman. He loves to lay the body on opposing forwards and instill a sense of fear into the other team. Players better be aware of crossing onto his side of the ice, because the chances are he will look to take them out. Seeing him turn out to be a bottom 4 defenseman behind Schaefer would be a dream scenario.