LAS VEGAS — The last time the Islanders made a first-round pick, there was a different man in the Oval Office, COVID-19 did not yet exist and the team was a full two years from opening UBS Arena.
Simon Holmstrom, whom the Islanders picked 23rd overall in 2019, has borne the distinction of being their most recent first-round pick, with Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom in 2018 the only two other players picked in the first round since Lou Lamoriello took over as general manager.
Since then, their first-round picks have been dealt for Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2020), Kyle Palmieri (2021), Alexander Romanov (2022) and Bo Horvat (2023).
Lamoriello made clear at the March trade deadline that he was willing to move the 2024 first as well, but there were no takers.
So, naturally, when the Islanders quietly announced last month that they had moved back two spots in the first round — trading the 18th and 50th picks to Chicago for the 20th, 54th and 61st picks — the first question was whether they were loading up for an eventual deal.
If so, that has yet to come to the fore one day out from what is likely to be the NHL’s final in-person draft here in Las Vegas.
Lamoriello is walking a tightrope here.
The Islanders need to improve their roster, and they need cap space to do it.
They also need to improve their farm system, which is generally regarded to rank near the bottom of the league.
Doing both at the same time would be a mighty tall order.
While the belief is that Lamoriello will continue to prioritize the now over the future, and that his eye is on adding some scoring come Monday, there is another way to look at his approach to this draft.
This is not considered a particularly deep draft, and there will be a disparity in how every team’s draft board looks after Macklin Celebrini, the Boston University starlet who is believed to be a shoo-in No. 1 pick to San Jose.
More bites at the apple, especially when they might get who they wanted to begin with, could benefit a team that desperately needs depth in its system.
“I’d say in the last number of years, you may have a different order in the top five, top 10, but 32 teams have probably got eight of the guys there,” said Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving, whose team is slated to pick three spots after the Islanders. “I think it could be all over the place right now. Some really good players. I think when you have a situation like that, it lends itself to have some fallers. It may be somebody that you’ve got higher than somebody else does and therefore I think there’s gonna be some players available.”
Lamoriello, unlike in past years, did not address reporters the day before the draft.
Keeping with the theme of unpredictability, the list of players who could go to the Islanders, if they indeed make the 20th pick Friday, is long and (likely) incomplete.
This is a case in which the best player available should be the one to come off the board, with position a secondary factor.
Windsor Spitfires winger Liam Greentree, Russian winger Igor Chernyshov, Barrie Colts center Cole Beaudoin, Muskegon Lumberjacks center Sacha Boisvert and Guelph Storm center Jett Luchanko are all names that could be in the Islanders’ range.
Tri-City Storm left-winger Trevor Connelly is another to watch given his Providence College commitment and Long Island connections, though Connelly’s series of off-ice controversies, involving anti-semitism and alleged bullying, would not play well if he is the pick.
As for the second day, when the Islanders will skip the third round and pick 115th, 147th and 179th in addition to their pair of seconds, watch for whether they dip back into the well of overage prospects that has produced William Dufour, Matt Maggio and Justin Gill as recent late-round fliers.
But the major intrigue of the Islanders’ draft lies in whether they pull the trigger on a first-round pick Friday or extend the streak another year.
