Islanders make MULTIPLE moves... This has MAJOR Implications | Islanders News

The New York Islanders have made multiple moves ahead of their final preseason game tonight against the New Jersey Devils, and more moves are coming. And after the results of this game, I think we'll have a really good idea of what those moves will be. It is an exciting time. Some Islanders here are competing for spots that maybe we didn't expect they would. Not even necessarily based on merits, but just based on, you know, certain players have NHL contracts. You always expect that they're going to get the first look. But it looks like a couple young kids are getting looks for the New York Islanders. I think before we dive into who those people are, I think we should just go into the cuts for today. Because today was the most significant day of cuts for the Islanders. They had a previous round where they sent a lot of guys back down to juniors, things like that. But this is the key day where they sent a lot of guys on waivers, and you get a good idea of what they're doing moving forward. So the Islanders transactions, Alex Jeffries, Josh Kotai, Daniel Prokhorov, and Marshall Warren have all been assigned to Hamilton in the AHL. None of those players are going on waivers. They go directly there based on contracts, age, and how long they've been in the league. That's how this works. You have to earn your right to go on waivers. And of that list, I'll note really quickly, because we're not going to focus too much on these guys. Josh Kotai, I think looks really good at this point. I think he's close to being the third goaltender in this system. We'll see how this shakes out. I know goaltenders can be fluky. Some people will say they like Tikkanen. I really like Kotai. The fact that he stayed longer really says all you need to about the goalie. And Vanacek is still with the team. I would not be surprised if there are injuries, depending on how stuff goes in the AHL, if Kotai works his way to get up a look. And I think this is a guy who, after last season playing really well in college, I think he has backup potential in the NHL. If everything goes out. I'm not saying he's going to be a backup. But I was really impressed with the short bits that we've seen from him and what we've seen in practice. Daniil Prokhorov, I think, had a great preseason. He has to work on his smarts all around game. But it's clear, especially in the last game, he loves throwing the body. I mean, it was so fun to watch him just terrorize the New York Rangers roster physically. If he can, I think right now he's close to being a fourth line player, but if he can just develop that offense, I think he's a really interesting prospect. And then Marshall Warren did not have the best camp, but he's a guy that's shown in the past that he can come play a few games in the AHL. So it's good to have a guy like that, that you can send up and down all season long if you need to be. Now to the players who are going on waivers, these are the players that any team can claim in the next 24 hours. We'll talk about which guys I think might potentially get claimed really quickly. Mitchell Chaffee, I think he had a really good training camp, but they're sending him down. Honestly, for a 13th forward type guy, this is the time to do it because once he gets sent down, he can go up and down again for the rest of the month. So this is a guy that you're thinking of, maybe he'll give a look early, but you don't want to sacrifice a better player, this is the type of guy you send on waivers. Pierre Engvall, as you saw in the thumbnail, has been put on waivers. Honestly, I will say for Pierre Engvall, this is a bit embarrassing, as we'll talk about later in this video. The fact that the Islanders still have 27 players, they still have to do a round of cuts. Pierre Engvall did not make it to the last round of cuts. Other than his goal last night, which wasn't a very impressive goal, he didn't deserve it. He wasn't skating well out there. I hope that maybe with time, because regardless, the Islanders are going to have to pay him $3 million for the next four years. Sending him down now does save some salary cap space. You would hopefully like to see him figure out a new level to his game in terms of, when I say new level, a new game in terms of more forechecking, more defense, and more battling for the puck. You're clearly never going to be a top six forward. You're likely never going to be a third line forward, especially with how much depth this organization has going forward. We'll see what happens with Pierre Engvall, but for now, he's getting sent down to the AHL. At the very least, I think he'll be good for the young players on this team to play with, kind of have some good talent to surround them. That's all I can say there. Liam Foody, we talked a lot about him in the summer, about potentially making this team. I really liked his speed, but nothing else really stands out. I don't think he will get claimed. Of these three guys, I would probably say Chafee is the most likely to get claimed. Honestly, Pierre Engvall, because of that contract, I hope he gets claimed. We're not going to talk about that scenario because I think any team would be absolutely insane to claim Engvall for the next four, or is it five, I don't even want to know, for the next four plus years at $3 million. That would save the Islanders plenty of money. It's not going to happen, but you can dream, right? You've seen crazier claims in the past in the NHL. Please Vancouver, I think this would be a great mentor for your young players. Daley Kiefer, he's a player who I thought had a really good chance at making this team. I know the team Islanders seem to really like him. At the end of the day, they have their fourth line center right now in case of Zekas. When it comes to players