A look at the top prospects of New York Islanders in the National Hockey League -NHL Special
If there is a National Hockey League (NHL) team, which has struggled the most in the last five years, it has to be New York Islanders, who have not even been able to make their place in the playoffs of the Stanley Cup in any of the years.
One of the main causes of their bad patch and poor performances has been lack of young players and future prospects, who can give their team a much better push and help them challenge for the title by using their fresh legs.
This season, in the NHL draft, Islanders main focus was getting defensemen, which they did by selecting blue liners in the all seven rounds of the draft. They did a lot of homework and did a lot of observations before selecting the players, which shows their
need for the prospects.
Islanders were able to draft few of the very talented players which can serve them in the future and would be very useful in years to come. Some of those names are listed below.
Griffin Reinhart
18-year-old Reinhart was Islanders’ first pick in the 2012 NHL draft, as he was selected 4th overall in the first round. The West Vancouver, British Columbia native has been playing for Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and
the big sized defenseman is expected to make his mark in NHL soon.
New York Islanders’ coach, Isles coach, Jack Capuano praised the player and his size as he said,
"You can see the skill level he has and why he was a top-five pick in this year's draft. He's a good-sized kid."
Ryan Strome
Ryan Strome was Islanders’ first pick in the 2011 NHL draft, selected 5th overall in the first round. The 19-year-old has been playing for Niagara Icedogs in the Ontario Hockey League and scored 100+ points in the 2010-2011 season.
The Mississauga, Ontario resident was very happy with the last season especially his performance in the world junior championships and wants to get better, as he said,
"I feel like it was a good year for me. Obviously, going back to junior I got to play in the World Junior Championships, which was big. [I have] another year of maturity and I've got some time to grow still.
Casey Cizikas
Casey Cizikas is also one of the few forwards that Islanders have got in prospects. The 21-year-old Canadian was picked in the 4th round of 2009 NHL draft at 92nd and made his NHL debut last season but failed to score any goals. He
did score four points, all of which were assists.
Calvan de Haan
The first round pick of the 2009 NHL draft, selected at 12th, Calvin de Haan is also a defenseman, who played for Oshawa Generals in the OHL and Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL, before making his NHL debut last season.
He did manage to play a game by the end of the season but his target is to cement his place in the team, as he said,
"It takes time. Maybe I won't start the year in the NHL, but my goal is to finish [there], for sure."
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