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While the New York Islanders had their roster pretty much set heading into this past season, one prospect who managed to win a spot with the team was forward Oliver Wahlstrom.

Wahlstrom was selected 11th overall by the Islanders in 2018 and in his first full NHL season, he produced very well offensively, scoring 12 goals and 21 points in 44 games, a pace of 22 goals and 39 points per 82 games.



Here are how his goals and points per game averages this year compare to all other forwards from the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft, who played more than 10 NHL games this year:

Svechnikov (2nd): 0.27 G/GP, 0.76 P/GP (55 GP)
Farabee (14th): 0.36 G/GP, 0.69 P/GP (55 GP)
Tkachuk (4th): 0.30 G/GP. 0.64 P/GP (56 GP)
Wahlstrom (11th): 0.27 G/PG, 0.48 P/GP (44 GP)
Zadina (6th): 0.12 G/GP, 0.39 P/GP (49 GP)
Kotkaniemi (3rd): 0.09 G/GP, 0.36 P/GP (56 GP)
Lundestrom (23rd): 0.15 G/GP, 0.22 P/GP (41 GP)
Hayton (5th): 0.14 G/PG, 0.21 P/GP (14 GP)
Kravtsov (9th): 0.10 G/GP, 0.20 P/GP (20 GP)
Dellandrea (13th): 0.12 G/GP, 0.19 P/GP (26 GP)
Foudy (18th): 0 G/GP, 0.17 P/GP (24 GP)

As you can see, Wahlstrom compared pretty well against those players, ranking tied for third in goals per game and fourth in points per game this year.

It was a nice surprise and personally, I thought it may have taken Wahlstrom a little longer to make an impact in the NHL, based on how he produced in the two previous seasons. In the 2018-19 season, Wahlstrom wasn't a standout the NCAA, then last year, he managed 10 goals and 22 points in 45 AHL games, which was fine but not great.

However, Wahlstrom was very good for the Islanders and while I can understand the decision not to play him against Tampa Bay in the third round, I didn’t really agree with it. Again though, hindsight is 20/20.

What’s impressive about Wahlstrom’s numbers from this year is that he produced at a strong pace, despite the role he was in. Wahlstrom averaged less ice time per game at even strength than pretty much any regular member of New York’s forward group, aside from Matt Martin. Even his power play time wasn’t significant, averaging just the eight-most time per game on the power play, amongst Islanders forwards.

Despite this, Wahlstrom was averaging about 2.1 shots per game and 4.1 shot attempts per game. Plus, his shooting percentage was 12.8 per cent, which is high, but for a player with a shot like Wahlstrom has, it's probably quite sustainable.

So after a couple years where it looked as though Wahlstrom may have trouble reaching the offensive ceiling that was projected for him when he was drafted, he looks to be back on track after a great rookie season. As his role increases with the Islanders, you can expect Wahlstrom to become more and more productive over the next few years.



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OTHER ARTICLES FROM JULY

Islanders aiming to re-sign Casey Cizikas and Kyle Palmieri
Islanders must consider trading Semyon Varlamov
Predicting the Islanders’ Expansion Draft Protection List
Four bad contracts the Islanders could look to move this offseason

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