who can get claimed off waivers, he seems like a dark horse to me. A team that maybe doesn't have great depth in the fourth line might see him as a player who would eventually step up. I would keep an eye on him. I think he will clear, but honestly, looking at this list, I know the bigger names are the guys who've played more games in the NHL. Kiefer is the one that I'm really looking at here. Then Matt Luff, no surprise there. This is an AHL journey, man. Great player in terms of just being good play with youth, but was never going to make this team. They have all been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Hamilton, so assuming they clear their waivers, none of this is for contract termination. The way it works is they pass their waivers, and at this time tomorrow, then they will be sent down once every team has had a chance to claim them. I know people are always like, oh, why won't more players get claimed? Every single team at the same time is going to be doing this. The idea is you put down your players when you think other teams also have good players there on waivers. Every team has to have a 23-man roster by the end of the week, and if you claim a player on waivers, you have to keep them in your NHL roster. This is where guys like Kiefer, if you're getting claimed, they think you're ready to play in the NHL. I think it's a little unlikely, and Affuti's another interesting one if a team's looking for more speed, has a slow bottom line, could get claimed. I would expect, though, that all these guys are going to pass. I think the one that's going to be really interesting is later in the week if the Islanders try to do Vitek Vanacek. Not that he's a good goalie, and honestly, I'm a little less concerned about Vitek Vanacek because I really like Kotae, and I feel good about Varlamov, but he's a guy who could maybe get claimed if a team like, say, Winnipeg has no options, as of right now, they don't have a backup goaltender, last I checked, because of that Conor Hellbrook situation. That's something to keep in mind here. And then, also of note for the previous players on waivers, Matthew Highmore has cleared, so he has been assigned to Hamilton. I think he's been a great addition to Hamilton. He's another guy who has some NHL experience. You don't want to see him up with the Islanders, because that means the roster has been absolutely devastated, but it's good organizational depth. I think this is something that D'Arcy's done a really good job of, balancing having these guys who have experience, but also the young players. It's good for the players in Hamilton to have guys who have experience to play with. You don't want to just have all rookies in your lineup. We've seen this in the past with the Islanders. That typically leads to disaster. Now, from this, the Islanders now have 27 remaining players, as Stefan Rosner has tweeted, and what's really notable about these players is you have 17 forwards, 9 defensemen, and 3 goaltenders. And what we're going to focus on this episode is the 9 defensemen, because when you look at their current roster in the final game of the preseason, this is basically going to be the last tryout for these defensemen. You can tell they're really focusing on the defense because they're going with a 7 defensemen lineup. And I do have to say, while I love the Islanders posting their game day rosters, this format absolutely sucks. Why you don't split it up into lines and you just have rows of players makes zero sense to me, but you'll notice if you count them out, the Islanders are playing 11 forwards today and 7 defensemen. This is supposed to be sort of what you want to call a dress rehearsal for the actual season. When it starts, you'll notice for the forwards, the player who is not there is Braden Shen. For those of you who don't like Shen, don't get excited. This does not mean that Shen is not going to make the team. It means that he's a veteran player, they're not worried about him, they're going to give him a day off. Hopefully that's all it is. There's no issues with Shen. He didn't look great. I would have honestly had him escape another day, but this is what the Islanders are going with. And as you'll notice on defense, there is someone very obviously missing who does not need to play in the preseason. That is Matthew Schaefer. And what it's looking like tonight is going to shake out to be is a four-way tryout for one spot between Kessel, Mayfield, George, and Kayshaun Acheson. That is right. I think Kayshaun Acheson legitimately has a chance to make this team. Considering how much they're trying to decide between Kessel, George, and Mayfield, sorry, two of these players can make the Islanders team. I misspoke there. But two of them are going to get cut. And the fact that Kayshaun Acheson is playing in this game at all, right, if you were kind of just deciding between three guys, it would make sense to just play six defensemen and compare them one on one on one. The fact that Kayshaun Acheson is in here, I think he is very unlikely to make the team just because I think there makes more sense for him to go to the AHL and develop the rest of that offense and really become that true Rover number two defenseman. He can be, of course, number two because, you know, Matthew Schaefer, all the teams at this point with how good this kid is looking in preseason, you'll be looking at him as like a potential number one type fringe option. He has been that good. And I will say when it comes to these four defensemen, if this was a situation where the Islanders do from the preseason to the playoffs, the Islanders made the playoffs, it is a must win game win or go home. You got to pick between these guys who's in a play on the third pair. I'm going to be honest. I think Kayshaun Acheson would be the player who makes the team. I