Islanders Patience with Wahlstrom Running Thin
Plus, Noah Dobson is a good defender, but he's not elite
Welcome to the THW New York Islanders Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Islanders writers.
In today’s edition, we look at whether Oliver Walhstrom’s time with the Islanders could be concluding. Also, the Islanders recently played the Vancouver Canucks, pitting Noah Dobson and Quinn Hughes against each other. Both are very good defensemen, but one is elite.
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Now, on to the good stuff…
Is Oliver Wahlstrom’s Islanders Tenure Coming to an End?
January 11, 2024 by Michael Ostrower
The New York Islanders selected right winger Oliver Wahlstrom 11th overall in the 2018 Entry Draft. As a 6-foot-2 sniper from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP), he was expected to be the next great goal scorer for the Islanders. His 22 goals in 26 games for the USNTDP, along with his 48 goals in 62 games for the U.S. National U18 Team, pushed him to the top of the Islanders’ pipeline. However, he has yet to translate that success.
Dobson & Hughes Show Gap Between Good & Elite Defensemen
January 10, 2024 by Mike Fink
The Jan. 9 game between the New York Islanders and the Vancouver Canucks showed the gap between a good team and a great one. The Islanders at 18-12-10 are putting together a respectable season and look poised to make the playoffs. They were no match for the Canucks, a team looking to win the Presidents’ Trophy with a 27-11-3 record, as they were trounced 5-2 on their home ice.
On the blue line, this gap was on full display. Noah Dobson is having a good season but isn’t worthy of an All-Star nod. In fact, according to the recent voting data, he isn’t on the list as one of the top 15 skaters worthy of a final spot, a surprise to Islanders fans but not to NHL fans at large.
Quinn Hughes was voted as the Canucks All-Star and on top of that, he is one of the favorites to win the Norris Trophy this season. The two defensemen showed how far Dobson still has to go to enter the Norris conversation and that top tier of the league’s elite defensemen.