Darche dissects his Islanders' World Juniors prospects' performances, highlighting standout players and medal winners.
The New York Islanders had five prospects play at the 2026 World Junior Championships.
Here's a breakdown of each player's performance, plus what a former NHL scout had to say.
Now, here's what general manager Mathieu Darche had to say about their performances:
Darche on SWE F Victor Eklund (2025, No. 16): "He was the player of the game in the gold medal game. He's a water bug that scratches and claws its way around. I really liked his tournament."
Darche on CZE F Tomas Poletin (2025, No. 106): "He broke my heart with the game-winning goal against Canada. But, he has played really well."
Darche on USA F Cole Eiserman (2024, No. 20): "Unfortunately had an injury early in in the season, and he came back, and we know what he can do with his shot. Like he's a elite shooter. The US have a deep team, so they move him up and down the lineup. And people put a lot of pressure on these kids. Yeah, the US won two in a row. They lost in the quarterfinals. But it's a tough tournament. It's a one-game thing."
Darche on USA F Kamil Bednarik (2024, No. 61): "Bednarik, who has a more supporting role, I thought he played well, like he forechecked, like he took face-offs, but we knew he wasn't good. They weren't going to put him in an offensive situation. That's not the type of player he is. But I thought he competed."
Darche on CAN D Kashawn Aitcheson (2025, No. 17): "They dressed a lot of defenseman, 7D, so it's tough on the ice time. But if you look at what he's doing in Barrie, he's got 19 goals in 28-29 games. So, he's been great."
Darche's Final Thoughts: "As a Canadian, I'm always disappointed when Canada doesn't win, but our guys played well. All five of our guys compete, competed hard, and, I mean, three of them have medals, so I guess it's a good tournament."