think of the options right between him, Mayfield, Isaiah George, and who else was the other one? Sorry. There's so many names go through and Kessel of those four players, I think Kayshaun Acheson has been the best. He's had the biggest impact on the game. I know he's a younger player, has no NHL experience. That is going to change at some point this season. I think when it came to projections with Kayshaun Acheson, I always like to be conservative with prospects. I expected him to get some games, maybe towards the end of the season. At this point, I think if there's an injury on this team, he is going to be the first call out to give him a look. And if he has a big game, unlike the other players, they're just have to show that they have a good feel for it. They're comfortable. Kayshaun Acheson is going to have to dominate this game to make the NHL. I can't say that that might not happen with how much he's improved game to game in the preseason. I wouldn't be surprised. This is the one that he starts to step up more offensively, show a little bit more. If he does, he'll make the team. If not, he will develop that in the NHL. And honestly, I think by December, this guy might be an NHL regular. He does look that good. Next going to talk about the other three candidates who I think are more likely to make this team just based on opportunities given. I think this is Isaiah George's job to lose, to be 100 percent honest. And this might be a hot take. I know he hasn't had the best preseason. You listen to Pete DeBoer talk about this player. He's clearly very high on Isaiah George. And the key there is he's a good skater, right? The Islanders need more defensemen who can skate well. Isaiah George just has something that the other players do and have even even compared to Kishon H. I think Isaiah George is a better skater. Kishon H is going to be a way better player than Isaiah George. You can already tell that he's better than him right now. But I think if he can provide that skating so that he can be a third pair option, I think Isaiah George will get that opportunity. He does have to have a cleaner game tonight, though, if he has more mistakes, a couple weird pinches that just don't make sense. You could see him maybe being the seventh defenseman, though, I think at this point with the Islanders, I think they realize Kishon H with Isaiah George. It's more about habits and making mistakes. So even if he does not make the roster, I think he is more likely to be the seventh defenseman as opposed to going to the A.H.L. and competing with time for with Kishon H. And that is the last thing you want at this point for the Islanders. The top pair job for for the A.H.L., it should be Kishon H eating as many minutes as he possibly can, because at this point, with how good he looks, that might be what his role is in the NHL. I mean, he played upwards of 20 minutes last night against the real New York Rangers lineup. And I know the preseason gets a little fluky. He looked pretty good against them and Ranger fans already absolutely despise him. So just wait how this continues to progress over the next few months. The one that I find the most interesting out of all these guys will finish on Scott Mayfield is Matt Kessel, because throughout this training camp, Matt Kessel has been very quiet. And you know what? As a third pair defenseman or an extra defenseman, that is a good thing. Honestly, if this was a situation where Isaiah George was not as young as he is, I think Matt Kessel is getting a legitimate look here to see what he can do on that side. I think the biggest hint that is not looking good for Matt Kessel is the fact that the Islanders are experimenting with Schaefer on the right side of the defense. That tells you pretty clearly that they're looking heavier at the left side candidates than they are the right side candidate. And maybe it's just getting Schaefer a look on that side. I know he's not playing this game, but Matt Kessel, I think, is a pretty safe seventh defenseman. To be honest, the one thing that kind of nixes the thing I said before, but I think Isaiah George would be the seventh defenseman because they want him to keep him up and learn good habits. I think if you put Matt Kessel on waivers, I think he gets claimed. You look at the state of defense in the NHL. In particular, I'm looking at the Buffalo Sabres who have, first of all, no right-handed defenseman and then two injuries on the defense. I think they claim a player like this. So I think that's something the Islanders do have to keep out an eye for. And especially if Isaiah George isn't going to start on the team, I think maybe they consider that. But because it's a guy who just signed the offseason just to have some organizational depth, they might not care all that much. Might just try to send him down. Anyway, we'll see what happens. The last player is Scott Mayfield. Sorry, Scott Mayfield. Clicked the wrong one there. My bad. A long video makes some mistakes. Scott Mayfield is the one I'm sure everyone's calling. Just put him on waivers with Pierre Engvall. I'm always a proponent. I don't think Scott Mayfield is a good defenseman, but I think he is better than people think he is. And when it comes to third-pair defenseman in the NHL, you really don't have a lot of good options. Most teams are not in love with their third-pair defenseman. In fact, the Islanders kind of do this in a unique way. Sorry. They might have one of the better third pairs in the entire, at least, Metro Division, which I've been really looking at closely over the past few days. But for Scott Mayfield, I think what today is going to be is if you play a really, really, really strong game. Actually, I think it's more based on what the other players play, but everyone knows what Scott Mayfield can do. If nobody impresses at the