The New York Islanders have always had the most success when building a team through the draft. The development part can be discussed at a later time, but you can’t deny that even the consecutive Conference Finals a few years ago had mostly been players that were drafted by the organization. A year ago I came up with my own take of what makes a core which seems to coincide with the way the Islanders continue their philosophy and thoughts on the players they’ve drafted. Like Bill Torrey in the past, current Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has kept the group intact for another season and beyond with a full belief in the squad. However, Lamoriello has traded some younger players, let go of an aging one and continues to retool for the present, something Torrey did do, just a bit late by a few years. So with this was the “Core” of the Islanders last season:
The “Twilight†Core
Casey Cizikas 2009 Draft C, Josh Bailey 2008 Draft RW, Scott Mayfield 2011 Draft D
The Core
Brock Nelson 2012 Draft C, Anders Lee 2009 Draft LW, Adam Pelech 2012 Draft D
The “Young†Core
Mat Barzal 2015 Draft C, Anthony Beauvillier 2015 Draft LW, Ryan Pulock 2013 D
The “Future†Core
Aatu Räty 2021 Draft C, Noah Dobson 2018 Draft D, Oliver Wahlstrom 2018 Draft RW, Kieffer Bellows 2016 Draft LW, Simon Holmstrom 2019 Draft RW, Samuel Bolduc 2019 Draft D, Robin Salo 2017 Draft D
With Bailey no longer on the team can you move Brock Nelson into the “Twilight” core? Is he really in his “Twilight” years? He better not be, but Isles fans wouldn’t be shocked if it came in time. Luckily for the Islanders they still have their 2008 LW draft pick, Matt Martin. Remember, they don’t have to put up flashy numbers, but a multiple Bob Nystrom Award winner can be labeled as a member of the core. So the new Islanders “Twilight” core looks like this:
Casey Cizikas 2009 Draft C, Matt Martin 2008 Draft LW, Scott Mayfield 2011 Draft D
“The Core” remains the same with Nelson, Lee and Pelech
the “Young” Core certainly has changed. With Beauvillier and Räty now with Vancouver, Bellows is currently a UFA and the other forwards are close but there are only two players left who could be part of this particular core: Oliver Wahlstrom and Ruslan Iskhakov. If Oliver Wahlstrom can have the breakout year Islander fans are hoping for, then the team is intact for next set of core players developing elsewhere. So the “Young” core looks like this:
Mat Barzal 2015 Draft C, Oliver Wahlstrom 2018 RW, Ryan Pulock 2013 D
The “Future” Core has added a few players who are still developing but could step in at a moments notice if any of the above players either get injured or traded:
Noah Dobson 2018 Draft D, Simon Holmstrom 2019 Draft RW, Samuel Bolduc 2019 Draft D, Robin Salo 2017 Draft D, Otto Koivula 2016 Draft C/LW, Ruslan Iskhakov 2018 Draft C/LW Aiden Fulp 2018 Draft RD
So here is the final makeup of this years Islanders “Core”
“Twilight” Core
Casey Cizikas 2009 Draft C, Matt Martin 2008 Draft LW, Scott Mayfield 2011 Draft D
The Core
Brock Nelson 2012 Draft C, Anders Lee 2009 Draft LW, Adam Pelech 2012 Draft D
The “Young†Core
Mat Barzal 2015 Draft C/RW, Oliver Wahlstrom 2018 RW, Ryan Pulock 2013 D
The “Future†Core
Noah Dobson 2018 Draft D, Simon Holmstrom 2019 Draft RW, Samuel Bolduc 2019 Draft D, Robin Salo 2017 Draft D, Otto Koivula 2016 Draft C/LW, Ruslan Iskhakov 2018 Draft C/LW Aiden Fulp 2018 Draft RD
PK
