“A natural goal scorer, a rocket of a shot, a release similar to that of Ovechkin’s, an American sniper.”
These were all words used to describe the New York Islanders’ 11th overall pick in 2018, Oliver Wahlstrom. Some were shocked to see Wahlstrom fall all the way to 11th overall and thought he would be the steal of the draft for Lou Lamoriello in what was his first draft pick being employed by the Isles, but that just has not been the case YET for the Isles and Wahlstrom through three seasons.
Although Wahlstrom has had some small goal-scoring success so far in his young career, it just has not been enough to meet the potential of what the Isles thought they had in Wally.
On Monday, July 17, the Isles announced that Oliver Wahlstrom had agreed to his qualifying offer of $874,125 to remain an Islander for at least one more season. This comes after Wahlstrom’s name was in trade rumors regarding the Islanders pursuit of Alex DeBrincat, who was eventually moved to Detroit instead.
Regardless, the 2023-24 season will be a “make or break” season for the now 23-year-old winger.
With only 32 goals in 161 games played, Wahlstrom hasn’t had the scoring touch and sustainability as much as he was expected to.
Ice time issues under Barry Trotz and recent injuries have impeded Wahlstrom’s progress in his development, but in this upcoming 2023-24 season, there’s no excuse for Wahlstrom to not succeed. He must.
Oliver tallied seven goals in 34 games in 2022 (nearly a 17-goal pace on an 82-game season) before tearing his ACL during a collision on December 27th in a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The ACL injury ended Wahlstrom’s promising season.
That 17-goal pace season would have been Wahlstrom’s career-high and a real step in the right direction, but the injury derailed that train to Wally World.
Now off a fresh recovery and a new “prove it” contract, this upcoming season is it all for Wahlstrom.
With a log jam on the right wing, Wahlstrom could find himself playing 3rd line minutes beneath Mat Barzal and Kyle Palmieri on the right side.
Perhaps Isles bench boss Lane Lambert will give Wahlstrom a chance to play on his offside left wing alongside Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal on the club’s top line?
Wahlstrom should also see some time on the second powerplay unit.
Regardless of where he is in the lineup, he will need to score goals if he would like to remain an Islander in the future.
Those questions of line combinations and power play combos will all be answered come closer to training camp, but this is the season for Wahlstrom to succeed in the goal-scoring department and to prove to Lou Lamoriello that he can be a true sniper in this league and earn himself a new contract next summer with the Islanders.
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