With October 3 and the New York Islanders’ home opener against the New Jersey Devils creeping closer, Victor Eklund’s birthday could come with a pretty significant twist. He’ll turn 20 that day, and where he spends it - UBS Arena or Hamilton with the Hammers in their inaugural season - will come down to what happens in training camp over the next few weeks.
That makes Eklund one of the more interesting names to watch as head coach Peter DeBoer sorts through his forward group. There’s no shortage of bodies in the mix, especially when it comes to the third and fourth lines, but a lot of those options are veteran depth pieces. That’s the real question here: does Eklund get a fair shot to crack the opening-night roster?
In a perfect world, a player like Eklund would land in a top-six role and fit in with the team’s skill guys. But that kind of setup isn’t always available for a veteran roster trying to win now. The 16th overall pick in the NHL Draft brings a complete game and a little edge, even without the size, so he can make just about any role work in the short term.
The Islanders do have skill at the top, but beyond Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal, nobody should be treated as untouchable there for the whole season. And if there’s one area that can always use more juice, it’s the offense - especially the power play.
The obstacle for Eklund is the group he’d have to beat out. Ondrej Palat, Pierre Engvall, and Anthony Duclair are all veteran options with big price tags, and their combined salary cap hit this season is $12.5 million. General manager Mathieu Darche may be hoping to get every last bit of hockey out of those contracts before looking elsewhere.
There are other depth names in the picture too. Casey Cizikas has held down a fourth-line role for the better part of a decade and still brings value. Kyle MacLean, meanwhile, earned trust as a spark plug under former head coach Patrick Roy.
So yes, the road looks steep for Eklund after just one NHL game. But there’s enough there to believe he could bring something different to this group, in a way that recalls Matthew Schaefer - though not at that level.
He’ll probably need a standout camp just to get serious consideration. Even so, the upside is obvious.
In Other News...
Islanders Prospect Malte Gustafsson Now Carries A Fascinating Blue-Line Question
Prospect buzz around Malte Gustafsson is starting to sound a lot more serious, and for good reason. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic sees the Islanders defense prospect as a player with the size, consistency and physical edge that can translate on the blue line, the kind of traits that tend to travel well as a young defender climbs the ladder. The arrow is pointed up enough that Gustafsson is no longer just a name in the system, but someone who is drawing attention for the way he affects shifts even when the offense does not fully show up.
The bigger question now is how that foundation turns into the kind of NHL defender the Islanders can actually count on. Wheeler has concerns about Gustafsson's skating and his offensive output, which is usually where the evaluation gets tricky for a player built more on reliability than flash. Even so, the long view is encouraging, and the comparison to a current NHL regular suggests there is a realistic path here to becoming more than a depth option if the rest of his game keeps moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Fans Already Have A Matthew Schaefer Debate On Their Hands
Matthew Schaefer is already the kind of player Islanders fans can argue about before his second season even really gets going. The rookie defenseman flashed the sort of two-way game that makes people around the league look twice, blending offense and defense in a way that hints at a much bigger ceiling than the usual early-career praise.
A recent projection from Daily Faceoff only added to the buzz, placing Schaefer among the early names to watch for the 2026-27 Norris Trophy race. It is hardly a prediction carved in stone, but it does underline how quickly his profile has risen and why the Islanders may already have a future award conversation on their hands. [Read more 🡒]