Cole Eiserman is still only 20, but the Islanders’ first-round pick is already talking like a player who understands the road in front of him.
Friday’s first on-ice session at rookie camp was the start of his first full professional season, and the winger’s words suggested real growth from the prospect who was taken 20th overall two years ago. Back then, he said, “I definitely see the game differently than a lot of people,” and that confidence came wrapped around a reputation as a one-dimensional scorer with a dangerous wrist shot.
Now, Eiserman sounds more focused on the other side of the puck.
“Just playing away from the puck, I’m trying to always be on the puck, be alert at all times,” Eiserman told Newsday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow in a private chat sandwiched between two group interview sessions. “Little stuff you can do in practice just by listening to your coach. You can train your brain to always be dialed in out there and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“I’m trying to be very open-minded and listen to people that care about me and really just do anything I can to be a hockey player and play for the New York Islanders. I’d do anything.
I don’t necessarily need to score as many goals. Obviously, I love scoring goals, it’s what I do best, I think.
But I’ll do anything to stay and be an NHL player.”
That’s the mindset the Islanders need to see if Eiserman is going to turn his scoring touch into a regular NHL role. He spent the last two seasons at Boston University, where he put up 43 goals and 21 assists in 71 games, before joining the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for a brief late-season run. There, he added two goals and seven assists in 12 games and also appeared in two playoff games.
Eiserman is one of three first-round picks in rookie camp, along with wing Victor Eklund and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson. He’ll get his next chance to make a case when training camp begins Thursday, though the safer bet is that he needs more time in the AHL before he’s ready for the Islanders.
The challenge for him isn’t just talent. It’s patience.
“Yeah, it takes a little bit,” Eiserman said. “You’ve got to mature a little bit.
I feel like I’ve matured. You’ve got to be able to listen and adapt.
I’m not afraid to listen to criticism or listen to stuff that I need to work on. At the end of the day, if I want to play in the NHL, I’ve got to do the stuff that the coach and the system wants me to do.”
That coach figures to be Jay McKee, who is in his first season running the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, now based in Hamilton, Ontario. McKee is also handling the on-ice work at rookie camp, and he likes what he’s hearing from Eiserman.
“He’s a skilled forward,” McKee said of Eiserman. “What I like about him is in one of my first conversations, he acknowledged the things that he needs to improve on and that’s a step of maturity right there.
A lot of young guys won’t address those issues. They’ll just talk about the things they’re good at and will want to work on those things.”
McKee pointed to the video room as another place where a player’s readiness shows up.
“When you implement systems and you see guys that can pick it up right away and other guys it takes a little more time,” McKee said.
For Eiserman, the next step is clear enough: keep the offense, add the details, and show he can handle the grind. Whether that comes quickly enough to land him with the Islanders this season remains to be seen.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Face A Kirill Marchenko Trade Question With Real Stakes
The Islanders have already spent plenty of time this summer trying to find more offense, and Kirill Marchenko has surfaced as another name worth watching. The Columbus winger would fit the kind of age range and scoring upside teams usually covet on the trade market, which helps explain why New York is reportedly in the mix as it keeps exploring ways to add some punch to the lineup.
What makes the situation trickier is that Marchenko is not the sort of player a team simply picks up for a modest return. For the Islanders, any serious pursuit would have to be weighed against the price Columbus is likely to demand, and that creates the same familiar tension for a club looking to improve without stripping away too much of its future. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Prospect Vladimir Dravecky Has A Rookie Camp Edge Right Away
Vladimir Dravecky is getting his first taste of Islanders rookie camp with a little less of the usual uncertainty that comes with turning pro. The fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft is stepping into a new setting, but he is doing it alongside people he already knows from his OHL days, which has made the early transition feel a lot more comfortable.
Among the familiar faces is former OHL coach Jay McKee, who will coach the Hamilton Hammers this fall, giving Dravecky an immediate connection in camp as he begins his professional career. He has also been around other staff members he recognizes, including assistant coach Vince Laise and video coach Owen Bernal, and that support system has given him a strong edge right away as he settles into the Islanders' developmental path. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Carried One Unforgettable 9 11 Memory Into A Hopeful Season
September 11, 2001, was supposed to be the start of a fresh season for the Islanders, with training camp underway in Lake Placid and a new face behind the bench in Peter Laviolette. Instead, the day quickly took on a far different meaning, and the atmosphere around camp was shaped by the same shock and uncertainty that engulfed the rest of the country.
For Laviolette, it was the beginning of his NHL head coaching career, but it became a moment he would never forget for reasons far beyond hockey. The Islanders eventually found their footing and turned that season into a success, reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1994, a reminder that even in a year defined by tragedy, the team still carried a sense of purpose into the months that followed. [Read more 🡒]