One of the big articles from The Hockey Writers (THW) this week was the top 100 NHL Players for 2024-25, an article courtesy of Jacob Billington. The expected names at the top were there with Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Cale Makar highlighting the top 10 but once the list entered the 50s, it started getting debatable.
Related: Top 100 NHL Players for 2024-25
The New York Islanders had three skaters on the list with Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Noah Dobson all making it. At first glance, that sounds about right as the Islanders are a top-heavy team but don’t have an overwhelming number of stars. That said, a few skaters have a good argument to make the top 100, notably one of the core pieces of the roster.
Brock Nelson
Possibly the biggest snub from the list. Brock Nelson is a key part of the Islanders’ roster and the best scorer on the team. The offense is a top-heavy group with four skaters contributing most of the production and Nelson centers the second line and unlike Barzal and Horvat, he must step up without much help around him.
Nelson is in his 30s yet playing the best hockey of his career. He scored 37 goals in 2021-22, 36 in 2022-23, and 34 last season, leading the team in all three seasons. What separates Nelson from most skaters is that he’s a scorer first but can win in multiple ways. He’ll use his speed to gash opponents on the rush and wait for an open shot in the offensive zone or set up his linemates for scoring chances with quick passes.
The question is where Nelson should be ranked on the top 100 list. He’s not better than the other core skaters but still good enough to make it in the 70 or 80 range. Some of the skaters on the list in that range include Brett Pesce, John Tavares, and Ryan O’Reilly and it’s fair to say that Nelson is just as good if not better than those players mentioned.
Alexander Romanov
Alexander Romanov is one of the best pure defensemen on the Islanders and has developed into a key part of the unit since he was acquired during the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a hard hitter and a shot blocker but has honed his speed and discipline to become a reliable defenseman. His 4.8 defensive point shares led the Islanders last season and his 157 hits led the defensive unit.
Romanov making the list is more of a stretch than Nelson but there’s a good argument for him to slide into the 100 range. The players that made the list at 100 and 99 were Claude Giroux and Jakob Chychrun respectively. Giroux has been a key part of the Senators forward unit in recent seasons but is older and on the decline while Romanov is 24 and still improving. Chychrun meanwhile gets a lot of credit for his play on the offensive end of the ice but the Islanders have a better skater on the defensive end who could have made the list instead of him.
Kyle Palmieri
Kyle Palmieri is a bit of a reach for the top 100. The Islanders have seen him become a valuable contributor to the forward unit in recent seasons but he’s not on the top line and not putting up overly impressive numbers. That said, Palmieri has a good argument to just make the cut.
He scored 30 goals last season and was one of the under-the-radar skaters to find the back of the net consistently. The downside to Palmieri’s game is that most of his goals come from open looks and quick shots on the net, making him more of a beneficiary of Nelson’s playmaking ability. While he might not make the top 100 list, he certainly would be on the next 100 list as one of the best 200 players in the league.
Honorable Mention
The list didn’t include goaltenders but if it did, Ilya Sorokin would have made it. Sure, he had a rough 2023-24 season where he was replaced down the stretch by backup Semyon Varlamov but without question, he’s one of the elite goaltenders in the game. He was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2022-23 and is expected to return to that form this season.
The Islanders have a top-heavy roster and some individuals making the top 100 reflect that. However, the list snubbed a few other players who have a great case to make it.
