Go back a little over a year and the Islanders had arguably the single worst prospect pipeline in the NHL.
That came as a product of mismanagement, poor drafting and the urgent prioritizing of the present under Lou Lamoriello.
Starting with a strong 2024 draft, in which the Islanders actually used their first-round pick for the first time since 2019, they started to build back up. As the next year unfolded, all three of those factors started to reverse, and the Islanders got the ultimate stroke of luck in winning the 2025 draft lottery with 3.5 percent odds to boot.
A good number of prospects who look interesting now won’t end up panning out, of course. But you can look at the system and see the makings of a good team in 2030, something that wasn’t even close to being true at this time last year.
