Prospect Info: 2023-24 Prospect Thread

[xECK29x]

This season I'll just update the first post each Monday instead of a copy/paste of a table each time.

+ = on IR or just hurt
# = season complete

PLAYER	POS	ACQUIRED	HFB RANK	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
William Dufour	RW	2020 round 5 #152	1	Bridgeport Islanders	52	15	10	25	29	-12
Samuel Bolduc	D	2019 round 2 #57	2	New York Islanders	33	1	2	3	6	-5
				Bridgeport Islanders	5	1	0	1	2	2
Matthew Maggio	RW	2022 round 5 #142	3	Bridgeport Islanders	58	16	9	25	20	-2
Simon Holmstrom	RW/LW	2019 round 1 #23	4	New York Islanders	72	14	9	23	14	-1
Danny Nelson #	C	2023 round 2 #49	5	Univ. of Notre Dame	30	9	14	23	32	5
				USA U20	7	1	1	2	0	4
Ruslan Iskhakov	C/LW	2018 round 2 #43	6	Bridgeport Islanders	67	17	31	48	30	-16
Tyce Thompson	RW	Trade		Utica Comets	15	0	5	5	12	4
				Bridgeport Islanders	47	3	10	13	54	-19
Calle Odelius	D	2022 round 2 #65	8	Djugardens IF	10	0	4	4	2	0
				Djugardens IF (Playoffs)	2	0	1	1	2	0
				Sweden U20	8	0	1	1	8	-
Robin Salo	D	2017 round 2 #46	9	Bridgeport Islanders	64	5	18	23	22	-12
Isaiah George	D	2022 round 4 #98	10	London Knights	68	6	24	30	54	26
				London (Playoffs)	4	1	2	3	0	5
Alex Jefferies	LW	2020 round 4 #121	11	Merrimack College	22	13	10	23	19	1
				Bridgeport Islanders	8	3	1	4	0	-1
Eetu Liukas	LW	2021 round 5 #157	12	Bridgeport Islanders	45	3	4	7	34	-13
Quinn Finley #	LW	2022 round 3 #78	13	Univ. of Wisconsin	35	9	6	15	16	4
				USA U20	7	1	1	2	0	2
Jesse Nurmi #	LW	2023 round 4 #113	14	KooKoo	19	0	2	2	2	-7
				KooKoo U20	6	4	4	8	0	-2
				Finland U20	6	0	2	2	0	-
Aleksi Malinen #	D	2021 round 6 #189	15T	JYP	15	0	2	2	0	-3
Zach Schulz #	D	2023 round 6 #177	HM1	Univ. of Wisconsin	33	2	4	6	6	4
Cameron Berg #	C	2021 round 4 #125	HM2	Univ. of North Dakota	40	20	17	37	8	7
Daylan Kuefler	LW	2022 round 6 #174	HM3	Worcester Railers	17	5	3	8	9	-4
				Bridgeport Islanders	19	3	3	6	37	-1
Aidan Fulp	D	UFA		Bridgeport Islanders	47	1	4	5	14	-19
Justin Gill	C	2023 round 5 #145		Baie-Comeau Drakkar	65	40	58	98	66	57
				Baie-Comeau (Playoffs)	4	3	4	7	2	4
Dennis Good Bogg #	D	2023 round 7 #209		AIK J20	18	1	4	5	45	-5
				AIK	10	0	1	1	0	1
				Vallentuna Hockey	7	0	1	1	10	-1
				Brodernas/Vasby	4	0	0	0	2	-2
				Östersunds IK	8	0	1	1	6	-4
				Östersunds IK (Playoffs)	1	0	0	0	0	0
Alexander Ljungkrantz #	LW/RW	2020 round 3 #90		Almtuna IS	44	20	12	32	8	-7
				Farjestad BK	8	0	0	0	0	-1
Travis Mitchell	D	UFA		Bridgeport Islanders	34	1	3	4	36	-6
Reece Newkirk	C	2019 round 5 #147		Bridgeport Islanders	15	1	2	3	2	1
				Worcester Railers	10	5	4	9	2	4
Matias Rajaniemi	D	2020 round 6 #183		SaiPa	53	0	8	8	18	-24
				Bridgeport Islanders	0	0	0	0	0	0
GOALIES					GP	GAA	SV%	SO	W-L-T
Tristan Lennox	G	2021 round 3 #93	15T	Worcester Railers	13	2.94	.909	0	5-6-1
Jakub Skarek	G	2018 round 3 #72		Bridgeport Islanders	34	3.15	.890	0	7-21-5
Henrik Tikkanen	G	2020 round 7 #214	Currently UFA	Bridgeport Islanders	16	2.17	.927	0	7-5-2
				Worcester Railers	18	3.25	.890	0	10-6-1

