I LOVE This... | Top 15 Islanders Prospect Ranking

Today I'll be ranking the New York Islanders top prospects and since they have so many notable names I decided to make this a 15 player ranking as opposed to a 10 that I want to start with. So as a result we are going to jump right in because we have a lot of prospects to talk about. And at number 15 for the New York Islanders I have Wladimir Dziewiecki who they just drafted this year in the fifth round. He's one of two players I have from this year's draft. Yes he was the third prospect they picked but I just like his upside. When you look at what he did with the Brantford Bulldogs and you keep in mind who he was playing behind he is undersized which I think is why he slipped all the way to the fifth round on top of the fact that he just didn't have that production. But I'm putting him at number 15 on my board and I'm really excited to see what he does next season now he's gonna be playing on a new team in the OHL. We'll see especially since he just drafted there's gonna be a lot of volatility here. This tier this first year we have a 15 so we'll see how far it goes is the third tier of the pool. I've really split them up for tiers so you might mix people around in this tier round but I have Dziewiecki just making this list. And at 14 I have Jesse Polkinen. Jesse Polkinen had a really rough season to start getting sound sent down to the ECHL but then he kind of found his game. Towards the end of the season in the Bridgeport Islanders he looked a lot better and considering he is still just 21 years old and he is six foot six that gives him a bit more leeway. Now this year is a make or break year for Jesse Polkinen in terms of being in this prospect pool either he steps up and is one of the was a really solid second pair defenseman on the Bridgeport Islanders or if he struggles to stay in the AHSR in the Bridgeport Islanders the Hamilton Hammers if he struggles to stay up with the Hamilton Hammers again I do think this will drop him out of these lists permanently but he's still there again this is a tier of guys where you're kind of just hoping on some sort of upside. In Dziewiecki's case he has some really good possibilities of potential to be a Tony D'Angelo type player. Jesse Polkinen it's obvious what his upsides is is that six foot six frame we'll see how he progresses. Next in this tier I have Camille Van D'Arc. Camille Van D'Arc 13th overall in this pool is a player who just hasn't found his full identity in college yet at times I've noted that he just seems to default too much to Cole Eisman. I really like the toolkit here he just hasn't figured out how to use it yet still he's gonna go back next season to Boston University for his third season this time Cole Eisman will not be there and this team is really struggling with talent so hopefully Camille Van D'Arc can get a bigger role. Notably though with players like Tina Lawrence and Kayla Malhotra both going to Boston University to be interested to see how much ice time he can get. Hopefully for the Islanders Camille Van D'Arc can push one of those guys down if not I still think he has some potential as a fourth flying center which is why he's towards the bottom of this list. Some people write him off as a guy who has no shot because his fundamentals are so solid I think that raises the floor for Van D'Arc but if he doesn't figure out some kind of higher skill I can't put him any higher on this list although I really do like this player and I will still stand by him being worthy of being on the top 15 of the New York Islanders system. And then at 12 we have Thomas Polatine and this is where this list got really challenging. Thomas Polatine is the last player on the third tier so he's the best player out of the players I have in the third tier. I think he has a lot of potential. One thing interesting about him he was coming from a pro league and then played in the W.H.L. that's a really tough transition at times. You think it would be easier considering you're going to a league where you go from pro responsibility to a league where you're expecting a score. It can be challenging for players so I'm really curious to see what he does in the second year with the Tijuana Rockets. Still in what he did this year a 35 points and 43 game played it's solid and when you factor in he's a pro type player he plays with good size he has a good pace this game he's a guy who I think has a very clear floor as a fourth line player and we'll see if he can build more. I think there is a clear pathway for him to become a third line type guy in the future. The foundation he showed last season with the Rockets was very solid. What he's going to have to do is he's going to have to show more scoring ability in the W.H.L. and his team is likely going to be losing a lot of talent a lot of guys going pro he's going to have the opportunity to play more. I will also note he was very good in the world of the 2020 championships where he just showed when the competition steps up he kind of sticks with his same game and it translates well. I think that will bode well for him in the future. He had six points in that tournament for the Czech Republic U20. I like Bolten's game I really like his frame. We'll see if he can really dominate next season in the W.H.L. where he should be able to dominate because he'll be like one of the biggest players remaining in the W.H.L. Now we move up a tier and this is where I have Xavier Veliu one of the perhaps the most underrated prospect in the Islander system. I don't see people talking about this guy and they absolutely should and the reason why he doesn't get talked about he's drafted in the sixth round in 2024. You know look at what he's done since then already at Cornell University he put up 26 points in his freshman season the year before that he was very clutch for the Monks and Lumberjacks and very notably he kind of turned his game up in the playoffs. Well the points went down he's one of