NY Islanders Star Alexander Romanov Announces He’s Dealing With An Injury.
In recent seasons, the NY Islanders have not produced enough youthful talent. This is partly because they have traded every first-round draft pick they have since 2019 for. The 2020 pick was traded for J.G. Pageau, the 2021 selection for Kyle Palmieri, the 2022 selection for Alexander Romanov, and the 2023 selection for Bo Horvat. The Islanders have benefitted greatly from each of these moves in their quest for the postseason, but the franchise now lacks a number of elite prospects. Aatu Raty and Simon Holmstrom were their most recent top farm workers to debut in 2023. Though Raty was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Horvat last season, Holmstrom is still growing.
With the exception of Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson, the Isles haven’t produced a top-tier talent in a long time. The first-round selections that the organization failed to secure are known by name. Michael Dal Colle developed into a reliable bench player, whereas Joshua Ho-Sang was never able to get into the Isles starting lineup. Though he has never been able to duplicate this level of success for an NHL team, Kieffer Bellows is still a dominant force in the AHL. Though not because of skill level, another young player is regrettably in risk of being added to this list.
Oliver Wahlstrom is the lone name missing from this long list of unsuccessful first-round selections. Since he hasn’t played since February 24th against the Tampa Bay Lightning, he has been written off as an Islander. The 23-year-old right winger has two goals and four assists in 31 games this season.
One may argue that Wahlstrom has been given a number of chances this season. As a restricted free agent, Lou Lamoriello offered his 2018 first-round pick a $894K one-year contract and extended his training camp tryout. Wahlstrom only appeared in 19 games through December after being added to the starting lineup on opening night, losing out to Julien Gauthier. Following his appointment as head coach, Patrick Roy pledged to give Wahlstrom more playing time in an effort to find consistency.
