Breaking Down the Islanders’ New-Look Forward Core

The New York Islanders have certainly kept themselves busy these last seven days.

All the chaos technically began on May 5, when the Islanders won the 2025 Draft Lottery. Then, the search for a new executive landed on Mathieu Darche, whom the team formally introduced at the end of May.

As June rolled on, rumors surrounding the team only grew. Eventually, it all came to a fever pitch on draft day. That day, the Islanders shipped Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens for the 16th and 17th overall picks.

After crushing the draft, the Islanders’ focus shifted to free agency, where the team added not one, but potentially two top-six wingers in 24 hours. First came Jonathan Drouin on July 1, on a two-year deal. Then, on Wednesday evening, the Islanders landed Maxim Shabanov.

While it’s hard to forecast exactly what Shabanov will be, his high-end skating and skill make it very possible to see a slam-dunk NHL player, at worst, on your third line.

So, the Islanders now have a roster with 16 clear NHL-level forwards, along with seven (or eight) defensemen, and three goalies.

The roster is not finalized, but if there are no other changes, it will make training camp incredibly intriguing.

So, on this 4th of July, let’s break down what it could look like in early October:

The forwards are where Patrick Roy and his staff will have their hardest calls to make. For simplicity, I will break it down into tiers:

Tier 1- Locks: 

Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, Jonathan Drouin, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Simon Holmstrom, Maxim Tsyplakov, Casey Cizikas

The locks are all pretty self-explanatory. If any of those players are out of the lineup on opening night, it’s thanks to an injury or a very unexpected trade. Some point to Pageau as a trade chip, and while he holds immense value, the Islanders have been extremely clear about their goal to remain competitive. Trading Pageau now takes away from that goal. Ditto for Cizikas.

Tier 2- The Bubble, but Likely In: 

Anthony Duclair, Emil Heineman, Maxim Shabanov

Anthony Duclair, Emil Heineman, and Maxim Shabanov are firmly on the bubble, all for different reasons.

Duclair lands on the bubble solely due to how last season ended. If he is here and back in good spirits (and getting along with Roy), then he’s surely in. Too many people forget he tore his groin, then played through the injury for the rest of the way. Just one look at his play and deeper numbers, it’s blatantly obvious he was far from himself. Duclair can help this hockey team far more than he showed last year.

Shabanov and Heineman feel like locks, but they aren’t. One bad training camp, and they can both be flipped or waived. Heineman feels safer than Shabanov, thanks to his NHL experience. If Shabanov doesn’t show well, he will miss out. But based on how Roy talked about Shabanov yesterday, it’d be a shock if Shabanov doesn’t get a chance.

Now, onto the four forwards currently on the outside of the lineup, looking in.

Tier 3- The Bubble, but Likely Out: 

Pierre Engvall, Calum Ritchie, Kyle MacLean, Marc Gatcomb

First, Pierre Engvall. Yes, Engvall had a very strong final six weeks. No, that does not make him safe. After adding Drouin, Shabanov, and Heineman, Engvall likely finds himself on the outside looking in. He’s also the top Islanders’ trade candidate, but a move feels unlikely.  He could be waived and passed through waivers, as he was twice last year.

As for Kyle MacLean, with the very strong center depth, he’s going to face an uphill climb to make the opening night lineup. He’s very likely the 5th or 6th-best center in the organization, especially with Barzal switching back to center. Had nothing else at all happened, that alone would’ve bumped MacLean out. Adding three clear forwards, with Calum Ritchie in waiting, makes it an extremely difficult path. He’s likely starting the year battling for the 13th or 14th forward spot.

Marc Gatcomb performed quite admirably following his call-up, scoring eight goals and being an excellent spark plug. Even so, with all the additions, it’s going to be quite tough for him to crack the lineup, or even the roster. Very likely, it will be Gatcomb against Engvall for the extra winger spot on the opening night roster. Gatcomb should, in my opinion, be prioritized to be kept around over Engvall or MacLean.

Finally, that brings us to Calum Ritchie. Ritchie is the Islanders’ top forward prospect who can make the team this year. Before this summer, it felt like a lock he’d make the NHL team. Now? It’s much murkier. With every center returning and Barzal shifting back to center, it’s very hard to see it. It didn’t exactly help matters that Ritchie didn’t look like a total world-beater during development camp, though it was clear he’s on a different level. Starting in the AHL would not be a bad thing for him, before graduating by January.