Click to read more...

 

[Potvottier]

Ish may be our best prospect right now, skill wise, but what about the other aspects of hockey?

What's his defensive game like? Does he work hard ALL the time? Does he listen to the coaches, or do his own (HoSang) thing? Does he blame others for his mistakes?

IDK... but the coaches probably do.

 

[Osakahaus]

Absolutely nuts that he hasn't gotten an opportunity yet. Like it or not, but he's probably our best prospect right now, and we may lose him to Russia.

if he goes to Russia then its another Golyshev IMO

 

[iggy]

Is there a secret to how to stop these ridiculous constant pop-ups?

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Ish may be our best prospect right now, skill wise, but what about the other aspects of hockey?

What's his defensive game like? Does he work hard ALL the time? Does he listen to the coaches, or do his own (HoSang) thing? Does he blame others for his mistakes?

IDK... but the coaches probably do.

Defensively and without puck in general he’s not good, he has played some wing and he is better in those situations. He isn’t slow persay but he isn’t a burner with a good burst like a lot of smaller guys. His skating is mostly why I don’t think he is NHLer. Could be put up some points on PP? Sure he could but 5 on 5 he’s too much of liability IMO. I think he’s KHL bound, he’s probably at that level as a player and he can make a ton more money.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Defensively and without puck in general he’s not good, he has played some wing and he is better in those situations. He isn’t slow persay but he isn’t a burner with a good burst like a lot of smaller guys. His skating is mostly why I don’t think he is NHLer. Could be put up some points on PP? Sure he could but 5 on 5 he’s too much of liability IMO. I think he’s KHL bound, he’s probably at that level as a player and he can make a ton more money.

We knew all this the year he was drafted.

You simply do not waste draft picks on miniature skill players who do not have separation level speed.

This has been shown time and time and time again.

***
I still think we see him in the show should the Isles be mathematically eliminated.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Absolutely nuts that he hasn't gotten an opportunity yet. Like it or not, but he's probably our best prospect right now, and we may lose him to Russia.

I’d disagree he’s our best prospect. I think Nelson, Odelius are as far as guys not in pro hockey here and too me Maggio is best prospect in Bridgeport currently. Maggio is going to be a really good third liner who plays on both special teams units.

 

[leeroggy]

We knew all this the year he was drafted.

You simply do not waste draft picks on miniature skill players who do not have separation level speed.

This has been shown time and time and time again.

***
I still think we see him in the show should the Isles be mathematically eliminated.

2018 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com

A sortable list of players drafted in the 2018 NHL Entry draft, including their career scoring after being drafted

www.hockeydb.com

Not exactly a lot of players drafted after him that has lit a fire under a fan base . . .

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

2018 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com

A sortable list of players drafted in the 2018 NHL Entry draft, including their career scoring after being drafted

www.hockeydb.com

Not exactly a lot of players drafted after him that has lit a fire under a fan base . . .

I remember that when he was drafted, my posts here were, well, on the negative side.

One of my first claims was that even if the Isles had wanted to go the Russian route here because they were enamored by the performance at the U18 Worlds, they should have taken Marchenko. He was big and brawny. Admittedly, I was kind of into Groulx, Hallander, and Gustafsson as possible 2nd round centers for us, feeling that was a position we needed to be targeting. None has amounted to much, even if Gustafsson has 110 NHL games under his belt.

