The 2023 NHL Entry Draft is fast approaching with all the action kicking off on Wednesday, June 28 in Nashville. The Chicago Blackhawks after winning the lottery will likely select generational talent Connor Bedard, but this class has a lot of elite prospects, some of which could fall to the second round. One of the teams looking to take advantage of that is the New York Islanders.
Related: 2023 NHL Draft Guide
The Islanders don’t have a lot of draft assets to work with. In seven rounds, they only have five selections with their first-round pick being moved in the Bo Horvat trade and their third-round pick being dealt in the Andrew Ladd trade in the 2021 offseason. With minimal room for error, general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello must have a great draft. The Islanders’ prospect pool is one of the worst in the NHL and they must add talent to both the forward and defense positions.
For the Islanders mock draft, it’s important to look at the possible avenues Lamoriello might take. With each round, there are prospects where it would be ideal for them to fall into the Islanders’ lap, players they will likely select, and reach selections, specifically ones that could be headscratchers if they are drafted.
Second Round (Pick 49)
The second round is where the Islanders should target a forward. They need a young skater on the wing that can create scoring chances and find the back of the net with a great shot. While the prospect they select will require time to develop, a lot of the forwards in the second round have a high ceiling and could make the Islanders’ forward unit one of the best in the league in a few seasons.
The Ideal Pick: Forward Carson Rehkopf
One of the best power forwards in this draft. At 6-foot-1 and weighing 194 pounds, Carson Rehkopf is a bigger skater that plays both the center and wing positions and uses his size to impact all facets of the game. He sets up the offense and also has strong defensive instincts to make him a reliable two-way player. Despite being a bigger-bodied skater, he is also a fast skater with a great shot, two skills the Islanders would love to add to their forward unit.
On the Islanders, he can use his shot to become a reliable scorer on the Jean-Gabriel Pageau line. After scoring 30 goals in 68 games this year with the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), he proved he can be a consistent 20-goal scorer when he makes it to the NHL. This season, power forwards took over games and at times carried their teams. Tage Thompson scored 47 goals and 47 assists for the Buffalo Sabres to give them one of the league’s best offenses while Matthew Tkachuk helped carry the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final with great play across the board. Rehkopf has a high ceiling as a power forward and it makes him an intriguing player for any team to add to their offense.
The biggest obstacle facing the Islanders when it comes to selecting Rehkopf is that he likely won’t be available by the 49th pick. He’s the type of prospect that will likely go at the beginning of the second round and he has a ceiling that can make a team select him in the first round. Lamoriello will hope that Rehkopf falls to 49 but otherwise, it’s an unrealistic selection.
The Likely Pick: Forward Alex Ciernik
The question surrounding Alex Ciernik ahead of the draft is his size. At 5-foot-10 and weighing 179 pounds, he’s a smaller skater that can easily get roughed up in the NHL and throughout his development. Otherwise, he is a great prospect for the Islanders to select in this draft.
He’s a fast skater who can instantly create scoring opportunities and start up the rush. Ciernik’s shot however is what makes him an intriguing prospect. It not only is accurate but has a quick release which allows him to effectively find the back of the net. At the NHL level, he can find open ice in the offensive zone and wait for the puck to find him and with open looks, constantly get it past opposing goaltenders.
The Islanders will have to be patient with Ciernik and allow him to develop in the American Hockey League (AHL) for a few years. However, he could become the scorer this team is eagerly looking for on the wing. Ciernik could be the ideal player to play on the same line as Mathew Barzal as he’s a fast skater with a great shot but he could also be a great complement to Brock Nelson’s playmaking ability. The Islanders would be adding a great skater with a high upside and someone who has the potential to become an integral part of the forward unit for years to come.
The Reach: Defenseman Gavin McCarthy
The Islanders would already be taking a risk by selecting a defenseman in the second round. They need help in the forward unit and unless they are landing an elite defenseman early, the pick might not be worthwhile. Gavin McCarthy along with being a defenseman would also be a reach with the 49th pick.