the key reasons why they won that championship that's when he really caught my attention and I was like well we really need to see what he does in college to see if he's a big time prospect or he just had a lucky stretch and not not lucky but if he just had a good stretch or can he can stay in it he ends up going to Cornell and absolutely outshining my expectations. He's improved defensively as well but the key here is now he's putting up more points if you watch Xavier Veliu skate he's a very strong skater. I don't know what the Islanders are going to do with all the left-hand defensemen in this system but Xavier Veliu is absolutely an asset for this team and there is a future where he is on the New York Islanders playing big minutes because of the depth of their system it's really hard to see him being a second pair defenseman but that's potentially his ceiling the very least I think this is a guy who can clearly be a third player player in the NHL and defensemen who can play in your third pair are more are very valuable I think they're much more valuable than people think they are this was a great pick for the New York Islanders I'm really curious to see how he continues to develop. Continuing down this tier at where are we at now at 10th overall I have Jacob I feel insane for putting Jacob Koznika at 10th this year he had an incredible season for the Pentagon Vs last year in the WHL but 85 points really showed that the U.S. national development team was misdeploying him and he's not the only player we've seen like this in fact I almost think it's a good strategy at this point to kind of draft guys who struggle in the U.S. national development team because they really struggle to divvy up ice time and really develop everyone the right way but we've seen Koznika taking that big step he then proceeds to have 15 points in 15 playoff games he's going to college next year and I'm very curious to see how he performs if he starts the season very hot continue to say he puts up over half a point per game in his freshman season in hockey or even more him being so young his birthday isn't until August 10th so one of the youngest players in the class next year only older than Matthew Schaefer by a month if he continues to show production and steps it up into the college level I think he'll quickly find his way to the top five of the school I believe in this player a lot and one thing worth noting while he is a bit smaller his defensive game is very strong that's why the U.S. team took a long look at him this year I have high hopes for Jacob Koznika for his inconsistencies that shows that he should not have gone in the seventh round and a great pick by the New York Islanders there's one thing I want to highlight a lot of these guys in this top 15 and now going to the top 10 were drafted within by Matthew Darge so a good job drafting so far again we have to see who pans out but very good so far going into the ninth slot and there's not a lot of space between these two players for me Jacob Koznika I'm hoping for him to have the college career that Quinn Finley had because Quinn Finley has had that career I put in the head I really like Quinn Finley's game I don't think his end of season at the University of Winconsin was really showcasing how good he is again we know with his shoulder injury he was playing injured just 21 years old and now going to have his first season in the AHL if he can produce at this level I see him as a player who will be a key contributor for the Islanders future third line which is going to have a lot of options as they continue to fill this prospect pool with a lot of good two-way players and Quinn Finley is absolutely one of those players going to number eight I have Daniil Prokhorov who perhaps is not as well rounded as a player as Quinn Finley but I don't think it matters the absolute upside of Daniil Prokhorov is ridiculous he has insanely good hands he is a really strong player he's six foot five and he showed last year that he can hang with men when he played in the KHL it was not all that strong but he was able to play in the KHL a year after getting drafted you do get credit for that absolutely the fact he forced his way to make that team even if they just didn't trust him to give him more than five minutes a game he still made that team and then when they sent him down to the VHL that's what he showed this is a player with a lot of potential and then keep in mind the VHL is basically the Russian version of the AHL and he put up 18 points in 25 games so he showed he can play against men even though he's a younger player although a lot of question marks in his draft year if he could dominate the same way using his six foot five frame when he plays against bigger players he kind of answered a lot of those questions in fact it was interesting to note but I think he was better in the VHL the AHL version of KHL than he was in the MHL next season he will be playing in the AHL which is brilliant for his development because I think the KHL and just Russia in general has handled that terribly now under the Islanders system what they really need to focus on with Prokhorov is teaching him the fundamentals of how to play defense he's a very skilled player but very very raw while more of a project this is a guy who I can see maybe even becoming a top six player if they can put it all together but if not he could be a very violent fourth liner and that is just an intriguing player and you look at the Islander system they don't have another player like Daniil Prokhorov he's their only potential power forward and that does help him a lot in these rankings where he might not be as technically good as Quinn Finley right now but you just look at the tools he has he can do stuff that Quinn Finley will never be able to do up next we have Danny Nelson a player that I am still very high on a lot of people don't love Danny Nelson because his play is very similar year after year he doesn't really experiment