Going even further, when they took Skarek, I remember posting how it was an interesting pick, but questionable in light of Dostal still being on the board. As in, if you're gonna take a Czech goaltender, why Skarek ahead of Dostal?

At the time, I thought it was a really nice draft by the Isles. In essence, Dobson is the one guy of note who has come from it, what with Wahlstrom becoming a non-factor.

BTW, Romanov was taken in that draft too!

 

[xECK29x]

I continue to be amazed at how horrific Skarek's stat lines are.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I continue to be amazed at how horrific Skarek's stat lines are.

And they looked that bad throughout his entire time here.

It certainly didn't look like he needed to be re-upped for two years last summer.

 

[MJF]

And they looked that bad throughout his entire time here.

It certainly didn't look like he needed to be re-upped for two years last summer.

I'm still waiting for an explanation for why Henrik Tikkanen was the odd man out in Bridgeport.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I'm still waiting for an explanation for why Henrik Tikkanen was the odd man out in Bridgeport.

Honestly, I think the idea behind it was to give Bridgeport a shot at a better draft position....

***
I'd like to think it was to give Worcester a better shot at making the playoffs. They were still in the running when they sent him back down.

 

[MJF]

Honestly, I think the idea behind it was to give Bridgeport a shot at a better draft position....

***
I'd like to think it was to give Worcester a better shot at making the playoffs. They were still in the running when they sent him back down.

Probably this. Appleby would just drag Worcester down.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Probably this. Appleby would just drag Worcester down.

I still can't get over how awful both he and Skarek have looked in a number of viewings this season.

Sure, the team has had some bad outings, but it really isn't nearly as bad as its place in the standings. On paper, the forward and defense crews are strong enough for one of the final playoff spots if you have stronger goaltending.

So many times this year, you could just see the guys getting so knocked out by the types of out-of-nowhere and unnecessary goals against... I mean, I've played on teams where our goalies were just so inefficient that it basically killed our spirit and had us psychologically collapsing every time the game started falling apart.

Sure, these guys are pros, but the body language has often been very telling.

 

[seafoam]

Cameron Berg returning to North Dakota for his senior season.

https://x.com/undmhockey/status/1778176454397665416?s=46

 

[Tahoeblue]

Hockey Prospect Radio segment on NHL Sirius Radio highlight 3 Isles prospects this afternoon. In Order
Ish
Nelson
Odellius

The host praised the Isles patient approach with Ish and mentioned that he is slippery, not fast, good edge work, does well to avoid hits as a small player, and filthy mitts. No mention of bolting to the KHL. Anyone else catch the segment?

 

[Kevin27NYI]

I could see Ish being like Macelli in Arizona

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I could see Ish being like Macelli in Arizona

This is the player I've spent the past few years saying he needs to be if an NHL career is going to be in the cards. That's the guy he must emulate.

Still, Maccelli (a Finn, actually) was drafted a year later and also, they now list him at 5'11", 176 pounds.

If that size is accurate now, he's a bit of a giant compared to Iskhakov. But that's the playing style Iskhakov would need to bring to the table.

This said, he can be mighty fun to watch down there on the farm.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Hockey Prospect Radio segment on NHL Sirius Radio highlight 3 Isles prospects this afternoon. In Order
Ish
Nelson
Odellius

The host praised the Isles patient approach with Ish and mentioned that he is slippery, not fast, good edge work, does well to avoid hits as a small player, and filthy mitts. No mention of bolting to the KHL. Anyone else catch the segment?

Either he heads there this summer or not. Dunno what his internal relationship is to the organization.

Statistically, he's basically repeated last season, but while playing a bigger role on a team that never replaced its top 2 scorers of yesteryear. Thus, he's taken a bit of a step.

That he would be a hot commodity for a KHL team is clear. Not only are there A LOT of KHL teams, but there's a premium on actual Russian players as opposed to foreign imports, of which there are still many. In addition, his game is one that I predict will translate quite nicely to the style of the KHL.

