Next up in our 2023 fantasy hockey team previews is the New York Islanders. After back-to-back conference finals, the Islanders have toiled in mediocrity. They are a team Lou Lamoriello built to win in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they can’t score or keep up with the top teams in the division to get into the playoffs.
It’s going to be a long season for Islanders fans. While every team in the division added big pieces, the Islanders, stood pat. The Islanders struggled to score goals in 2022-23, finishing 22nd in goals scored. With eleven forwards under contract through 2024-25, Those struggles seem destined to continue. There’s no rebuild in sight. On paper, they’re not bad enough to be a lottery team. Unfortunately, on paper, they’re not a playoff team either.
The Islanders lack elite offensive fantasy weapons. They do have some nice mid-tier options that would help any fantasy hockey team. Let’s take a closer look at the Islanders’ best fantasy options at forward, defense, and in goal.
New York Islanders Fantasy Hockey Preview
Islanders Forwards
Let’s be blunt, no Islander forward should go in the first two rounds of any fantasy draft. There is no piece elite enough to consider that early.
The Islanders’ best fantasy option at forward is Mat Barzal. With the addition of Bo Horvat, Barzal has moved to the wing. Early indications are that there is strong chemistry between the two. Shortly after the trade, Barzal suffered an injury postponing that budding chemistry. Hopefully, the shift to wing will result in Barzal shooting more. If he does, there’s real point-per-game potential.
With Bo Horvat, temper expectations. It’s that simple. Let’s slide him back into that low 30-goal, 60-to-65-point expectation range. What’s more, he’s not even the best fantasy center on the Islanders. Brock Nelson stirs the drink on Long Island. With back-to-back seasons of 37 and 36 goals, we can expect 35 or more for 2023-2024. Coming off a career-high of 75 points, this should be your cut-off on offensive expectations for Nelson. No more, but possibly less.
While Anders Lee’s offensive production has dropped in the last couple of seasons, lots of players have low seasons and bounced back. There’s still 30-goal, 60-point potential here. He also provides good peripheral production. A very safe 200-shot, 100-hit option.
After these four, fantasy values drop. Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are your next best options. It hasn’t been easy for Palmieri with the Islanders. There’s some value in multi-cat leagues due to the number of hits and shots he can provide. Pageau provides good value in face-off leagues. Beyond those peripheral values, 45-50 points is their production range.
Oliver Wahlstrom is one to watch and is the only young forward with an offensive ceiling worth noting. With so many veteran forwards under contract for two or more years, it could be a wait for him to reach his potential.
Islanders Defensemen
The conversation all but stops with Noah Dobson. With back-to-back 49- and 50-point seasons, he enters his third full season teasing fantasy owners with 60-plus potential. Without competition, he is the power-play quarterback for the Islanders. Averaging over three minutes on the power-play, he’s a plug-and-play option. The only knock comes in multi-cat leagues where he’s not a big hitter and isn’t a high-volume shot blocker.
After Dobson, the options get murky. A couple of years ago, Ryan Pulock teased fantasy owners. I for one thought he could be a carbon copy of Justin Faulk (St. Louis). It’s unclear why his shot totals dropped last year. A consistent 2.1 shot per game defenseman, he posted a career-worst, 1.5 shots per game. Let’s hope this is an anomaly rather than a growing concern.
Alexander Romanov is right on Pulock’s heels for second in power-play usage. Romanov was last summer’s key acquisition. Multi-cat leagues take note, Romanov mashes. Expect an average of two hits and almost two blocks per game. The one flag is shots. He has yet to average even 1.5 per game. This is my biggest red flag when looking at a defenseman for offense. If he doesn’t start shooting more his offensive production will remain limited. Right now, he’s a deep league multi-cat option only.
The rest of the Islander’s defense offers little to no fantasy value. A really deep pool might be able to use Pelech’s limited offense or Mayfield’s hits and blocks. Gulp, let’s hope you find better options.
Islanders Goalies
The only early-round draft option the Islanders offer is the white whale, Ilya Sorokin. It will take a Hart Trophy level performance from Sorokin for the Islanders to make the playoffs. The season lives and breathes with how well he performs. Even if Sorokin has a bad season, expect him to finish in or near the top five in Vezina voting.
He’s a legitimate top-tier goalie. I don’t like drafting a goalie in the first five rounds of a draft. There’s too much unpredictability. That said, if Sorokin were to slide, I would be very tempted to break my own no-early-goalie rule. If Sorokin does drop a round or two in a draft it’s due to expectations on the Islanders, not a knock on him as a goalie. If he was available early third round, my no-goalie rule would break right there.
He should be one of the first two or three goalies drafted.
Semyon Varlamov just re-signed for four more years. Lamoriello throws around terms like Mr. Beast and gives away cars, but that’s a rant for a different day. If you’re someone who likes to own goalie tandems, then you could do worse than these two. If you’re struggling for a depth goalie and you drafted Sorokin, Varlamov is a decent depth option.
I’ll wrap up with the hopes that if you’re an Islanders fan, you draft with your head and not your heart. Take the top options where they should fall, not where your blinders tell you they belong. The top Islanders players provide good fantasy mid-level and depth options.
Sorokin is a top-tier goalie. Dobson is a second-to-third-tier defenseman who could move into the second tier this year. Barzal is your best forward option now that he has moved to the wing. Nelson a good option as a depth center. Horvat gets drafted earlier than he should – don’t be the one that jumps and takes him expecting 75 points. Lee should slide and could provide late-round value.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it and found this useful as you prep for your fantasy hockey draft.
Give me a follow on Twitter @doylelb4; where you’ll find as many hiking musings as you will fantasy hockey.
Make sure to check out all of our Fantasy Hockey Team Previews as they roll out over the coming weeks!