The NY Islanders have the ninth best U23 group in the NHL

The NY Islanders prospect pipeline continues to improve its perception around the hockey landscape, as Corey Pronman and The Athletic have ranked the organization No. 9 among all NHL pipelines. 

Pronman’s rankings don’t just consist of strictly prospects. It takes into account all players under 23 years old, regardless of NHL experience. Using this method, the Islanders have a leg up on most other organizations simply by having Matthew Schaefer.

Two things stand out when viewing Pronman’s rankings within the Islanders pipeline - the first being Victor Eklund, ranked the Isles’ sixth-best U23 player. Outside of Schaefer, the perception is that the Swede is either the franchise's best or second-best prospect behind Kashawn Aitcheson. Pronman ranks Aitcheson second, with Malte Gustafsson, Daniil Prokhorov, and Danny Nelson ahead of Eklund. 

Among the attributes used to determine a player's ranking is their compete level. Nine of the 11 players ranked have a compete ranking above NHL average or high-end, with Aitcheson receiving the highest ranking and Calum Ritchie (ranked No. 7) the lowest at below NHL average.

Over the past few NHL Drafts, the Islanders have made an effort to select players with a high motor and physicality in their game. While all these players may not become top-line forwards or top-pairing defensemen, their style of play should make them difficult to play against, giving them all a chance to become full-time NHLers.

Of course, these are just projections. We could see names fall off this list, and we could see names join it. But for the next three seasons with Schaefer still eligible, we can expect the Islanders to be near the top of the group.

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