The Islanders' biggest training camp battle could be on the wings

The New York Islanders are currently in a grey area: some veterans are pushing to make the team playoff contenders, while their young guys are ready for a full-time shot. It'll be up to Pete DeBoer and Mathieu Darche to decide whether to make the team younger and build a roster around Matthew Schaefer, or try to keep their window open with the veterans.  

The team can still contend with Matthew Schaefer, a 19-year-old who defies the usual waiting period before being relied on in big minutes. Still, prospects like Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman could cause the team to take a slight step back in the interim. It would be great for the team's future and a step the organization may need to take, but the Islanders have been reluctant to do it in the past.

Anthony Duclair, Kyle Palmieri, Ondrej Palat, and Pierre Engvall will take up four of the wing spots, although Duclair and Engvall are currently projected to start on the fourth line. Simon Holmstrom and Matias Maccelli are currently slated for the third line, which could've been two spots for Eklund and Eiserman. However, the young duo, along with Calum Ritchie, would be an intriguing way to fill in three of the four middle-six spots.

Palmieri, Ritchie, Maccelli, Holmstrom, Duclair, Palat, Mathew Barzal, and Emil Heineman are the easy wing choices for the opening night roster. The problem for Eklund and Eiserman could be more about who they can knock out rather than whether they'll perform well enough at camp to do it.

If Cole Eiserman and Victor Eklund are in, who is out?

Engvall, in the fourth year of his seven-year deal handed out by Lou Lamoriello, seems like the easy answer for who will be the odd man out if Eiserman and Eklund earn their spots. After sitting out the entire 2025-26 season and his unfavorable contract, teams aren't lining up to take him off the Islanders' hands, which means he could end up in the AHL again, as he did in 2024-25.

Maccelli was a cheap, $2.25 million add for Darche, and a contract that can easily become the 13th forward if the young players earn their spot on the roster. It might've been easier to just not make the signing and account for one of those players making the team, but that cap hit isn't going to hurt you in the press box.

The opportunity is there for Eiserman and Eklund to make this a much more exciting team on the Island this season. It's just up to the players to earn it and for the general manager and head coach to give them the chance.

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