The New York Islanders have been hesitant to draft players from Russia over the years — no matter who has been in charge of making the picks. Given the risks associated with drafting Russian-born players, this is understandable and the Isles are not alone in their reluctance. It’s not easy to judge how well Russian players will be able to handle the transition to hockey in North America.

It’s also not obvious whether a young player will want to leave their home country and go to a foreign country that speaks a different language to play hockey. The KHL, Russia’s top league and likely the second-best hockey league in the world, pays their top talent well and draws a significant following. Hockey is not far behind soccer when it comes to popularity in the largest geographical country in the world. 

Some of the biggest steals in the history of the NHL Draft, including Pavel Datsyuk (6th round) and Sergei Fedorov (4th round), were Russian-born players.

Islanders Draft Picks

The Islanders have drafted 22 Russian players over the course of their history, and just four in the past 10 Draft years. The Islanders got a great value from their lone third round pick in 2014. It took a few years for him to come to North America, but Ilya Sorokin is now the team’s starting goaltender and a fan favorite. Frequently referred to as “the White Whale,” the Russian-born netminder is an example of a high-risk pick that worked out. Andrei Pedan is an example of a pick that flopped, and he’s not the only one. 

Pedan was drafted by the Islanders in the third round in 2011. He never played a game for the team and only skated in 13 NHL games (all with Vancouver) before returning to Russia where he plays now.

Anatolii Golyshev is another example. He was drafted by the Isles in the fourth round in 2016. He made his way to North America for the first time in the offseason and was placed in Bridgeport to begin the year, where he put up seven points in 15 games before getting called up in the midst of the Islanders’ COVID-19 outbreak. The forward was expecting to play, but never got the chance. He was sent back to the AHL and has since parted ways with the organization so he can return to Russia.

The Islanders’ most recent Russian-born player drafted is Ruslan Iskhakov, who was taken in the second round in 2018 and has only played one game this season (in Germany) due to injury. Only time will tell the value of the relatively recent pick, but the Islanders’ Russian draft picks of the past decade have been hit or miss.

John Smark