Islanders focused on prospects as NHL Draft approaches

The week leading up to this weekend’s NHL Draft in Buffalo featured a flurry of blockbuster deals, none involving the Islanders.

The takeaway is that general manager Mathieu Darche, overseeing his second draft, is prioritizing the prospects already in the organization as well as the ones to be selected.

With the Islanders having missed the playoffs for two straight seasons, the long-term plan to develop a consistent contender must be to build around unanimous rookie of the year Matthew Schaefer, still more than two months shy of turning 19.

The first round will be held Friday night, with rounds two through seven on Saturday, and the Islanders have a particular need for right-shooting defensemen and, to a lesser extent, goalie depth.

The Islanders own the 13th overall pick as well as picks No. 109 (fourth round), No. 141 (fifth round), No. 173 (sixth round) and No. 205 (seventh round).

At No. 13, the Islanders may be eyeing a wide variety of prospects.

Right-shooting defenseman Ryan Lin (Vancouver/Western Hockey League) or lefthanded shooter Malte Gustafsson (Sweden) and forwards Tynan Lawrence (Boston University), Oliver Suvanto (Finland), Oscar Hemming (Boston College), Ilia Morozov (Miami, Ohio), Alexander Command (Sweden) and Wyatt Cullen (U.S. National Team Development Program) could be available.

“What makes this draft a little deeper is that 10 to 15 range once you get through that top group of players,” Dan Marr, the director of NHL Central Scouting, told Newsday. “The top 15 is very strong in this year’s draft class, and I’m not even going deep on the European side.

“This first round, there’s a lot of players, it doesn’t matter what order they go in, they’re all going to have a chance to be solid NHL prospects down the road.”

Last year, the Islanders selected Schaefer first overall after surprisingly winning the NHL Draft Lottery. Then Darche added forward Victor Eklund at No. 16 and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson at No. 17 with the two picks acquired from the Canadiens as part of the package for defenseman Noah Dobson.

“The Islanders could have just closed up shop after the first round,” Marr said. “All three picks they made were really good.”

Former president/GM Lou Lamoriello traded this year’s second-round pick to Chicago in 2023 to shed Josh Bailey’s contract, and Darche sent a third-rounder to the Rangers on Jan. 26 for 31-year-old defenseman Carson Soucy, who is likely to leave as an unrestricted free agent.

He also sent a first-round pick and a third-rounder acquired from the Devilsto the Blues on March 6 as part of the package for center Brayden Schenn. Schenn has two seasons remaining on his deal with a salary cap hit of $6.5 million. Ondrej Palat, acquired from the Devils on Jan. 27 along with that third-rounder, has one season left at $6 million.

Darche has refused to include top prospects such as forwards Cole Eiserman, Danny Nelson and Eklund or defensemen Isaiah George and Aitcheson in any deal, likely keeping him sidelined during this week’s burst of activity.

The Islanders’ NHL core is decidedly 30-and-over with Bo Horvat, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield still in the midst of multiyear deals, as are Mathew Barzal (29) and Alexander Romanov (26).

But building around an organization’s own prospects was a lesson Darche learned as the assistant general manager for Tampa Bay as he helped build the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup champions. That organization’s AHL affiliate in Norfolk won the Calder Cup in 2012 under current Lightning coach Jon Cooper with a roster that included future Stanley Cup winners Palat, Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn.

“Let’s face it, when I took this job last year, I knew, for two years, we’d have a fairly similar roster,” Darche said on April 15 during the Islanders’ breakup day. “Because contracts are contracts, right? They’re there.

“Would I like to give opportunities to guys that are starting to earn it? Yes. Having said that, you can’t put too much pressure on the young guys. They need to develop.”

Schaefer, of course, is an outlier, a player who jumped so successfully from junior hockey to the NHL. Most teenagers are multiple seasons away from contributing at the NHL level or sometimes even turning pro.

For instance, Nelson, drafted in the second round in 2023, is returning to Notre Dame for his senior season.

And, of course, not all will make it to the NHL, which is why Darche knows he must stockpile prospects.

And prioritize them.

Newsday’s Colin Stephenson contributed to this story.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.