NY Islanders Well Represented on NHL Prospect Tiers

New York has a legitimate franchise cornerstone to build around, with Schaefer having top-10 player upside in the NHL. While he is by far their top-ranked prospect, he isn’t the only player under 23 years old in the organization who is drumming up attention.

The next prospect to appear on the list for the Islanders is Malte Gustafsson, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Like Schaefer, he is a left-handed shooting defenseman. He landed in Tier 4 - Star and is a 4B.

Projected to be a high-end top-four defenseman in the NHL, what will elevate his long-term outlook is whether he can improve his offensive ceiling. He has excellent feel to be a two-way contributor, but to be locked in as a top-pairing player, he needs to provide a little more offensively.

Rounding things out, New York has four players who landed in Tier 5 - Support. These are top-150 prospects who can support a championship core but aren’t regarded as irreplaceable pieces within it. Players in this tier are below-average top-line forwards, No. 2 defensemen or above-average starting goalies.

Three of the Islanders' prospects landed in the top of this tier as 5A players: right winger Victor Eklund, center Calum Ritchie and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson.

Islanders have deep, talented prospect pipeline

The highest-ranked of the trio is Eklund, who could easily bump into Tier 4 with a little more goal-scoring prowess. His playmaking is excellent, but he needs to provide more than 15-20 goals to land in that star tier.

Ritchie is a great building block for the franchise and showcased real promise during his rookie campaign last year. He is going to help a team win games; the question is, will he be a top player or an elite complementary piece? New York would be thrilled with either.

Aitcheson has the tools to move up a tier also, but is starting to get lost in the shuffle a bit. Like Schaefer and Gustafsson, he is a left-handed shooting defenseman. His development will be fascinating to see unfold given how many young defensemen are in the pipeline.

Last but not least, listed as a 5B player is Cole Eiserman. There is an avenue for him to move up the rankings given his shooting prowess, but he doesn’t offer a whole lot outside of being a sniper.

Goal scorers can rapidly move up the rankings, but if he isn’t providing that, his ceiling is capped compared to other prospects in the tier.