With the draft taking place in 17/18 days, I thought I'd share more thoughts on who may be available in the 2nd round should the Islanders use their pick at spot 49.
As mentioned a few times, the spot is one where I feel a few droppers will be hanging around at. When I mention dropper, I mean that kids who entered this past season being seen as likely first rounders have had a quiet winter or have one major knock that may see them slip in light of strong competition at the top, so they'll likely be available here.
The key names I have in mind are:
- Kasper Halttunen
- Charlie Stramel
- Theo Lindstein
- Andrew Cristall
The crimes:
- After an impressive 2022 U18 Worlds, the hulking Halttunen was strong at the U18s and killed it in the Finnish U20 league, but spent more than half the season in Liiga where he had one measely assist. More was expected.
- The extremely well-built Stramel was on the US U18 Worlds team already as a 16-year-old, then again the year after, but in both events in a supporting role. He had a very pedestrian freshman season this year for a poor Wisconsin team as a true freshman. Might have been better served with a season in the USHL first.
- Lindstein was a cog on the blueline for Sweden's U18 gold medal in 2022 as an underager. He was again a cog for silver this year. He's fairly young for this draft and played 38 games in the SHL this season, albeit for the relegated Brynäs team, for whom Ljungkrantz also played. He did little on the scoreboard, but got lots of ice time along the way and was dominant when he played for the junior squad.
- Cristall was strong at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He had a huge season in the WHL (95 points). He was a 2nd line contributor for bronze medal Canada at the U18 Worlds. He's ranked in the top 35 by basically eveyone. So, how could he fall this far in my book? Cristall is a fairly little tyke who is pretty doggone weak in the skating department for a guy that light. Seems to score everywhere despite that, but the draft is about projection and I'm thinking there are too many risers this year for a lot of the teams ahead of us to chance it on him, although Detroit (3) and Nashville (2) have multiple 2nd rounders right ahead of us, so they have room to chance it with a dropper like Cristall. But he's about the biggest name who could still be around in the 40s.
With this all said, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, if the player is available at 49, the guy the Islanders could very well be targeting is OHL Brantford's Nick Lardis. He's a powerful skater with pretty good speed and great agility. He can lug the puck well around the offensive zone and makes great use of open ice. 25 goals and 46 points in just 33 games this past season are pretty sweet stats, but only paint part of the picture. The eye test tells me he looks like someone the Isles can envision on the ice with a Barzal and Horvat in a relatively short period of time. His skating looks like the kind we rarely see on the Island.
If you tend to think the Isles are gonna stay true to grabbing a Swede as early as possible, the names Nilsson, Nordh, Unger-Sörum, and Dower Nilsson should be ones to watch at this juncture. If around, Edstrom and Wahlberg would be even better, but I don't see them making it this far.
IRONY NATION:
Part of me can't help but look at USNTDP center Danny Nelson (a 6'3", 200-pounder from Minnesota who will be attending Notre Dame in the fall of 2024), who was very impressive in a 3rd line capacity at the U18 Worlds and who is a fairly young player for this draft, being the guy the Isles take for shit$ 'n giggles. He's actually a very legitimate pick at 49, especially for a team that doesn't have a 3rd rounder. Taking his name, size, home state, and soon-to-be college address into consideration, I mean you've gotta think the Isles are really, really, really considering him.
I'll look at later round targets as the draft approaches.
