Islanders 2026 Draft Wrap: Lots of defensemen
· Yahoo Sports
The Islanders emerged from the NHL Draft weekend with two new forwards and three new defensemen plus an option to buy.
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After selecting the swift and towering “single” Malte Gustafsson in the first round on day one, additional defensement included Saturday’s late round selections:
- Lincoln Kuehne, 109th overall in the fourth round (Arizona State, NCAA)
- Vladimir Dravecky, 141st overall in the fifth round (Brantford but now Guelph, OHL)
- and outside the draft, a future considerations trade for the rights to Ryan Heatley, who just completed four seasons at NCAA Harvard. His signing rights will expire this summer.
With their final two picks, the Isles added a couple forwards:
- Artyom Matyuk, 173rd overall in the sixth round, Russia (Chaika Nizhny Novgorod)
- Robert Cowan, 205th overall in the seventh round (Western Michigan, NCAA)
Long shots, most of them, but such is the back half of the draft. Here’s Mathieu Darche on most of the selections. [Isles]
Here’s a random clip of Vladimir Dravecky:
Czech out who's back👀
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) January 8, 2026
Fresh off a #WorldJuniors silver medal, Vladimir Dravecky scores an absolute beauty for the @BulldogsOHL in his first game back!🇨🇿@FloHockey | #NHLDraftpic.twitter.com/LF8Sg0yoBL
And finally, here are more topics from Darche’s media availability, including penciling Semyon Varlamov in for a comeback, not qualifying Adam Boqvist, plus the promotion of Rocky Thompson to the NHL bench. [Isles]
As for UFA captain Anders Lee taking time to call #Isles first round pick D Malte Gustafsson last night, Mathieu Darche said that was just "Anders being Anders" and nothing should be read into that. Said he appreciated Lee reaching out.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) June 27, 2026