Oliver Wahlstrom was claimed off waivers by the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The move officially ended a rocky tenure with the New York Islanders that started with plenty of promise and ended in frustration. The Islanders thought they had an elite winger in their pipeline, but he never tapped into that potential or even found a role in the forward unit. Wahlstrom needed a fresh start, and he’s getting one with the Bruins.
Related: What Went Wrong With Oliver Wahlstrom and the Islanders?
The recent move is part of a rough stretch for Islanders general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello. He had to cut his losses with Wahlstrom – after a few one-year extensions, he finally let go of the first-round pick. Wahlstrom was part of a 2018 NHL Entry Draft haul that looked promising but instead had a lot of misses.
Islanders Come Just Short With Wahlstrom Pick
The Islanders had the 11th and 12th selections in the 2018 Draft. Lamoriello took Wahlstrom 11th and then drafted Noah Dobson 12th. This draft was full of stars, including Andrei Svechnikov, Brady Tkachuk, and Quinn Hughes, who all went early, but the pick that stings the most is that the Edmonton Oilers landed Evan Bouchard with the 10th selection.
With the Dobson selection, it’s possible that Lamoriello wouldn’t have used back-to-back picks on the defensive unit. That said, if the Oilers had passed on Bouchard, imagine a blue line with both Bouchard and Dobson. Bouchard is an exceptional defenseman and one of the best young two-way players in the NHL. Along with 47 goals and 146 assists in 295 games, Bouchard has 16.7 defensive point shares. The Islanders could have built their blue line for the next decade with him and Dobson with both skaters opening up the offense from the point and shutting down opposing defenses.
Aside from trading up, there isn’t much Lamoriello could have done. The Oilers had the higher selection in the draft and grabbed the better player. It’s not a knock on Lamoriello for settling on Wahlstrom but what does sting is the fact that he took Wahlstrom and allowed another winger to slide in the draft.
The Big Name After Wahlstrom
When it comes to draft selections, hindsight is 20/20 – nobody knows who will become a star or who will never make the NHL. That said, the Islanders needed a winger and passed on Joel Farabee, who went 14th overall to the Philadelphia Flyers.
To be fair to Lamoriello, Wahlstrom looked like the more skilled…
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