The Islanders seem to have an allergy to drafting in the first round under Lou Lamoriello, but all things considered, their draft record since the general manager took over in May 2018 is not so bad.
No, there are not any future stars playing for AHL Bridgeport and the jury is still out on even the most promising youngsters in the system.
The Islanders will not be appearing near the top of any NHL farm system rankings anytime soon, in fact, they will probably stay near the bottom.
That, however, has as much to do with the team making just 16 picks from 2020-22 as the actual record of the players drafted.
On top of that, if the Islanders make the 49th pick on Thursday, it will be the organization’s highest selection since 2019.
If there is an indictment to make, it centers on the seeming lack of interest in keeping draft picks.
The only time the Islanders have used their full stock of picks under Lamoriello was in his first draft in 2018, when they left Dallas with an eight-man class highlighted by Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom.
Truth be told, Lamoriello did not sound all that intrigued by this draft (or any other topic) when he spoke to reporters in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday.
“Scouts think it’s quite deep,” he said. “But we’ve heard that before. But I think it’s deep from everything I’ve seen and heard as far as the consistency. It’s pretty deep.”
Barring any trades, the Islanders will pick 49th, 113th, 145th, 177th and 209th on Thursday.
Their first-round pick was a casualty of the trade for Bo Horvat.
Their third-round pick became a cap casualty, along with a 2022 second-rounder, when Andrew Ladd was cap-dumped to Arizona in 2021.
It is certainly possible — if not likely — that dealing away more picks will be necessary if the Islanders choose to prioritize moving Josh Bailey’s entire cap hit over the replenishment of their system.
Those are the corners the Islanders have painted themselves into, thanks to the flat cap and the organization’s enduring belief that the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons are more representative of the team’s potential than 2021-22 and 2022-23.
When they actually have picked, the Islanders have done a fine job of unearthing players who at least look like they will be NHL contributors one day.
Samuel Bolduc (57th overall, 2019), William Dufour (152nd overall, 2020), Aatu Raty (52nd overall, 2022) and Matt Maggio (142nd overall, 2022) all fall under this category, though Raty’s contribution to the Islanders ended up being as a piece of the Horvat deal.
Arnaud Durandeau (165th overall, 2017) also is one, though he was drafted by Garth Snow, who somehow managed to turn up approximately one star per year from 2012-15.
Simon Holmstrom — the only first-round pick Lamoriello has made since 2018 — did not make a huge impact over 50 NHL games last season.
The likes of Calle Odelius, Quinn Finley and goaltender Tristan Lennox are all too far away to have a strong handle on what they may become.
The Islanders are unlikely to get picky regarding position, not when the better part of their system’s depth consists of just a few names.
Right defense, though, sticks out as an area in which the cupboard is bare beyond the NHL top-six.
Despite the Islanders’ depth down the middle, it might not hurt to add a center either, especially given questions about how Ruslan Ishakov’s play will translate to the NHL due to his 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame.
Five picks, with just one before the fourth round, are not about to change the enduring reality that when the current core ages out, it looks like it will be a painful rebuilding process.
No one is making big promises here.
A mere step forward would suffice.