As the 2021 NHL seasons wind down and the Islanders schedule comes to a close, New York will be heading to the playoffs. In this unprecedented, shortened 56-game NHL season, the Islanders struggled early, had massive success and recently struggled again. The team must find their game quickly. Who can help them do that? The answer is rookie forward Oliver Wahlstrom.

Oliver Wahlstrom-Jake Guentzel

If you want to know what Oliver Wahlstrom can do for the New York Islanders come playoff-time, look at what Jake Guentzel did for the Pittsburgh Penguins during their championship run in 2017.

After making his NHL debut the previous November, Jake Guentzel, as a 22-year-old, led the entire playoffs in goals and finished the postseason with 21 points. Then the following postseason, although the Penguins failed to win another cup, Guentzel did lead the team with 21 points.

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Obviously, Guentzel’s 2017 postseason performance is the ceiling for Oliver Wahlstrom. However, if Wahlstrom can even give half of what Guentzel did for the Penguins back in 2017, the Islanders are a real threat to every team they face.

A Young Star

At only 20 years of age, he has been perhaps the Islanders greatest offensive threat. What makes Wahlstrom so dangerous is his natural goal-scoring ability, especially on the power-play. Whenever Wahlstrom has the puck in the offensive zone, he immediately becomes a threat with his effortless natural release that freezes goaltenders.

Scoring goals has always been challenging for the Islanders, as they are a defensive first team. But with Wahlstrom in the lineup, their offense becomes so much more explosive. Wahlstrom’s shoot-first mentality has come up big for the Islanders this year, where he has scored enormous goals on the power-play and clutch goals late down the wire in games.

Can Wahlstrom Stay in the Lineup?

Wahlstrom’s chance to crack the lineup come playoff time is riding on whether he can cement his spot in the lineup in these last couple of games in the regular season. Barry Trotz is known to favor veteran players and has been known to overly criticize his rookie players.

Moreover, Wahlstrom getting a chance to play in the postseason is going to be challenging. If Wahlstrom takes the ice this postseason, it’s either going to be a result of his stellar play in these last couple of games, or if Wahlstrom cannot prove himself down the stretch, he will only get a shot in the lineup if someone else’s play costs them a spot in the lineup.

If Wahlstrom plays, the rookie can be an x-factor for the Islanders. And he can be the reason the Islanders win the Stanley Cup.

Ethan Halle

Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.