EP Rinkside 2021-22 Prospect Pool Rankings: No. 31-ranked New York Islanders

For the No. 31-ranked New York Islanders, back-to-back deep playoff runs and inefficient contracts have come at the expense of their war chest at the draft and their riches in the prospect pool.

The graduation of several key players in recent years isn't really helping matters in this regard either. Noah Dobson took the leap to full-time NHLer in the 2019-20 season, and Ilya Sorokin, Kieffer Bellows, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Anatoli Golyshev (the Islanders No. 1, 2, 3, and 9-ranked prospects in their system when we last checked in) all graduated for one reason or another.

If we ranked the league's best player pools from 24-years-old and younger, I suspect the Isles would show more favourably. Islanders fans can take some solace in that fact.

Even so, for a capped-out team like the Islanders, a system this weak has to be concerning. There aren't many reinforcements on the way to provide young, cost-controlled support on the margins of their lineup, and that's exactly what teams with legitimate aspirations of Stanley Cup contention need to keep their window pried open.