Good Morning, Islanders Country.
There’s no place to go but up for the Islanders, at least when it comes to Scott Wheeler’s prospect rankings in The Athletic.
We’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Islanders somewhere in the 25-28 range, but no more, not since both Samuel Bolduc and Ruslan Iskhakov “graduated out” of their prospect eligibility for ranking purposes due to their age.
Wheeler has the Islanders ranked dead last in the prospect rankings. Does that as a complete shock? No, not exactly, and rankings like this provide fodder for those who want to pile on GM Lou Lamoriello for trading four straight 1st round picks.
I understand the criticism, and there is a fear that this team is going to bottom out hard at some point because of the lack of top-tier talent in the pipeline. However, Lamoriello did extend/re-sign each of the players he mortgaged a piece of the future for, and if you are worried about this team being a bottom-feeder, they’d likely already be there if those deals some of you hate had not been made.
The system isn’t completely devoid of talent, and Wheeler’s write-up acknowledges as much. The Islanders have NHL-caliber prospects; they’re just projected to be depth players rather than future All-Stars. Yet, things can shift, and players can exceed their prospect ranking potential.
Maybe that’s William DuFour or Matthew Maggio. Calle Odelious is their top-ranked prospect, and the fanbase is just lukewarm on him compared to some others. Perhaps it’s another defenseman, Isaiah George, ranked 12th on Wheeler’s list. Or maybe Danny Nelson will be more than a middle-six forward by the time he’s done at Notre Dame. Heck, Simon Holmstrom is ranked 5th, and we’ve seen the impact he’s made this season.
It’s something to worry about in the future, probably the near future, but the future nonetheless. The Isles’ homegrown future might not be as bright as other teams based on projections, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have its bright spots.
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