The 2024 NHL Draft will be held June 28th and 29th at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The New York Islanders will select him 18th overall in the first round, along with four other picks throughout the draft. They traded a 2024 third-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Pierre Envall and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Robert Bortuzzo. What will the draft look like with the selections they have now? This will be a mix of what I believe they should do and what I think they will do.
Round 1: Islanders Select Teddy Stiga
The Islanders will be selecting in the first round for the first time since 2019, when they took Simon Holmstrom. Typically, teams don't pick the same first round in consecutive drafts, but considering the five-year gap, that's not a factor. There could be some strong defensemen with this pick, but there are more forwards than defensemen in the middle of the first round, so that's probably the direction it will go.
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With the 18th overall pick, the Islanders will select Teddy Stiga, a left-handed left winger who spent the past two seasons in the United States Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP). He's only 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, but he's an athletic and hard-working forward who can generate offense from anywhere. He finished third in scoring on the USNTDP last season, ahead of forwards Kamil Bednarik, Christian Humphries, Max Plante and Brodie Ziemer, all of whom are 2024 draft candidates.
Stiga's rankings vary depending on who you ask, with some placing it in the top 20 and others falling outside the second round. However, his recent performance at the 2024 U18 Men's World Championship has seen him rise rapidly in the draft board rankings. He scored six goals and 11 points in seven games, leading the United States to a silver medal. Some may see him as a milestone at 18 years old, but his upside makes him worth drafting early.
Stiga will attend Boston College for the 2024-25 season and is expected to suit up alongside James Hagens, a top prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft. Stiga's work ethic, speed and resilience make him a top candidate to be Matt Barzal's future linemate. His vision and speed make it possible for him to keep up with Barzal, and with a season or two to develop at Boston College, he could develop into a valuable draft pick.
Round 2: Nikita Artamonov
The Islanders have done well in the second round of previous drafts, taking prospects such as Calle Odelius, Danny Nelson, Atu Lati, and Samuel Bolduc. What all four of these prospects have in common is that they were projected first-round draft picks, but fell into the Islanders' lap in the second round. If history repeats itself, they'll get another strong player with the 50th overall pick.
With the 50th overall pick, the Islanders will select winger Nikita Artamonov. Once again a left-handed forward, they hope to strike gold with a prospect who fell in the draft. He plays the Islanders brand of hard-working, team-first hockey. He plays like a pro and is closer to the NHL than most players expected to be selected in the same range.
He spent last season in Russia's top professional league, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), where he did well as a draft-eligible player. He has seven goals and 23 points in 54 games and will return to the KHL next season. He also has professional hockey experience, so he could be in the NHL as early as the 2025-26 season. The Islanders see their contention window as it is, so adding a near-NHL prospect would be extremely valuable in the second round.
Round 4: Artyom Shchutinov
The Islanders' third pick will be 115. Considering that they have selected two forwards at this point, it is likely that they will move to a defenseman. At 115 they choose Artyom Shchuchinov. He is a left-handed defenseman who spent last season in the KHL. He has only scored one goal and five points in 54 games, but he is still young and has plenty of time to develop. He's not the flashiest prospect, but he's a player who could develop into an NHL defenseman.
Round 5: Pavel Moisevic
With the No. 147 pick, the Islanders will select a goaltender for the first time since Pavel Moisevic in 2021. Yes, it's the third Russian in a row, but it's worth it. Moisevic is a second-year prospect who will turn 20 in September. However, he had a great performance in 13 KHL games with SKA St. Petersburg. The 6-foot-5 goaltender posted a 3-2-2 with a .942 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average. Of course, this is a small sample size, but he has shown good performance to be worthy of being selected at this point in the draft.
Round 6: Nathan Villeneuve
The team will have the final pick in the 2024 draft, taking center Nathan Villeneuve with the 179th overall pick. He spent this past season in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 23 goals and 50 points in 56 games. Many scouts consider him a top-100 player, but a disappointing performance in the playoffs with two goals and one assist in nine games could send him undrafted. Similarly, after the first few rounds, anything can happen. The Islanders prefer to select European-born players late in the draft, but it may be time to switch strategies.
Ultimately, the Islanders will use two wingers, one center, one goaltender, and one defenseman. The team's biggest need is a forward, but that shouldn't be a reason to shy away from using the best players in each selection. As the draft approaches, the names of the Islanders' potential targets will continue to swirl, so the direction the team takes will continue to change.
