This feels like a given at this point, right? #Isles

Artyom Matyuk was the #Isles 6th round pick, 173rd overall in 2026, and I’ll be honest I had to dig on some sketchy Russian sites to find good game tape of this guy. He’s a Moscow born lefty center, 6’0” and still only 165lbs. Last year he put up 39 points in 54 games with a +21 in the MHL. Faceoff numbers sit at 56% and his career MHL total is 77 points in 128 games. Nothing that jumps off the page at you. But what stands out when you watch him is that he’s smart and he has some pretty nice edges. Matyuk creates quick little feeds that can freeze defenders, has a tendency to find soft ice and keeps his head up and his feet moving. Skating is really good with smooth turns and the ability to weave through traffic. He competes hard for his size, can generate turnovers and controls shifts more than the production suggests. Creativity + motor is always a great combination. On the flip side, he’s going to get knocked off the puck a lot until he adds strength and he also isn’t physical. Plus the Russian path is what it is and it’s a 6th round selection we’re talking about. Still, for a lottery ticket this is exactly the type of player I like. Some skill, IQ, and compete. Early preseason looks have been really productive with 3 goals and 5 points in 2 games and the shot in this clip is really nice too. Who knows, the Islanders have been pretty good at finding some late round gems as of late.

Also, where’s Isaiah George? #Isles

The Athletic’s NHL under-23 pipeline rankings came out yesterday and let’s just say I had a lot of notes.. The overall team ranking at #9 is fine, but look at this. 1. Matthew Schaefer 2. Kashawn Aitcheson 3. Malte Gustafsson 4. Daniil Prokhorov 5. Danny Nelson 6. Victor Eklund 7. Calum Ritchie 8. Cole Eiserman 9. Tomas Poletin 10. Vladimir Dravecky 11. Quinn Finley Daniil Prokhorov at #4 is actually wild. Don’t get me wrong, I like the player. His size and physicality are exciting, but his defensive lapses and questionable hockey sense make it impossible to justify ranking him ahead of several players who have accomplished way more. Then there’s Calum Ritchie at #7. Ritchie looked great toward the end of last season. As he continues to develop, I think his skill and NHL experience makes him an obvious choice over all of the forwards ranked ahead of him. Victor Eklund would be the next best player behind Ritchie. He’s coming off a strong SHL season, dominated at the World Juniors, made an immediate impact in the AHL and already has an NHL point to his name. There’s no reasonable argument for him being ranked #6. I could keep going. There are really questionable rankings for all the teams because it’s Pronman we’re talking about. Like I said, ranking the Islanders’ pipeline 9th overall is perfectly reasonable, if not a bit generous. The individual order just feels disconnected from what these players have actually shown. nytimes.com/athletic/7461179…

NHL .com just dropped its official ranking of the #Isles Top 5 prospects heading into the 2026-27 season and I completely agree with how they ranked the organization’s pipeline. 1. Victor Eklund 2. Malte Gustafsson 3. Kashawn Aitcheson 4. Dmitry Gamzin 5. Cole Eiserman 
Eklund has the highest combination of NHL readiness and skill as he looks closest to contributing immediately. Gustafsson’s size, skating and experience give him the highest long term ceiling among the defensemen. Aitcheson’s elite junior production and physical edge definitely put him up next as the most pro-ready in the pipeline. Gamzin is finally getting the recognition he deserves, having dominant KHL numbers that have become impossible to ignore. Eiserman’s proven ability to score goals keeps him firmly in the top 5 even if other parts of his game still need refinement. Overall it’s looking really good at the top and shows just how much deeper the prospect pool has become. nhl.com/news/topic/32-in-32/…

Alright, let’s talk about the other RHD the Islanders grabbed in this year’s draft. Just one round after taking the defense first Lincoln Kuehne, the pendulum swung almost completely the other way with Vladimir Dravecky, an offensive defenseman whose game is built around skill, mobility and moving the puck. Dravecky is listed at 6’0”, 192lbs and was born in Manchester, NH with full dual US/Czech citizenship. Last season with a really good Brantford team, he put up 9 goals and 19 assists in 58 games and was a +24. Before that he was in Sweden and even saw a few SHL games as a 17 year old. He represented Czechia at the Hlinka and then grabbed silver as an underager at the World Juniors. The kid has seen a lot of different environments already, which can only serve him well moving forward. He’s a skill guy through and through. Dravecky is an agile skater with a high hockey IQ and the ability to make plays with the puck that jump off the page at you. He sees the ice well, can create things out of nothing, has a sneaky good shot, and isn’t afraid to jump in on the rush. The offensive tools and brain are really legit for a 5th round pick. With that said, I can’t say that he’s very good in his own zone, like at all. He’s not physical and needs to add a ton of strength if he’s going to handle bigger, stronger forwards at the next level. Did I mention that he isn’t very sound defensively? Well he really needs to work on that side of his game if he’s ever going to crack an NHL lineup. In a system that’s been devoid of right-shot defenseman for years, this was a nice little pickup for the #Isles. If he fills out and cleans up the defensive side of his game, I think there’s some real potential here. The toolkit is interesting and it’s a different look than most of the other blueline pieces they’ve been adding. I believe Dravecky is one of the more intriguing swings of the class for me and it will be really interesting watching him develop over the next few years.