a lot he's a very safe center that's exactly why I love Danny Nelson while he hasn't exploded in the college level it's important to note the way he plays translates brilliantly to the NHL in a bottom six role my hopes for him is he can continue to improve and really show some progression on his points this season where he can project more as a third line center in the future but if not Danny Nelson is the type of fourth line center that you win championships with and when we saw him play on the U.S. team for the world tournament we saw that he can play pretty much on a fourth line in the NHL right now which gives me a lot of confidence in this player yes the ceiling isn't as high as some other guys but I don't think there's anything to worry I think his floor is already in NHL I think he could play in the NHL right now if he didn't want to stay at Notre Dame to play with his brothers I think he would be on the Islanders fourth line giving Casey Zika as a run for his money for that center position in fact by the end of the season I think he's gonna play for the New York Islanders some people have concerns that he's not going to sign with the team there's no reason except paranoia at this point in time to think Danny Nelson's leaving he's made it very clear he just wants to play with all his brothers in Notre Dame notably his younger brother Sammy Nelson is a prospect I'm looking for the Islanders consider taking in the first round next season but that is way too early for that we have no idea where Sammy Nelson's gonna be we have no idea where the Islanders gonna be but for now Danny Nelson is a good prospect for the Islanders and I just don't see any risk in him going anywhere despite people's concerns and then six for the New York Islanders I have Isaiah George I'm still counting Isaiah George as a prospect typically when a player has played enough games where they no longer qualify for the Collider I no longer consider them as a prospect because he was at prospect camp and basically spent the entire season in the AHL I'm accounting Isaiah George and although last season didn't go the way we hoped and talked about we wanted it going on this channel my opinion of Isaiah George has not changed at all I think he is a smooth skating defenseman who has the size to stick in the NHL at six foot one he's not huge but he has a solid size he has a strong frame and most importantly he knows how to move the puck well last season I saw him as a fringe top four defensive prospect I still think that's the case and when you look at his age a lot of people are going to give him criticism for not making the NHL last season most defensemen drafted outside the first round at age 21 are not NHL mainstays so as long as he challenges for the team early this season I don't think his development has been hindered in any way in fact I think the reason why the Islanders kept him in the AHL was to give him more of a normal development plan and now that he's had that experience I'm hoping that he can take Scott Mayfield's job whether he's playing on I really like Isaiah George's game I think he is going to be a key player on this team moving forward at least an option on their defense which is absolutely stacked and with this this Isaiah George is my top player in that second tier of Islanders prospects now we move on to the first tier of Islanders prospects and we start that tier with Dimitri Gamson Dimitri Gamson is absolutely a one-tier prospect in this system he's 23 years old that is normal for goaltenders at six foot three he has a really good height so you don't have to worry about him being too small for the NHL game and then with his numbers at CSKA Moscow of course you're not going to worry they're absolutely ridiculous last season there was a lot of talk about Dimitri Gamson being a top goaltending prospect and I held the brakes because this guy he really emerged quickly in terms of establishing himself two seasons ago or I guess three seasons ago at CSKA Moscow he had a 937 but he didn't play a lot of games when people were calling him a top prospect to the Islanders I was like okay dial down the hype a bit then the year after that he put up a 928 but he's playing a backup role so I was still cautious last season he was the starter for CSKA Moscow in the KHL in 40 games play he put up a 938 save percentage I no longer have doubts in addition he had a 929 save percentage in the playoffs note CSKA Moscow was not as good last season as they've been in the past and still the numbers are absolutely dominant the Islanders have a really good goaltender prospect in this system I'm not putting him on the scale with Sorokin I understand the numbers are starting to get pretty similar I see him as more a Varlamov type that might scare you Varlamov in his prime was one of the top 10 goaltenders in the NHL there's very high potential and I'm super excited for in two years when he comes to play with the New York Islanders to see what they have in this prospect very little doubt at this point we'll see if that backfires but at this point he's shown a consistent workload and shown that he can be a true starter in the NHL a great pick at 115th overall in 2024 then we move down to fourth overall in this Islanders prospect and this is where I have Cole Eisman Cole Eisman he does have that bit of hit or miss in his game but what he also has is an absolutely insane shot the more I watch him the more I believe in that shot and the fact that the rest of the game will even out his play in the AHL I think is a lot of concerns and while we didn't see the scoring that's the one thing I'm not concerned about I am confident that Cole Eisman will be able to score goals the question is can he exist in a pro game when he's not scoring and last year in the AHL for the Richmond Islanders the answer was yes super excited to see Cole Eisman him being four is not a knock on him in fact I think his stock went up last year even though the points were down at