Islanders' Lou Lamoriello discusses NHL Draft weekend, upcoming free agency, coaching staff update and more
The Islanders' table discusses their next pick during the 2024 NHL Draft on June 29, 2024 in Las Vegas. Credit: Getty Images
LAS VEGAS — Day 2 of the NHL Draft ended and workers quickly moved to hustle everybody out of the futuristic Sphere, which was hosting another show later on Saturday afternoon.
But after making a first-round pick for the first time since 2019 on Friday and selecting five players in rounds two through seven on Saturday, Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello stopped to discuss the weekend and other organizational news before dashing back to New York to get ready for the opening of the free-agent market Monday.
Not surprisingly, Lamoriello is in favor of the NHL’s intention to go to a decentralized draft next year.
“I prefer working from the office,” Lamoriello said. “Within 24 to 48 hours, we have to get through another phase. I think it’s the right thing.”
Lamoriello announced that assistant coach Doug Houda will not return after two seasons with the Islanders. He said a replacement to guide the defensemen and penalty kill on coach Patrick Roy’s staff will be named as soon as Monday.
“Doug will be certainly going to another organization,” Lamoriello said. “Great human being, tremendous for us. We’re just going to go forward with a different type of defensemen coach.”
As for the Islanders’ unrestricted free agents, specifically longtime fourth-liners Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin, Lamoriello did not sound as if any deals would be reached before Monday.
“Right now, they’re free agents,” Lamoriello said. “There’s nothing that’s been done. I’ve had my conversations with them. They’ve had theirs with me. We know exactly what the situation is.”
Defensemen Mike Reilly and Robert Bortuzzo — both in-season acquisitions — and Sebastian Aho also are in need of new deals.
The Islanders have less than $6 million available under the $88 million salary-cap ceiling with 18 players signed. That does not include injured defenseman Scott Mayfield ($3.5 million) or forward Maxim Tsyplakov ($950,000), signed out of the KHL.
“We did not sign him for Bridgeport,” Lamoriello said of the Islanders’ AHL affiliate.
Lamoriello would not specify which of his restricted free agents will be extended qualifying offers but said former first-round draft pick Oliver Wahlstrom would get one. Lamoriello, however, did not rule out trading Wahlstrom to get him a fresh start. He struggled through a dismal 2023-24 season with two goals and four assists in 32 games as he tried to come back from a torn ACL.
Wahlstrom has 34 goals and 33 assists in 193 games since being selected 11th overall in 2018.
“He’s been working very hard all summer,” Lamoriello said. “If we can get him an opportunity because it hasn’t worked out, [we will], but we’re not just going to give him away.”
As for the draft, after selecting U.S. National Team Development Program left wing Cole Eiserman with the 20th overall pick on Friday, Lamoriello used his two second-round picks on hulking Finnish defenseman Jesse Pulkkinen (physical 6-6 lefthanded shot) and NTDP center Kamil Bednarik, Eiserman’s linemate.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Bednarik, like Eiserman headed to Boston University to play for Jay Pandolfo, a former standout on Lamoriello’s Devils. “It was pretty cool. We play on a team together and I play on a line with him, too.
“He’s really fun off the ice. On the ice, he’s very focused and serious. I can’t wait to join this organization with him and get started.”
The Islanders also selected Russian goalie Dmitry Gamzin and Swedish netminder Marcus Gidlof in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively, then picked lefthanded defenseman Xavier Veilleux from Muskegon (USHL) in the sixth round.
“We were happy,” Lamoriello said of the Islanders’ draft. “Really, where we were picking and what we were hoping to accomplish.”
Then it was off to the plane to rush home and prepare for the rest of this busy and compact period.
ISLES' DRAFT PICKS
First round
No. 20: Cole Eiserman, LW, U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL), 6-0, 197: The Islanders’ first, first-round pick since 2019 is a pure goal scorer who set a NTDP record with 58 goals in 57 games last season. He may have fallen after originally being projected as a top-10 pick because of concerns about the rest of his game. But the Islanders couldn’t ignore his scoring ability and feel he will develop his game at Boston University under former Devil Jay Pandolfo. Still 17, Eiserman is not close to being ready for the NHL.
Second Round
No. 54: Jesse Pulkkinen, D, JYP (Finland), 6-6, 219: The left-handed shot uses his size well to play physically and with some snarl but also has some offense to his game with two goals, six assists and 24 penalty minutes in 29 games. Pulkkinen said he tries to model his game after the Lightning’s Victor Hedman.
No. 61: Kamil Bednarik, C, USNTDP (USHL), 6-0, 187: A smart, two-way skater who tries to pattern his game after former Bruin Patrice Bergeron. Bednarik, a left-handed shot, was linemates with Eiserman and is also headed to Boston University after notching 26 goals and 65 points in 61 games.
Fourth Round
No. 115: Dmitry Gamzin, G, CSKA Moscow (KHL), 6-3, 174: Gamzin’s KHL contract runs through next season and while he has yet to play a full season in Russia’s top league, he was impressive during a 13-game stint in 2023-24. Gamzin, 21 and passed over in previous NHL Drafts, went 7-4-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.
Fifth Round
No. 147: Marcus Gidlof, G, Leksands IF Jr. (Sweden-Junior), 6-6, 212: Gidlof, 18, is still very much a raw prospect but his size intrigued scouts. He went 14-12-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .923 save percentage last season.
Sixth Round
No. 179: Xavier Veilleux, D, Muskegon (USHL), 6-0, 189: The left-handed shot with a strong two-way game patterned after the Senators’ Thomas Chabot will play one more season in juniors after notching three goals and 29 assists with 42 penalty minutes in 62 games. Then, the plan is for him to play for Harvard in 2025-26.
— Andrew Gross
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.