It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and I’m not talking about Christmas. It is that time of the year when the best international hockey players under the age of 20 gather for the annual World Junior Hockey Championship. Islander stars such as Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat, Noah Dobson, and Ilya Sorokin have all represented their homelands in this historic tournament.
This year’s tournament host is the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The New York Islanders have two prospects representing the team in this year’s tournament. Both Quinn Finley (2022 3rd round pick) and Danny Nelson (2023 2nd round pick) are in Sweden sporting the red, white, and blue in Sweden.
Finley is a 19-year-old freshman at Wisconsin, while Danny Nelson is a true 18-year-old freshman at Notre Dame. Finley has recorded seven points in 18 games at the W. Nelson has 14 points in 18 games as an 18-year-old at Notre Dame.
The Islanders have high hopes in both Nelson and Finley, but the early returns on Nelson show that the 6’4”, 215-pound centermen that can also play the blue line has an outlook to the NHL for sure. Scouts have compared Danny Nelson to a hybrid of Anders Lee and Brock Nelson. Danny Nelson mentioned this past June at the draft that he models much of his game after Brock Nelson. All three players are Minnesota-born. If Danny Nelson could pan out to be a hybrid of Brock Nelson and Anders Lee, the Islanders brass would be thrilled. He is still very young, especially for his 2nd round draft position, and the Islanders are expected to allow him to develop at his own pace in South Bend. Still, the excitement over another Nelson in the Islanders system is there.
Isles GM Lou Lamoriello will have full focus on the red, white, and blue over the pond in the next two weeks as they are on hunt for more gold at the WJC.
Back home, the Isles will host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at UBS Arena. The Islanders currently sit at 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