Thing is, he's quite an interenational guy with an international mindframe. Hard to tell if he's in any mood to simply plant himself in a homeland he already left at the age of like 14.

We'll find out later this summer. I hope they keep him around.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Cameron Berg returning to North Dakota for his senior season.

https://x.com/undmhockey/status/1778176454397665416?s=46

I’d imagine he will be their #1 center so that’s awesome opportunity for development.

I continue to be amazed at how horrific Skarek's stat lines are.

He just hasn’t gotten any better, isles have been patient and given him ample opportunity for a goalie who seems to have the tools.

 

[Tahoeblue]

Cameron Berg returning to North Dakota for his senior season.

https://x.com/undmhockey/status/1778176454397665416?s=46

That's a good John Houseman name.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Been watching Justin Gill throughout the playoffs.

His team swept its first round series.

Now their up 2-0 against Acadie-Bathurst, albeit both wins have been by one goal. They're playing right now and are up 2-0 after 10 minutes.

Anyhow, I've finally figured it out. I finally know who Gill reminds me of. Like a clone.

He's a lefty shot Travis Green. I kid you not. This is the guy he plays like. Like from a style and production standpoint. As in, that's how he thinks the game and approaches the generation of offense, and well, the skating style is a bit of the same as well.

Also, I continue to think that Dman Niks Fenenko is worth an ELC and if the Isles don't draft overager Melovsky this summer, I'll be some kind of surprised. Can't imagine the team's scouts following Gill without seeing what Melovsky is about.

Also, they've got this winger Poirier who looks like a surefire top 3 round pick.

But I've watched him. A lot. And yes, he's small. But holy Toledo, this guy scores goals. He's a sniper.

And players bounce off of him. He always finds a way to ward off the opposition, looking incredibly non-chalant all the while.

Then he shoots from everywhere and finds holes left and right.

It's Caufield-like.

 

[Potvottier]

Been watching Justin Gill throughout the playoffs.

His team swept its first round series.

Now their up 2-0 against Acadie-Bathurst, albeit both wins have been by one goal. They're playing right now and are up 2-0 after 10 minutes.

Anyhow, I've finally figured it out. I finally know who Gill reminds me of. Like a clone.

He's a lefty shot Travis Green. I kid you not. This is the guy he plays like. Like from a style and production standpoint. As in, that's how he thinks the game and approaches the generation of offense, and well, the skating style is a bit of the same as well.

Also, I continue to think that Dman Nils Fenenko is worth an ELC and if the Isles don't draft overager Melovsky this summer, I'll be some kind of surprised. Can't imagine the team's scouts following Gill without seeing what Melovsky is about.

Also, they've got this winger Poirier who looks like a surefire top 3 round pick.

But I've watched him. A lot. And yes, he's small. But holy Toledo, this guy scores goals. He's a sniper.

And players bounce off of him. He always finds a way to ward off the opposition, looking incredibly non-chalant all the while.

Then he shoots from everywhere and finds holes left and right.

It's Caufield-like.

Caufield like, with a bit of toughness? Sign me up!

With reference to size, I always think that 'small' is a weird verb. If a player is 5'9", and weight 210 lbs, is he small? Nah. He is short.

Not too many people would fight Tie Domi, who was 'small'. Being tall is an advantage as far as reach goes, but shorter guys are usually quicker.

Height is just 1 characteristic of many, and not even the most important.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Caufield like, with a bit of toughness? Sign me up!

With reference to size, I always think that 'small' is a weird verb. If a player is 5'9", and weight 210 lbs, is he small? Nah. He is short.

Not too many people would fight Tie Domi, who was 'small'. Being tall is an advantage as far as reach goes, but shorter guys are usually quicker.

Height is just 1 characteristic of many, and not even the most important.

28 goals last year too as 15 year old. Impressive considering he is playing against some kids who are five years older than him.

 

[Strummergas]

Jeffries and Tikkanen sign their entry-level deals.

New York Islanders Sign Tikkanen, Jefferies | New York Islanders