McCarthy is a great skater and a reliable playmaker at the point. However, he struggled on the defensive end and his tracking ability (or lack thereof) has him projected to be selected late in the second round or in the third round. Moreover, his inconsistency at the United States Hockey League (USHL) level will require any team that drafts him to be patient and wait a few years until he becomes an NHL-ready defenseman. The Islanders could look to select McCarthy but in the second round, it would be a head-scratching pick.
Other Second-Round Options: Forwards Felix Unger Sorum, Kalan Lind, and Nico Myatovic
Fourth Round (Pick 113)
In the fourth round, the Islanders can target a defenseman especially if they select a forward early on in the draft. However, Lamoriello ideally targets the forward position with this pick as well to help out an offense that struggled this year. The Islanders only scored 2.95 goals per game and in the first round they scored only 15 goals in the six-game series against the Carolina Hurricanes. The lack of scoring makes the position worth targeting with each of the team’s first two selections.
The Ideal Pick: Defenseman Kalem Parker
While the Islanders will prioritize forwards, if Kalem Parker falls to them, they will eagerly select him. He is a great skater who can defend the rush. Playing for the Victoria Royals in the Western Hockey League (WHL), he had to defend elite forwards in space including Bedard, Zach Benson, and Gracyn Sawchyn (along with the rest of the Seattle Thunderbirds’ offense). He stepped up to the challenge and with the NHL becoming a faster, more skilled league, teams will prioritize a defenceman that can defend the rush.
Parker still has room to improve defensively. Specifically, he must work on his instincts and his overall play in the defensive zone. However, he’s still a defenseman that the Islanders can select with the hopes of eventually replacing Scott Mayfield who will head to free agency after his five-year contract expired this year. The problem the Islanders face is that Parker will likely be selected by the third round or early on in the fourth round.
The Likely Pick: Forward Juraj Peracik
Juraj Peracik is the type of forward who could eventually replace Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck, or Matt Martin on the fourth line. He is a great forechecker and at 6-foot-2, 183 pounds, he has the size to match up in the NHL. The Islanders already have a younger option to join the fourth line in Hudson Fasching, who was a pleasant surprise this season and signed a two-year deal this offseason. However, if Lamoriello is looking to add more youth to the checking line, Peracik is the ideal player to be selected.
The red flags surrounding Peracik are his offensive skills. He doesn’t have a great shot, scoring instincts, or playmaking ability and his inability to add to the offense could make him a liability in the NHL. The Islanders desperately need scoring but adding a checking forward late in the draft could also help them out in the long run. He won’t be the most exciting selection in the fourth round but he’s someone who could be a valuable addition to the forward unit in a few years.
The Reach: Center Ian Scherzer
Ian Scherzer showed flashes at the 2023 World Juniors where he stepped up for an Austrian team that was otherwise outmatched. He has speed and a great first step but his inconsistency and limitations defensively make him a risky selection. The Islanders could take a chance on Scherzer hoping he becomes a reliable skater, but he is projected to go in the late rounds of the draft and would be a surprise pick in the fourth round.
Other Fourth-Round Options: Forward Cole Knuble and defenseman Quinton Burns
Islanders Late Round Options (Round 5-7)
There’s a lot of unknown when it comes to prospects from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). However, the Islanders could take a chance on forward Vadim Moroz who looks to become a bottom-six forward at the NHL level. He doesn’t have a great shot but he has reliable scoring instincts that could make him a depth scorer.
Two players to watch from the USHL are Jack Harvey and Tanner Adams. Harvey is one of the older prospects in the draft at 20 years old but had a big year with the Chicago Steel and looks to be a bottom-six forward in the NHL to cap off a long journey to the pro game. Adams had a big year with the Tri-City Storm and he’ll play at Providence College in the National Collegiate Athletic Accossiation (NCAA) next year but he’s a forward that can add depth to any offense in a few years.
The Islanders could also look to trade any of their draft selections for an NHL-ready player. During the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, they acquired Alexander Romanov for the 13th overall pick who helped make the defense one of the best in the league. While they won’t find a player like Romanov with a mid-round selection, they could still look to acquire a depth player in a trade.
The Islanders have a big draft ahead of them and finding prospects who can make an impact in the NHL will be pivotal for keeping the contending window open. With a veteran-heavy roster, they need young skaters and hope to add a few in Nashville despite limited resources to do so.