Boston University he was injured and I highly recommend you check out what he was playing on that Boston University roster it was a mess Cole Hudson's numbers also went down significantly so it's not concerning that Cole Eisman's numbers went down and notably they didn't go down until he hurt his leg which isn't looking like a concern so very high on Cole Eisman so in fact he is still 19 years old so if he plays a full season in the Bridgeport Islanders that would not be an issue for his development at all he is well on pace for schedule I think it's perfect that he played two in college and then moved to New York Islanders we'll see what he does next season very high on him at number three this is perhaps my most controversial take and let me know I'm sure you guys were debating ones like later on earlier on like the 15th 14th or 13th let me know in the comments what you think about these rankings where you would put everyone I have Kashawn Ageson at three I think he's the third best prospect in this system and again like I said this is not a knock on Kashawn Ageson. Kashawn Ageson I loved his stock last year as we got to know why the Islanders drafted him and he absolutely skyrocketed after his playoffs in the OHL at this point I am more and more confident that Kashawn Ageson is going to be a top four defenseman in the NHL you look at what he did last year he increased the points he was also more physical everything you love to see for Kashawn Ageson and finally he's going to be playing in the AHL I do think it'll take him a bit of time to translate a lot of people are hoping he starts in the Islanders not going to happen in my opinion in my opinion Isaiah George is on the fast track to be playing as like their young defenseman like Schaefer was last season I do see him as a potential injury replacement I think the plan for Kashawn Ageson is to have a really good season in the AHL and then transition maybe the NHL the year after that but the 28 goals it's funny people called it a fluke that he scored 26 the year before he scored more in less games last season absolute beast was playing like 30 minutes a game in the OHL playoffs the only reason I have him third is because I think Malte Gustafsson is an even better defenseman on the left side no hate against Kashawn Ageson Malte Gustafsson is just that good if you watch my video on Malte Gustafsson you knew this was coming in the SHL last season he played 27 games only had three assists the key there is he played in the SHL was a minus eight but when you look at HB 7-1 that was not that bad and again he's a six foot four defenseman who skates well 200 pounds who played in his draft year in the SHL you also consider the ages this is a factor here when you consider how much you may have to develop Malte Gustafsson was one of the younger players in this draft so for him to have that size for him to already be playing pro very green flags I hope next season in the SHL where he'll be playing he puts up more offense and then maybe the last game of the season like Victor Eklund did he could be playing in the NHL and speaking of Victor Eklund I think it was pretty obvious my number one prospect in the Islander system is Victor Eklund I don't think there's a flaw in this player in fact I think it's ridiculous that his 5'11 height brought him all the way down to 16 he should have been drafted in the top 10 I think he showed signs of that last season and next year he's going to affirm that he should have been a top 10 pick in this draft you look at Victor Eklund in the SHL some people were getting concerned when he wasn't putting a lot of points I saw the comments I saw people on Twitter questioning I saw a lot of Montreal fans questioning him listen it is not easy to play in the SHL which is why I give Gustafsson a lot of credit but then as the season went on he got more and more trust from Gear Gardens and as he got more trust the team played better and by the end of the season he was playing on their top line and you saw in the playoffs he put up three points in three games then he comes to the AHL puts up over a point per game earns himself a call up to the Islanders in the end of the season and he gets an assist I don't know if he's going to start the season in the NHL I think he should it's gonna be dependent on his training camp he definitely isn't threatening at a training camp to take somebody's job if he does not make the NHL though I think this is a player who we're waiting for an injury and then he's going to start his career so it might be a thing like Cal Richie where he doesn't make the team and then three games at the AHL season he gets called up we'll see what happens but absolutely love Victor Eklund this is a very strong top prospect to have in a pool listen the Islanders don't have any true tier one guys in their system Victor Eklund though I think is the top prospect on more than half the teams in the NHL he's a really solid player who I think has a very long future in the NHL just being an absolute pest and the guy that you put in your top line to feed your top guy and that's gonna do it for this episode of Islanders Digest let me know where you have all these prospects who do you think I'm too high on who do you think I'm too low on I think this is going to be a really interesting season for these prospects I'm thinking of maybe doing these prospect rankings twice a year one during the summer and one during the middle of the year where we really see how these guys are going in their respective leagues I think especially towards the later half of this prospect ranking that ranking is really going to shift as the year goes on but I think the top five of the Islanders system it's really a poor five and I think that's pretty set in stone I'd be stunned if anyone cracks that five maybe we'll have to change it once Victor Eklund and guys like that graduate but that's gonna do it for this episode of Islanders Digest let's go Islanders thanks for watching