NHL Draft 2018: 15 first-hand takeaways from a weekend in Dallas

9. New York had an outstanding Round 1

It’s hard to say that any team had a better first round than the New York Islanders. And that’s a good thing, especially after all of the struggles they’ve been through in recent years.

The Islanders owned two picks in Round 1 (their own and the Flames pick). The two just happened to fall back-to-back at 11th and 12th, giving them the last say before the Stars made their selection in front of their home crowd.

And New York made sure not to waste either pick. Not only did they not waste them, but they pulled off two home runs that should play big roles in their lineup in the years to come. That’s how impressive they were.

With the 11th pick, they were able to snag USA forward Oliver Wahlstrom. As one of the top forwards in the draft, Wahlstrom was expected to go just outside of the top five. But when the first 10 names had been called and Wahlstrom was on the board, fans of every team in the bottom 21 began quietly (or openly) hoping for the chance to land him. Even Stars fans were grinning at the chance of being able to land him.

But the Islanders did the smart thing and picked him up before he went any further. He’s an incredible talent for an 18-year-old. This past year, he put up unbelievable numbers in the USHL and USDP. He’s got the skills of a top prospect and is already committed to Boston College. He was a great grab for NYI and should be an influential part of their offense for many years to come.

And then they took another solid swing by drafting Noah Dobson at No. 12. The defenseman was ranked as a top-five defender in the class and was projected to go in the top ten by many. His hockey IQ is terrific and he has great skills to back it up.

The Islanders essentially landed themselves two top-ten prospects outside of their range. And to add on to that, they picked up one forward and one defender. That looks awfully nice when contemplating the future of the team.