gate, you will be the third-pair defenseman on the right side. If a guy shows they deserve to do more in the NHL than you do, then you will likely be the seventh defenseman. But Scott Mayfield, when you throw away his contract, which you have to do when you're just looking at who your best seven defenseman is, Scott Mayfield in terms of the NHL is probably one of the better seventh, sixth defenseman in the entire league. I know he's frustrating. I get frustrated him all the time, but the things he does, he does well. He's six foot four. He's big. He throws the body around. Sometimes you like to see more of it, especially in front of the net. But again, we're talking about a seventh defenseman role here. I would be stunned if the Islanders put Scott Mayfield on waivers. It would be way more likely with all the injuries and concerns. If Scott Mayfield knew he was not making the Islanders, it'd be more likely that they facilitated a trade and likely could get a third-round pick for this play. I know he struggled a lot. That's the value of a third-pair right-hand defenseman that's six foot four in the NHL. I do expect him to make the team, though, if he's not starting. If he's a seventh defenseman, I wonder if this does make the trade talk get louder with Scott Mayfield. It is possible that maybe they can't get a return. Maybe they try to put him on waivers and see if someone decides to take that contract. Like I said, I would be stunned with that outcome. It's not something you normally see. We could see it, and we don't know what Darsh's MO is when it comes to trying to get rid of players and really what him and Pete DeBoer like in a defenseman. Although, we can kind of guess that it's not Scott Mayfield. I expect him to make this team, but at this point, especially with how good Ka'Shaun Aitken is, I know it's likely not going to be Ka'Shaun Aitken's job, but especially with Isaiah George's age, things like that, I expect him to not get the first shot, and I think it's notable. People will also note Tony D'Angelo isn't playing in this game either. That's because he's played the two-game maximum. Some people have been theorizing that maybe he was on the outside looking and trying to get one of these jobs. I think it was more a thing where Ka'Shaun Aitken looked comfortable with him to start, so they kept that as a pair, and now that Ka'Shaun Aitken has a really chance to make the team, it'll be interesting to see if maybe he starts on the side with Tony D'Angelo, but I fully expect Tony D'Angelo, at worst, to be the sixth defenseman on this team, but let me know what you think. As a final note, we didn't even cover it. We talked about those names that were cut from the New York Islanders. There was one name that was left out. That was Cole Iserman, in addition to Ka'Shaun Aitken. Those are the two big names here. I was like, wow, they really have a shot here. I will note, because of Cole Iserman is not in these 11 forwards, and Chen is also not in them, I think it is an outside chance that he makes the team, but if there are, unfortunately, injuries today, or we'll see, too, when it comes to what's going on with Matt Barzell, I do think he has an outside chance of making this club, and if not, I think he is the first injury call-up, and I think they want to make sure to give him a little bit of extra NHL practice, because he absolutely deserved it. The key takeaway of this training camp, and I know it has not been a clean preseason for the New York Islanders, but the key takeaway is last year, there was a lot of talk about Ka'Shaun Aitchison and Cole Iserman being 50-50 type prospects where they could hit, or they could be complete busts. I think at this point, for me, that talk is absolutely out the window. Both these guys look like they're ahead of schedule. Both of them look like NHL players, and honestly, if you took the veteran aspect out of it, and the player development, because that's important, too, right? When we talk about Ka'Shaun Aitchison, all my reasons for saying he should stay in the AHL are not him not being NHL-ready. It's more, I think, he can learn another gear in the AHL and make that transition more seamless, right? Work on that ceiling, because the floor is clearly there. I think it's honestly the same with Cole Iserman. I no longer have concern about these prospects. I think they both upgraded their stock in this preseason, and that's really good for the New York Islanders, because honestly, I don't think anybody has really lowered their stock, and that's rare to say. Typically, you have a preseason, a couple guys look rough. Quinn Finley, as Stephen Rosser mentioned, unfortunately, we couldn't get to see him, so it'll be interesting to see how he starts in the AHL. I'm gonna love to see him get a game, but other than that, of all the key guys, I think Prokhorov looked great. We can go down the list. Maybe Isaiah George has kind of nicked his stock a little bit, but I'm just hoping that it's about getting a smoother game, right? There's different types of mistakes when it comes to defensemen, so finishing this video off, I know, went way too long here. There's different types of mistakes that players make, and with Isaiah George, it feels like the mistakes he's making are just, you need more experience. You need more experience in the NHL. You need to know what you're able to do, what you're able to get away with. In the AHL, especially as a skater, as good of a skater as he is, you tend to be able to get away with bad habits, and I think that's what you're seeing in his game, and the only way to get rid of that is to play more in the NHL, right? Playing in the AHL, you'll just build those habits. I'd love to know what you think about this roster. Let's go, Islanders. Yeah, it's been, other than some of the scores, it's been a good training camp.