This piece will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll give some thoughts on the performance of a member of the New York Islanders this season. This article will focus on Otto Koivula.
Koivula only played 12 games on the main roster but because I did one of these for Andy Greene, who only played 10 games with the Islanders, I felt like I should write one up on Koivula as well.
This was an alright year for Koivula, split between the Islanders and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The fact that he’s already getting into NHL games at just 21 years old shows that the Islanders have confidence in him becoming part of their future.
At the same time, after a big year from Koivula last season that involved switching over to center and putting up great AHL numbers for a rookie, his development was a bit stagnant this year. His production was similar to the season previous and when he was called up to the Islanders, he didn’t have much of an impact. In his NHL games, he was invisible for the most part, though when you’re playing less than eight minutes a game, it’s hard to be a difference-maker. I think his stint with the Islanders helped to test the waters as to whether he could be ready to make the jump sooner rather than later. To me, he needs a bit more time in Bridgeport.
I think Koivula will end up in New York’s lineup on a permanent basis at some point but the Islanders can’t rush the process. As for projections, though he’s still just 21 years old and could certainly exceed expectations, I think if everything goes according to plan, Koivula could be a solid bottom-six center for the Islanders, potentially replacing Casey Cizikas on the fourth-line in a year from now.
Here’s today’s poll question (results will be discussed in an article tomorrow):
What is your long-term projection for Koivula's role in the Islanders' lineup?
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