The future of the New York Islanders looked a lot different a little over a year ago.
On April 30, 2024, the Islanders were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The team’s prospect pool was bare, having made zero first-round selections and just one top-50 selection in the prior four drafts.
Today, this narrative has changed after the Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and added four top-20 picks to their prospect pool.
Heading into the 2024 offseason, the Islanders' top prospect was Danny Nelson, a 2023 second-round pick (No. 49) coming off an impressive freshman season at the University of Notre Dame.
Alex Jefferies, Calle Odelius, and Quinn Finley followed Nelson, yet none of the four were viewed as top prospects across the NHL.
Then, it all changed.
At the 2024 Draft, the Islanders landed projected top-10 pick Cole Eiserman at 20th overall.
Given his blistering shot, he was viewed as one of the draft’s top forwards, and his dominant 2024-25 freshman season at Boston University lived up to the hype.
Eiserman’s 25 goals in 39 games led all freshmen, finishing fifth among all NCAA skaters, leading the Terriers through the Frozen Four as finalists.
He did this as one of the NCAA’s youngest players at just 18 years old.
The Islanders’ strong 2024 draft continued with the selection of defenseman Jesse Pulkkinen at No. 54.
Pulkkinen was an overager, but his 2024-25 season propelled him into a first-round grade by many scouts.
Although his first cup of coffee in the Islanders organization had its ups and downs, the 6-foot-6 defenseman's skill is clear, and if he can improve his skating, there is no doubt he could do damage in the NHL.
From there, the Islanders took centerman Kamil Bednarik at No. 61, who, just like Eiserman, was on the younger side of the class.
Despite this, Bednarik garnered consistent ice time in late-game situations and special teams on the national championship runner-up Boston University alongside Eiserman.
Bednarik may not have the offensive ceiling of other prospects in the Islanders' system, but his defensive game is arguably the best among college freshmen.
The Islanders then took two goaltenders, Dmitry Gamzin and Marcus Gidlof, who each had strong 2024-25 seasons with their respective teams, and Xavier Veilleux, a defenseman who lit up the United States Hockey League as one of the league’s strongest defensemen in transition.
Of course, it is far too early to tell how the Islanders’ class at the 2024 Draft fared, but the early indications are positive.
Following the draft, the Islanders’ prospect pool continued to soar.
At the 2025 World Junior Championship, Nelson scored four goals in seven games, earning recognition as a U20 WJC Top 3 Player on Team USA en route to winning his second U20 gold medal.
Finley broke out in his sophomore season at the University of Wisconsin with 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 37 games, becoming the first Badger to score 20 goals in a season since Cole Caufield in 2020-21.
The Islanders then made a major midseason addition to the prospect pool when they acquired Cal Ritchie in the Brock Nelson blockbuster.
Ritchie is widely regarded as one of hockey’s top prospects, given a strong playmaking and two-way game, and he already has seven games of NHL experience at just 20 years old.
To kick off the 2025 offseason, the Islanders used the first overall pick in the NHL Draft to select Matthew Schaefer, who is widely considered the top defenseman prospect in hockey and has drawn comparisons to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes.
The expectations are massive, but at just 17 years old, Schaefer is already well ahead of his peers.
New York followed up the top pick by acquiring the 16th and 17th selections in a trade that sent defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens.
With these picks, the Islanders landed winger Victor Eklund, a consensus top-10 prospect in the class, and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson, who was projected to go in the 10 to 14 range.
Both of the Islanders' later first-round selections came at great value, and the rest of the draft was no different, landing 6-foot-6 power forward Daniil Prolhorov at 42nd, as well as Luca Romano at 74th and Tomas Poletin at 106th, each viewed as top-50 prospects by some.
To follow this, the Islanders landed top KHL free agent forward Maxim Shabanov, who recorded 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists) in 65 games before adding 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 21 playoff games.
The 24-year-old is highly skilled, and while he stands just 5-foot-8, he has been dubbed one of the best Russians to come over to North America in their mid-20s since Kirill Kaprizov.
It is not known yet why Shabanov chose the Islanders, but he did ultimately land on Long Island despite the New York Rangers being very interested.
While no prospect is guaranteed to make the NHL, the Islanders have significantly improved their long-term outlook over the past 14 months, partly due to luck and partly due to astute drafting and trades.
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PHOTO: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Michael Ostrower wrote this story.