The NY Islanders take a sleeper in Luca Romano with pick No. 74 in the 2025 NHL Draft

At this point in the NHL Draft, teams are looking for a diamond in the rough where need goes out the window and the front office takes who they believe is the best available player. That's what it appears the NY Islanders have done, selecting Luca Romano with pick No. 74.

Romano is a forward with a full tool-kit while having smarts about him. His most prominent skill is his speed and puck-handling. While he doesn't dazzle with incredible dekes with the puck on his stick, he's efficient and tends to make the smart play.

The Isles select Luca Romano in the third-round

"He's not necessarily a dynamic offensive player with possession, but he has the tools for it," says Mitchell Brown, Director of North American Scouting for Elite Prospects. "He toe-dragged off a reception to get off the wall for a high danger chance, for example. And he has shooting and passing skills at speed. It just comes down to leveraging his crossovers more, changing pace, and taking the middle early.

Many scouts had a second-round ranking on Romano, but the Isles were able to scoop him in the third round.

Playing for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL this season, Romano finished this season with 51 points (25 G, 26 A) in 67 games, finishing fourth on the team in goals for a Rangers team with the second most points in the OHL's Western Conference.

At 5'11", Romano doesn't have the size of a typical third-line center, but he has some comparables to JG Pageau as an undersized center capable of putting up points and being responsible in the defensive end.

It'll be awkward seeing him playing in a Rangers jersey when he returns to the OHL, but Romano will have no issue knowing which part of New York he belongs to once he reaches the NHL.