I want to talk about Lincoln Kuehne for a minute because I actually think the Islanders got some really good value here. Kuehne was this years 4th round pick, 109th overall, and yes, if you can believe it, a RHD! He’s a big 6’2”, 210lbs Fargo kid who came up through the USNTDP route before jumping straight into college with Arizona State as a true freshman. After watching him play, what really stood out to me was that he just makes smart, hard plays pretty consistently. The skating is great for his size. He’s pretty fluid, has some active feet, closes space fast, and he stays on his edges really well. He doesn’t chase. He angles and uses his body the right way. He’s hard to get around, hard to play against. Kuehne is the type of guy who is going to make life miserable for opposing forwards in the corners and in front of the net. He’s obviously got some flaws, too. Kuehne’s biggest issues are his decision making and tendency to get overly aggressive, which can lead to turnovers and some silly defensive mistakes. Plus, the offense is virtually nonexistent. So, offense really isn’t his thing, but that’s okay. It’s the defensive toolkit that makes me think he potentially has a shot to maybe make an NHL roster someday. Just let him develop in the minors for a few years and I can see him having a similar path as former 4th round pick, Isaiah George. Finally, the #Isles have a little right-shot depth showing up in the pipeline after years of it being empty. I really think this pick quietly raises the floor of the entire blue line group and in my opinion, was a pretty savvy pickup by the team.

So, who is Malte Gustafsson? No I mean really, like I’m asking.. I’ve been a way for a while and I really didn’t see this pick coming.. Okay, okay I’m kidding. But this kid is no joke. The 6’4”, 203lbs LHD out of HV71 is turning out to be a tremendous addition to this #Isles prospect pool. As a 17 year old last season he logged pretty significant minutes in the SHL. While most kids his age are still figuring out juniors, Gustafsson was out there playing on the blueline against men and really holding his own. Internationally, the kid was an absolute stud and has already won at every level he’s been at. What stands out most to me is the unique toolkit. He’s got a crisp first pass, elite gap control, a really long reach, some physical edge, and fantastic mobility that you don’t really see from guys that size. Offense is secondary right now, but I definitely think he’s got way more under the hood. Scouts will throw names like Mattias Ekholm and Simon Edvinsson around for a reason. He’s a got a high floor, top 4 projection and can be the kind of player who logs you 24 minutes a night in the playoffs. He already signed his ELC and will spend at least one more year in the SHL, which I really think is the right path. Let him get stronger, refine the little things, and keep eating big minutes. The Islanders took Gustafsson as the best player available at 13 and I have to be honest this pick definitely grew on me. While he might not have been the sexiest pick, it will really serve the team well to have another big, mobile, mean blueline asset who fits the identity this organization is building.

The last few months have been pretty heavy for me. I won’t get into details, but I just didn’t have the heart to talk or write about hockey. I even stepped away from a dream opportunity covering the Islanders for The Hockey Writers, something I’ll always be grateful for. I just needed to put my energy into bigger things for a while. But hockey is a big part of my life, and I know it is for most of you too. I can’t tell you how much this community means to me. Thank you to everyone who stuck around and especially those who reached out. It means more than you know. I won’t suddenly start posting 20 times a day again, but as the season gets closer, I’ll slowly be making my way back to blowing up your feed. Alright, anyway enough with the dramatics.. LETS GO ISLANDERS

My 2026 NHL Mock Draft - Top 15 1. Toronto Maple Leafs – Gavin McKenna 2. San Jose Sharks – Ivar Stenberg 3. Vancouver Canucks – Caleb Malhotra 4. Chicago Blackhawks – Chase Reid 5. New York Rangers – Carson Carels 6. Calgary Flames – Keaton Verhoeff 7. Seattle Kraken – Viggo Björck 8. Winnipeg Jets – Alberts Smits 9. Florida Panthers – Tynan Lawrence 10. Nashville Predators – Daxon Rudolph 11. St. Louis Blues – Ethan Belchetz 12. New Jersey Devils – Oscar Hemming 13. New York #Isles – Adam Novotny 14. Columbus Blue Jackets – Ryan Lin 15. St. Louis Blues – Oliver Suvanto It’s hard to pass on Ryan Lin at 13 but Novotny is a physical, high-motor, scoring winger who can help the Islanders’ forward group almost immediately. If you’re not too familiar with his game, he has a contact driven style. He battles in the dirty areas, has a heavy shot, excels on the forecheck and effectively uses hits and good positioning to force turnovers. Might be one of the most NHL ready players in the draft and is described as a full time team player with heavy top six potential. If I had to guess, Darche is looking for someone with immediate impact and Novotny would jump right into the Top 3 Islanders prospects in the system for me, could even battle for a spot out of training camp. What do you think? How does your mock shake out and who do you believe lands at 13 with the Isles?

The Islanders only have one pick in the top 100 right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if the #Isles traded down at the draft to add more assets. Either that or they do something to get themselves back into that range. I’ve had that feeling for a while, and the draft combine list only made it more interesting. They met with a lot of players projected around the late 1st and 2nd round. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does make you wonder. So what do you think? Do they stay at 13, or trade back and load up?

Luca Romano with the snipe #Isles