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Debating Who Are The Islanders’ Top 5 Prospects
Russell Maciasfeatured
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Every August, the NHL and NHL.com take a deep dive into each NHL team as part of their “32-in-32” series, highlighting 32 teams across 32 days
Today, NHL.com took a look at the New York Islanders and highlighted several different pieces of the organization
The most exciting of those deep dives has to be their ranking of New York’s top five prospects entering the 2026-27 regular season
On the flip side, Corey Pronman of The Athletic also released his annual ranking of all 32 NHL teams’ prospect pipelines and then individually ranked each prospect
Both took time to rank the Islanders’ top prospects, and both came away with extremely different lists and rankings
First, NHL.com and Jon Lane ranked New York’s top five in this order: 1. Victor Eklund, 2. Malte Gustafsson, 3. Kashawn Aitcheson, 4. Dmitry Gamzin, and 5. Cole Eiserman
Eklund, seen by many as New York’s top non-NHL prospect, is fighting for his spot in the NHL this fall after making his NHL Debut in Game #82 this past season
Where he might fit in the lineup remains to be seen, but anywhere in the top nine could work:
The Islanders just selected Gustafsson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, while Aitcheson had a standout year one season after New York used the 17th overall pick on the defenseman
Gamzin, a 2024 fourth-round pick, continues to shine brightly in Russia, but is locked up long-term there with CSKA Moscow and isn’t expected to be in the NHL for multiple seasons. However, his skills look unbelievable, and it’s very easy to see him as a starting goalie in the NHL at a minimum
Lastly, Eiserman, a first-round pick from 2024, enters his first professional season, and will likely start with the Hamilton Hammers as he gets set to polish his game around his game-breaking shot
Not one of those rankings from NHL.com can be considered too shocking, as it features all the big names and showcases them in what’s the consensus ranking of them, though Aitcheson likely figures above Gustafsson at this point
Then came Pronman’s ranking with The Athletic, where he goes off the board with his Top 5:
1. Kashawn Aitcheson, whom Pronman lists as a “Bubble Top, Middle of the lineup player,” giving him a ceiling as high as a top-pairing NHL Defenseman
2. Malte Gustafsson, who finds himself in that same tier as Aitcheson, but for very different stylistic reasons
At this point, you might be shocked to see Eklund slip down below both defensemen, but there are people who are extremely high on both players, which Pronman is.
Both are going to be factors soon for the Islanders, and both have elite skill sets at what they excel at
Eklund, meanwhile, is far more well-rounded and has fewer holes in his game, hence why he’s the most NHL-ready of the trio
But Pronman doesn’t have him as New York’s top forward prospect
“3. Daniil Prokhorov, 2025 second-round pick. Middle-of-the-lineup player”
Pronman goes way off the board and shows huge love for Prokhorov, the very raw, but physically massive Russian winger, who stands at 6’6 and has impressed at consecutive Islanders’ development camp
Prokhorov surprised some when he came to North America after just one season, but he figures to be a big piece for the Hammers, and his NHL future may not be so far off
Pronman is the only spot to have Prokhorov above the NHL-ready Eklund, and it’s due to perceived ceilings alone
“4. Danny Nelson, 2023 second-round pick. Middle-of-the-lineup player”
Nelson, who was reportedly highly-coveted by other teams in trade talks, has seen his stock explode in the last two years.
Once thought of a future 4C, his future looks to be that of a great third-line center who is responsible on both ends of the ice, and can be depended on by their teams
Nelson is set to play one more year in college before turning pro in the 2027 Spring
“5. Victor Eklund, 2025 first-round pick. Middle-of-the-lineup player”
Pronman is not as low as it may seem on Eklund as it appears. Rather, he seems to be just that high on Nelson and Prokhorov’s potential
Maybe Pronman doesn’t see a first-line winger, which many disagree with, but based on his breakdown, he very clearly sees a reliable, point-producing second-line winger who can play in all situations
It’s a shocking sight to see Eklund below Prokhorov and Nelson nonetheless
Eiserman came in sixth on Pronman’s rankings, just missing out on the top 5 of the non-NHL guys
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