How Recent Top NHL Draft Choices Of Metro Teams Have Fared Against Islanders

The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery went down on Tuesday, and the results had no Metropolitan Division teams moving up the order. 

With the San Jose Sharks getting the top choice in the draft, the New York Islanders will likely have to worry about facing Macklin Celebrini twice next year and beyond. 

However, there will still be Metro fingerprints in the top five picks of the draft, as the Columbus Blue Jackets will pick fourth.

With Columbus getting a prime spot in the draft, it's worth considering how the Islanders have faired against other top picks over the past five seasons. 

The only two teams to pick in the top 10 of the draft just so happened to get the first and second picks of that year's draft. 

The New Jersey Devils went number one and selected Jack Hughes, while the New York Rangers went second and picked Kaapo Kakko, the consensus top two picks of the draft. 

Early in his career, Hughes has been an Islander-killer, totaling nine goals and eight assists in his first 17 games against them. 

He has multiple points in his last three games against them, scoring two goals and two assists in their first meeting on Oct. 20. 

He added a red light and two helpers on Nov. 28 and a goal and assist on March 24. For Kaako, however, it's been a struggle, as he owns three goals and four assists in 20 games. 

Once again, 2020 was a year when one of the two Metropolitan teams in the first 10 picks happened to go first overall. 

This time, it was the Rangers who went number one and selected Alexis Lafreniere. 

He's enjoyed a breakout campaign with the club, recording a career-high 28 goals in the regular season, but he's struggled against the Islanders. 

In 19 games, he has two goals and five assists against them. 

However, that first round did have some other notable picks in the division, most notably Seth Jarvis at number 13 to the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Jarvis has eight goals and seven assists in 21 games, regular season and playoffs, against the Islanders. 

The Devils also picked Alexander Holtz (one goal in six games) and Dawson Mercer (3 goals and 3 assists in 11 games) in that first round. 

For the second time in three years, the Devils had a top-five pick: defenseman Luke Hughes. 

Jack's brother has gotten off to a strong start in four career matchups against the Islanders, recording points in each of his first three outings. Across those games, he has a goal and two assists. 

In other notables, Kent Johnson went to Columbus at number five, and he made his mark early. He's averaging a point per game against the Islanders, boasting two goals and three assists in five contests, including a highlight-reel goal on March 24, 2023. 

Once again in the top five, the Devils had the second pick of the 2022 draft and selected defenseman Simon Nemec behind Juraj Slafkovsky. 

Nemec's sample size against the Islanders is only two games, and he has totaled just one assist against them. 

Columbus' David Jiricek was the sixth pick of that year's draft. He has yet to record a point in three career games against them. 

The 2023 draft class only has one player that's played against the Islanders so far, Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli. The third-overall pick went scoreless in his first outing against them, but he had two goals and an assist on Dec. 7 before sitting out their final matchup.

Looking back on the past five drafts, Metropolitan Division top picks have had their fair share of success against the Islanders. 

More youth will be joining the picture on June 28, and the Islanders will look to keep them in check as they move into the future.