Barzal Finding His Game After winning a gold medal with the United States at the World Junior Championship (WJC) in Ottawa last weekend, New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] prospects Cole Eiserman and Danny Nelson have continued their dominant play in their return to collegiate play. Eiserman, pick No. 20 by the Islanders at the 2024 Draft, scored a hat trick for Boston University to complete the sweep of the University of Vermont on Saturday night. The 18-year-old's first tally came with 2:12 to go in the opening frame after he fired a wrist shot past Alex Mangbo. At 5:55 of the second period, he fed a loose puck to Quinn Hutson before positioning himself next to the net to receive an easy pass for his second goal of the night. With 14:45 to go in the final frame, Eiserman scored what proved to be the game-deciding goal with a slapshot from the top of the hash marks. He became the first Boston University freshman to score a hat trick on home ice at Agganis Arena. He also recorded an assist in the game. Eiserman scored three goals and four assists for seven points in seven tournament contests. He came away with the game-deciding goal in the semifinal against the Czech Republic. At the same time, Nelson's University of Notre Dame pulled off the upset over the University of Michigan. The Islanders 2023 second-round pick (No. 49) first point of the night came with 2:50 to go in the first period. He carried the puck out of the defensive zone and set up an odd-man rush. Edmonton Oilers prospect Paul Fischer, who played alongside Nelson and Eiserman in Ottawa at the WJC, scored the goal. Nelson later scored the Fighting Irish’s third goal in a 32-second span during the second period to make it 5-1. He received a feed from Brennan Ali and fired it off his backhand past Logan Stein's glove: This tally matched Nelson's goal total from last season (nine) in 10 fewer games The Minnesota native also recorded an assist on Justin Janicke's empty net goal as Notre Dame won 7-4. Nelson finished the tournament with four goals, two assists, and six points in seven games. His biggest goal came in the preliminary round with a third-period goal that helped his team clinch the first seed in Group A over Canada. He also won gold with the United States at the 2024 WJC. Eiserman's season point totals have improved to 12 goals, seven assists, and 19 points in 18 games with the Terriers. He ranks first in goals among NCAA freshmen. Nelson now sits at nine goals, seven assists, and 16 points in 20 games with the Fighting Irish. On Sunday, FloHockey's Chris Peters joined Hockey Night in New York [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN5ajX7B8rg] to discuss the outlook on these two prospects, Peters shared that Nelson isn't a dynamic center, a depth center, but he does a lot of the little things right and can play on both special teams units. "Nelson, to me, is a sure-fire NHL player," Peters said. He also shared that Eiserman has "an NHL shot right now" and should be in school for two or possibly three years. If he's going to make it at the NHL level, it will be as a top-six forward. Catch the full show below: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN5ajX7B8rg[/embed]
