Fansided

Islanders’ Oliver Wahlstrom says Rangers ‘made a mistake’ passing on him

By Kelsey Grace Pfeifer

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Oliver Wahlstrom poses after being selected eleventh overall by the New York Islanders during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Oliver Wahlstrom poses after being selected eleventh overall by the New York Islanders during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Oliver Wahlstrom was drafted by one New York team, the Islanders, at No. 11 overall in the NHL Draft — and he had a message for the New York team, the Rangers, that passed him up.

The NHL Draft always looks somewhat like a high school dance, and in a way, they’re similar.

You’ve got a gaggle of teenagers just hoping, praying, that they won’t be the one guy left sitting in a corner. And, much like high school, you’ve got the ones who know they’ll get a dance so they just want the prettiest girl to ask them.

So begins the case of Oliver Wahlstrom, who was taken at a very respectable eleventh by the New York Islanders. Wahlstrom is a talented right winger and was slated to be selected in the top 10. He’s someone who loves to be in control of the puck and sink it into the back of the net.

That being said, there have been some backstage whispers that Wahlstrom was less than pleased with the pick. Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post quoted Wahlstrom in regard to the New York Rangers passing on him at pick No. 9: “The New York Rangers made a mistake there.”

Yikes.

Wahlstrom clearly had the expectation that he’d go sooner. However, the Islanders could be a far better fit than the Rangers, who instead took six-foot-four Russian right winger, Vitali Kravtsov. The Rangers have been clawing for some consistency, whereas the Islanders are in the midst of a franchise renovation. Bets are on that Walhstrom will see sooner action if the Isles say goodbye to John Tavares.

However, quotes like the ones above can haunt a career. Wahlstrom has the numbers to back up his words in the USDP, but not in the NHL. Not yet. So by even motioning that the Rangers missed a huge opportunity to take him is setting himself up for failure.

And he’s not the only one — Filip Zadina (who went sixth, despite rumors of him being taken by Montreal at third) said, “If they will pass on me, I’m going to fill up their net with pucks…I just want to prove to them they did a bad decision.”

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At the end of the day, these are 18-year-old boys on the biggest night of their young lives. They’re not media trained yet; they’re probably wearing the only suit they own. Breaks are warranted. Let’s just hope these big words have some big shots behind them.