Islanders Beat Leafs New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-pelech-pulock-dobson-romanov-reilly-mayfield-roy] prospect Ruslan Iskhakov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/ruslan-iskhakov-new-york-islanders-prospect-rick-kowalsky] has taken the internet by storm. In Monday night's AHL All-Star Game, the 23-year-old forward was called upon in the shootout and showed off a move that had people's jaws on the floor. Some say that goaltender Matthew Villalta is still sliding to this day... If you are a fan of Iskhakov, of the Bridgeport Islanders, or the NHL club, the young Russian putting on moves like you just saw isn't some new thing. That's his game, and unfortunately, that's the problem for the Islanders' 2018 second-round pick. Iskhakov has had a great start to his sophomore season in the organization, with 13 goals and 21 assists through 43 games after 51 points (17 goals, 34 assists) in 69 games during his rookie campaign. But Iskhakov struggles to play defense, struggling to play strong enough away from the puck, and that's why he was passed up on last season when the Islanders were calling up players like Aatu Räty, William Dufour, and Simon Holmstrom. Being five-foot-eight, which of course, is severely undersized for an NHL forward, doesn't have to be a disadvantage. Offensively, his small stature allows him to quickly blow by opponents and put on the moves to score ridiculous goals. We've seen undersized players in the NHL, like Martin St. Louis and Brad Marchand, use their small stature to their advantage. But the reason those two players made it to the NHL level and stuck was because of their ability to be responsible players, and right now, that's lacking in Iskhakov's game. It's clear that missing that valuable skill is what's holding him back from being a future NHL player, and that missing piece is likely the reason Iskhakov hasn't been given an NHL chance. But the Islanders should call Iskhakov up. No, they don't need top-six help despite the abundance of fans who believed Iskhakov could do better than an Anders Lee or Pierre Engvall [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/pierre-engvall-new-york-islanders-patrick-roy-lane-lambert], which is a conversation for another day. But with the Islanders' lack of top-tier prospects, Iskhakov's speed and hand-eye coordination are something that could have value on the trade market -- if seen at the NHL level. We saw last season that a prospect could turn into a critical trade piece when the Islanders brought up top prospect Aatu Räty before flipping him to acquire Bo Horvat [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/bo-horvat-new-york-islanders-vancouver-canucks-trade-lamoriello]. If the Islanders don't show Räty off for 12 games, do the Canucks view the former second-round player whose draft stock fell and fell leading up to the 2021 NHL Draft as a true asset? Lamoriello knew what he was doing, and right now, while the trade did work out for both sides, Räty is playing a bottom-six role in the AHL. "Well, the Islanders have to focus on winning games." That's correct, but the Islanders were also focused on winning games last season and still found a way to play multiple prospects -- albeit injuries -- but you get the point. Look at this team right now. Julien Gauthier, who provided speed and played well in his depth role, is now in Bridgeport because the organization wants to allow struggling 23-year-old forward Oliver Wahlstrom [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/oliver-wahlstrom-new-york-islanders-patrick-roy-barry-trotz-lane-lambert] to find his game despite New York being on the outside looking in. Iskhakov is showing off a skill that many teams around the NHL will value, even if the defensive side of his game is lacking. Scoring goals is the name of the game in the regular season, and if some team thinks Iskhakov can help the goal differential rather than hurt it, who knows what kind of trade doors it opens up for the Islanders. Without showing off prospects like Iskhakov, the Islanders will have no choice but to continue to shed first-round picks in an effort to bolster their roster. TOP STORIES
