Malte Gustafsson's plan to join Islanders: One year in Sweden, then fight for a roster spot

First-rounder Malte Gustafsson has an intended timeline for joining the Islanders organization, and the lanky defenseman knows what he needs to do to be successful once he does get to North America.

“One year in Sweden and then the plan is to come over and fight for a spot,” the 13th overall pick in this weekend’s NHL Draft in Buffalo, who turned 18 on June 11, told Newsday during development camp at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.

Tuesday marked the second on-ice session for the prospects, but it also likely marked Anders Lee’s final day with the organization. The Islanders and their 35-year-old captain, who made his NHL debut for the team in 2013 and has worn the “C” since 2018, have not come to an agreement with the free agent market opening on Wednesday at noon.

While it’s possible common ground can be found on salary, Lee is seeking a longer term deal than the Islanders have been willing to offer. Thus the power forward, who had 19 goals and 23 assists in 82 games last season, will test the market despite his close ties to the Long Island community.

Still, Lee, who will be an unrestricted free agent after completing a seven-year, $49 million deal, telephoned Gustafsson shortly after the Islanders selected him on Friday night to welcome him to the organization and encourage him to make to Long Island quickly. Lee’s predecessor as captain, John Tavares, did the same in 2018 in calling first-rounders Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom days before he signed with the Maple Leafs.

“That’s Anders being Anders,” general manager Mathieu Darche said. “He’s an outstanding human being. There’s decisions we’re making on where we’re willing to go as a team on the contract and what he wants. That’s a business decision. It has nothing to do with the individual. He’s great. I really appreciated what he did.”

Lee obviously represents one era of the Islanders’ history. Gustafsson hopes to be a big part of a future era by potentially agreeing to his entry-level deal for 2027-28.

The 6-4, 203-pound left-shooting Gustafsson had three assists in 27 games for HV71 Jonkoping last season and established a reputation as a shutdown defender who effectively uses his size despite playing in Sweden’s top league at age 17. He was particularly adept at stymieing opponents on the rush while also adding three assists.

Gustafsson believes he can develop into more of a two-way threat.

“There’s definitely an offense, too,” Gustafsson said. “That hasn’t shown that much but I’ve been working on it and trying to improve it and I think it’s improving and getting better. So it’s definitely there.”

Being a teenager playing against established veterans provided strong lessons.

“Just do everything faster,” Gustafsson said. “Move your feet. Pass faster. Everyone is stronger and bigger and you have to adapt. But I think I adapted pretty quickly so it wasn’t that big of a problem for me.”

“The SHL is a very defensive league and he played against men,” Darche said. “Usually, there’s not a lot of scoring and the way he defended and the way he was physical, you think like, ‘He’s big, he’s just defensive.’ No, he moves the puck extremely well. He can skate up the ice. It’s quite a challenge for these kids to play at the SHL level during their draft year so the way he performed was extremely impressive.”

Gustafsson’s learning curve will be tested further once he starts competing on the smaller, North American rinks where plays develop quicker and there’s much greater physicality.

To that end, Gustafsson knows he needs to be stronger as he continues to grow to his eventual adult size.

“Just, overall, put on some muscles,” Gustafsson said. “Get up some kilos.”

It’s often tough to fully evaluate the prospects during development camp as the coaches try to learn the players and vice versa.

But Jay McKee, a former NHL defenseman who was recently hired to coach the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Ontario and who is running the on-ice drills at development camp, said Gustafsson did make an impression from the first day.

“He moves very well for a big guy,” the 6-3 McKee said. “For his size, the mobility that he has and the way he can move the puck is pretty special for a big guy at that younger age. Sometimes the bigger guys take some time to develop but he seems to have it right away.”

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.