Islanders News: Draft recaps and NHL roster updates

The New York Islanders, having surrendered their first-round pick to the New Jersey Devils when they acquired Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, did not participate in the first day of the draft.

But they did take part in the second day, and with their late second-rounder, their first pick of the draft, they selected a player that once was believed to be a no. 1 overall candidate for this draft. Finnish center Aatu Räty dominated players his age two years ago, but he struggled when he joined Karpat of the Finnish Liiga playing against men. He has the potential to be a steal in the second round.

Apparently, too, his effort is not a question—his coaches have had to talk to him to tell him to take it easy in practice so that he still had energy for games. We love to hear that. We also love to hear that he dominated his World Junior Summer Showcase game later yesterday afternoon against Sweden, recording a hat-trick.

Islanders News

• Räty is a potential sleeper in the second round at 52nd overall. [LHH | Newsday]
• The Islanders took Canadian G Tristan Lennox, from the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, at pick no. 93 in the third round. [LHH]
• Then, they took C Cameron Berg, a North Dakota native and a commit to Nebraska-Omaha, at no. 125 in the fourth round and Finnish LW Eetu Liukas at no. 157 in the fifth round. [LHH]
• Here is the summation and brief scouting report of all six picks. The Islanders finished their day by adding Finnish defenseman Aleksi Malinen at no. 189 in the sixth round and Czech defenseman Tomas Machu at no. 221 in the seventh round. [Islanders | Newsday]
• Räty’s early coronation put a little too much pressure on him at such a young age. But despite his fall in rank, he still has a story to write, hopefully in the NHL. [The Athletic]
• Corey Pronman gave the Islanders a ‘C’ on their 2021 NHL Entry Draft report card. He likes the picks of Lennox and Liukas, and he is a skeptical fan of Räty, whose success or lack thereof will make or break the 2021 Islanders class. [The Athletic]
• LISTEN: GM Lou Lamoriello spoke to the media after the NHL Draft to discuss all the business from the last few days. [Islanders]
• He was happy to have cap space, but not so much to have it at the expense of useful players like Jordan Eberle and Nick Leddy. [Newsday]
• Non-draft items: The Islanders do not appear to be the front-runners for Ryan Suter, but the quiet around Zach Parise suggests that Lamoriello is there. Other left-defense targets, like Alec Martinez and Mike Reilly, may not be available to the Islanders. So the Isles may make a trade. [The Athletic]
• Matt Martin remembers the day he was drafted—he did not think that he was on the Islanders’ radar and actually missed the selection as it happened. Good story, and worth the click if only to see the image of him in his first season. [Islanders]
• Stan Fischler knows that the Dynasty Islanders were built through the draft. [Maven’s Memories]
• After the Islanders posted this picture of her with Bryan Trottier, Katie Ledecky went on to win her first heat of the Tokyo Olympics in the 400m freestyle. I think the organization needs to tweet out its support for the owner’s niece every time she is in the pool.

Elsewhere

• One noteworthy pick for Long Islanders: Huntington’s Matthew Coronato, who grew up an Isles fan, was selected 13th overall by the Calgary Flames. [Newsday]
• The Columbus Blue Jackets swapped out Cam Atkinson to the Philadelphia Flyers for former Columbus draft pick Jake Voracek in a one-for-one trade. [NHL]
• The Buffalo Sabres finalized their trade of former no. 2 overall pick, Sam Reinhart, to the Florida Panthers, receiving in return G Devon Levi and a 2022 first-round pick. [NHL]
• Cale Makar, who was an RFA, signed a six-year contract, with an AAV of $9 million, with the Colorado Avalanche. [NHL]
• The New York Rangers officially bought out the last year of Tony DeAngelo’s contract. [NHL]
• Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell claims that re-signing pending free agent defenseman Dougie Hamilton is his “no. 1 objective.” [NHL]
• Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan says that he expects Alex Ovechkin to sign his next contract before free agency opens on Wednesday. [NHL]