Meet the Day 2 Draftees

4 months ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

Meet the Lou boss, same as the old boss. | Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images


The prospect pool has been filled a little bit. The 2024 NHL Draft is now over. The New York Islanders did not make any trades while there, instead using all the picks they brought with them to Las Vegas, including the extra second-rounder they got from the Chicago Blackhawks. Get to know them! As you know, they picked prolific goal-scorer and recently projected lottery pick Cole Eiserman no. 20 overall. Here’s who they got on Day 2 with their country of origin (they traded their third-rounder for Pierre Engvall and their seventh-rounder for Robert Bortuzzo):

No. 54 overall: LHD Jesse Pulkkinen (Finland);
No. 61 overall: C Kamil Bednarik (USA);
No. 115 overall: G Dmitry Gamzin (Russia);
No. 147 overall: G Marcus Gidlöf (Sweden); and
No. 179 overall: D Xavier Veilleux (Canada).

The profile for most of these picks is skill. Scott Wheeler liked their draft, calling the Isles “overtime winners.” Courtesy of Corey Pronman, please find the below descriptions for the players. Their full descriptions are in this article.
On Jesse Pulkkinen (second round, no. 54 overall), a large Finnish defenseman:
Pulkkinen is very toolsy. He’s a 6-foot-6 defender who skates quite well for his size. His straight-line speed is quite strong, although his first step or two aren’t the quickest. Pulkkinen defends well due to his length and that he’s quite physical. Offensively, he doesn’t stand out as much, but he has hands and can make checkers miss. He fights the puck at times when he needs to make quick decisions, though. If his first pass and decisions get more consistent he could be a legit longtime NHL defender, but for now, I see a third-pair type.
On Kamil Bednarik (second round, no. 61 overall), an American center who played on USNTDP with Eiserman:
Bednarik was the second-line center for the U.S. NTDP this season behind top prospect [and 2025’s projected no. 1 overall and Hauppauge native and Islander fan!] James Hagens. He’s a steady two-way forward. He has good hands and can score but the pure offensive flash in his game isn’t going to stand out. He gets his chances from playing hard, going to the net and making good decisions with the puck.
On Dmitry Gamzin (fourth round, no. 115 overall), an overage Russian goalie who played under new Bridgeport goalie coach Sergei Naumovs:
Dmitri Gamzin had a strong year in Russia including getting some KHL action, where he excelled in a backup role. He’s a very athletic goaltender with good hockey sense, although he has an average frame by NHL standards. He has a chance to play.
On Marcus Gidlöf (fifth round, no. 147 overall), a raw Swedish goalie:
Gidlöf had a very good season in Sweden as a top goalie in their junior league. His pro projection is highly intriguing as a 6-6 goalie who moves well for his size. His pure quickness side to side isn’t explosive, but he can make tough saves and is difficult to beat laterally. Gidlöf tracks the play well and often stays square with the puck. He plays aggressive as well.
And on Xavier Veilleux (sixth round, no. 179 overall), a French Canadian defenseman on his way to Harvard:
Veilleux is a mobile defenseman who has shown he can have value at both ends of the ice in junior due to his strong skating ability. He moves pucks up ice well enough and has some offense. The question for the Harvard commit is whether, as a 6-foot defender, the pure playmaking in his game is good enough to make for a clear NHL pathway.
Overall analysis courtesy of Arthur Staple:

You’d have had a hard time finding anyone around the league who believed the Islanders would make all three of their picks in the first two rounds this weekend, but that’s exactly what Lou Lamoriello did. He certainly added some intriguing prospects, none more so than Cole Eiserman, the U.S. development program’s all-time leading goal scorer, at No. 20 on Friday night. The Isles swapped first- and second-round picks with the Hawks a month ago to add a pick at No. 61 and the feeling was that Lamoriello, who hadn’t made a first-round pick since 2019, would be wheeling and dealing to create some cap space.
Instead, the Isles selected 6-foot-6 defenseman Jesse Pulkkinen at No. 54 and then center Kamil Bednarik, a current and future teammate of Eiserman at Boston University, at No. 61. The Islanders’ prospect pool is awful shallow, so these picks will help. But they won’t help now, which is arguably when the Isles need the most assistance. — Arthur Staple
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