Vladimír Dravecký keeps stacking up production, and now he’s got the hardware to go with it.
The Islanders’ 2026 fifth-round pick was named OHL Defenseman of the Month for October on Sunday after pacing all OHL blueliners with 20 points in 13 games. He’s put together 4 goals and 16 assists, and he’s been on a heater lately, too - his point streak is up to eight straight games after picking up an assist in both games this past week.
That stretch has been built on consistency. Dravecký has recorded an assist in every game since Oct. 10, and five of those eight outings have been multi-point performances.
His latest work came in a pair of Guelph Storm wins: an assist on Friday, Oct. 30, in a 4-3 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, then another on Halloween in a 5-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit.
The first came on Carter Stevens’ fifth goal of the season more than 14 minutes into the second period, while the second set up Ryan Roobroeck’s power-play goal.
The numbers keep adding up around Dravecký, too. He’s second in the OHL in assists with 16, has five power-play helpers, and sits fifth in the league with a plus-12 rating.
Elsewhere in the system, Dmitry Gamzin hit a milestone in net and kept rolling right past it. The goaltender played in his 100th career KHL game on Oct. 25 and celebrated with a win, stopping 27 shots in CSKA Moscow’s 3-1 victory. Across those first 100 KHL appearances, Gamzin has 49 wins, a save percentage over .930 and 14 shutouts.
He wasn’t done there. On Sunday, Nov.
1, Gamzin turned aside 27 of 29 shots as CSKA edged Traktor Chelyabinsk 3-2 in overtime. He now ranks second in the KHL in goals-against average and is tied for the league lead in shutouts with three.
Through this season, the 23-year-old owns a .932 save percentage, a 1.49 goals-against average and a 7-4 record, including one overtime win and one shootout victory.
Bobby Cowan also had a productive weekend at Western Michigan University. The Islanders’ seventh-round pick in the 2026 Draft posted three points in two games against Long Island University, finishing with 1 goal and 2 assists for the Broncos.
In the opener against the Sharks, Cowan picked up two assists and helped fuel a 10-2 win by setting up Western Michigan’s sixth and 10th goals. He stayed involved in the second game as well, scoring an insurance goal in the second period to push the Broncos to a four-goal cushion.
The Edina, Minnesota, native matched his season high with four shots on goal in the second game. He now has eight points in seven games this season, with 4 goals and 4 assists, and a plus-7 rating for the 6-1 Broncos.
In Other News...
Islanders Prospect Vladimir Dravecky Is Raising Expectations With His Junior Breakout
Vladimir Draveckys junior season is starting to look like the kind of jump that can change how an organization views a prospect. The Islanders defenseman has been producing at a pace that stands out even in a league known for developing offensive blue-liners, piling up four goals and 16 assists in 13 games with the Guelph Storm while leading all OHL defensemen in scoring over that stretch.
For a player taken 141st overall, that kind of early-season surge matters. Dravecky has clearly taken a step forward from last year, and the improvement is giving the Islanders a more intriguing look at what he might become if this breakout holds through the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Battered Blue Line
With Ryan Pulock sidelined and Alexander Romanov already out, the Islanders have added some immediate insurance on the blue line by bringing in veteran defenseman Ben Hutton on a professional tryout. It is the kind of move that signals a team trying to steady itself before the depth chart gets any thinner, especially on a defense that has already taken a hit.
Huttons arrival gives New York another experienced option to evaluate as it navigates the early strain on its back end. He most recently spent time with the Vegas Golden Knights, and for the Islanders this is less about splash than survival, a chance to see whether a veteran presence can help cover the gaps while the injured defenders work their way back. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Head Into Break With A Scoring Problem DeBoer Must Fix
The Islanders reached the break in need of a reset after a 4-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at UBS Arena, a game that fit the larger pattern of a team running on fumes. It was their fourth game in seven days, and the offense never found much traction as New York generated only 18 shots, its fewest in a game this season, while dealing with injuries to several key players.
Special teams did not offer much help, either, as the Islanders came up empty on four power-play chances and never put enough sustained pressure on Edmonton to change the tone. With an extended pause before their next game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the break now looms as a chance to get healthier and sort out a scoring issue that has become hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]