Islanders Draft Recap: Darche’s Team Vision Becoming Clear

The 2025 NHL Draft has officially come to an end. The New York Islanders entered Los Angeles with seven draft picks and one first-round pick.

That first-round pick, of course, was the first overall pick. The Islanders drafted Matthew Schaefer, who will push to be a part of the roster this season, and will be a cornerstone of this franchise for a long time.

By the time the draft ended, New York exited with one of the best prospect pools in the NHL, thanks to the Noah Dobson trade. After Dobson essentially forced his way to Montreal (by nixing deals to any Western Conference teams), the Islanders acquired the 16th and 17th overall picks, along with highly underrated Emil Heineman.

You all know the rest. Islanders’ GM Mathieu Darche tried to acquire James Hagens, but was rebuffed. The Islanders then watched as a gift basket floated down the draft board, as the Islanders landed the supremely talented Victor Eklund and the supremely physical Kashawn Aitcheson.

In the second and third rounds, the Islanders added the towering Daniil Prokhorov, then the underrated Luca Romano.

With just those five picks, the Islanders drastically altered their prospect pool. With those picks, a trend began to emerge. Then picks from rounds four through seven confirmed the trend:

Recapping Late Picks Today:

In the fourth round, the Islanders drafted LW Tomas Poletin. Poletin served as captain for Czechia’s U18 team and is a clear leader on any team he plays.

Moreover, he plays a hard, fast style. While the Islanders drafted him 106th, TSN’s Craig Button had a second-round grade on him, while Bob McKenzie had him ranked 66th, which would be the very top of the third round.

He played 15 games in top-flight Liiga this past year, an impressive feat for a youngster.

In the fifth round, the Islanders drafted Sam Laurila, a left-shot defenseman, a University of North Dakota commit at 138th overall. Shoots lefts. Ranked super high by TSN’s Craig Button at #75. Posted 8-33-41 in 57 games with the USHL’s Fargo Force.

Laurila’s got some serious upside with an offensive touch, and he’s known for how hard he works on the ice.

In the sixth round, the Islanders took their customary annual goalie, this year opting for Burke Hood. Hood played in the WHL this past season with the Vancouver Giants. 19-13-6, 3.13 GAA, .910 SV%. He had a bit of a rough go in the playoffs, which dropped him down a bit on some boards.

Then, in the seventh and final round, the Islanders drafted Jacob Kvasnicka 202nd overall. USNTDP product. Will play for the Penticton Vees in the WHL in 2025-26. After that, he is off to the University of Minnesota for the 2026-27 season.

Kvasnicka is an incredibly sneaky pick for a seventh-rounder. While, as a late pick, he is a project, he’s young and won’t turn 18 until early August. He’s a strong skater who works very hard when he’s on the ice, with a physical edge.

The Obvious Trend:

In case you think I’m a broken record, I’m very aware of all of those skaters I wrote about how hardworking they are. That’s the exact trend Darche is setting. Fast, skilled, hard-nosed hockey players.

The other trend? Darche did not select one single overager, save for Sam Laurila, who could’ve been drafted last year. Laurila is still 18 years old until early September. Ex-GM Lou Lamoriello had a habit of drafting overagers in some later rounds, most of whom didn’t pan out. The jury is still out on the hulking Jesse Pulkkinen, an overager but more-than-fair second-round pick from last season.

Darche preached his desire for a speed-based, physical team. That doesn’t happen overnight. This type of draft class will set that tone.

Based on this class, I find it very hard to believe that Darche hasn’t kicked serious tires on Isaac Howard. He’d fit into the system and style that Darche is building perfectly.

National Reception:

Yesterday afternoon, the national perception of the Islanders seemed limited to snap judgments of the Dobson trade. Most critiqued the Islanders, while a lot waited for what many assumed would be an inevitable trade up for James Hagens.

24 hours and nine draft picks later, nobody’s belittling the Islanders now.

The Daily Face-Off’s Steven Ellis ranked the Islanders’ draft first and gave them a resounding A+. Said Ellis of today’s picks, “Prokhorov gives the Islanders a high-end, offensive power forward, while Romano brings a bit more speed and skill to the table. Burke Hood, too? Dang.”

The Athletic’s notoriously harsh critique, Corey Pronman, heaped praise on the Islanders. “Daniil Prokhorov, Luca Romano, and Tomas Poletin will infuse the Islanders’ system with a mix of skill and grit.”

More from The Athletic, this time by way of Scott Wheeler. He made the Islanders his biggest winner. Specifically, his best quote is what he said about the seventh-rounder Kvasnicka: “Jacob Kvasnicka is a dog who charmed me into putting him in my top 100.”

Make no mistake about it. The future is very bright for the Islanders. Tomorrow morning, we’ll dig right into the immediate fallout, which will include a prompt search for a right-shot defenseman along with the maybe never-ending deep dive for a top-six winger.